My team and I regularly work with worship teams, training them to emotionally connect with their congregation, lead worship that has both form and Spirit leading, and to create memorable worship moments. I recently did some team training at Gateway Church in Dallas.
We also speak at worship conferences. In fact, next week I’ll be in Seattle to teach at the Christian Musician Summit.
One of the classes we teach at these conferences is a “hands-on” demonstration that lasts about an hour or so. And honestly, I can only get through about one-third of a song in that amount of time!
I wish I could lay hands on people in the name of Jesus and have them instantly “get” the tools, techniques, and skills I’ve learned over the years to develop a great worship team. But this doesn’t come quickly… it’s a process.
First of all, you need to work with what you have. When I work with a world class worship artist or team whose players are stellar, it’s quicker than usual – but it’s still a process. We still need to go one step at a time.
I’ve learned through the thousands of rehearsals I’ve been a part of, we need to be led by the Spirit, even in rehearsal. We have to follow the instinct God has given us to make things better.
Another thing I’ve learned is to start with the songs that really move me. I need inspiration!
This has gotten me in trouble a few times, because an artist will come in and say “I want to work on this song today.” But I’ll have an idea for another song, a song that can get my creative juices going, one that can help me create some freedom in the room for the Spirit to move… sometimes I’ve batted heads with the artist about it!
They want to do specific songs; but over the years this is the way I’ve developed my work. The worship artists that trust the process receive the rewards for allowing creativity. God is creative, after all, and he wants to use us – and we need to let Him!
When I work with worship artists that aren’t world class, the process is exactly the same. The only difference is that it takes longer.
If you’re a worship leader with a group that isn’t necessarily “stellar,” you will need to reconcile that it’s going to take some time. But if you learn the process, developing the arrangement of the song, leaving space for the Spirit to move in the song – you and the congregation you are leading will reap the rewards also!
I’d love to teach you the process – maybe I’ll see you in Seattle or at another event! You’ll get a little glimpse of what it takes to teach your worship team how to engage the congregation in worship.
But in these short sessions, I won’t be able to develop the process as much as I’d like. That’s why I and my trained associates go out and do Expressive Worship Team Training. Spending a whole day learning the fundamentals can get your worship team much farther along than a quick conference class.
Let us know if you’d like to have someone come in and do some training at your church. We’d love to help you learn the process of being a great worship team!
Looking forward to seeing you here in Seattle Area next week!
Everybody make sure and go to Tom’s class! I have learned amazing things every single time.
-jason