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How to Have Great Kid’s Worship Without Live Music

How to Have Great Kid’s Worship Without Live Music

Do you ever struggle with kid’s worship, especially when you don’t have the option to do live worship?

That’s a struggle we had at our church for years.

We tried high energy praise with motions, but the older kids didn’t engage well, and it didn’t really prepare kids for adult worship.

So then we tried live worship videos with lyrics, but the kids just stood (or sat) and watched.

Next, we just played a worship song and challenged kids to reflect on the message, but then we realized kids weren’t getting a corporate experience of worship.

As we continued to search for a better solution, we talked with several kid’s ministry leaders and pieced together a strategy that has worked really well at engaging our kids more than anything else we’ve tried.

Here’s what we do for our kids’ worship.

Use an mp3 with lyric slides.

This actually came out a discussion we had with a church about copyright laws.

We used to download Youtube worship videos for Kid’s Church, which is technically a copyright violation.

To avoid copyright infringement, this church instead bought an mp3 of the song(s) they wanted to sing each month (for around $1) and used the worship license the church was already paying for to create lyric slides for the song(s).

On top of avoiding copyright issues, this also prepares kids for how worship lyrics are presented in youth and adult services.

Use a live worship leader.

The concept of having a worship leader, even when the music isn’t live, actually came from a discussion about Kid’s Worship with the one and only Yancy (yancyministries.com).

She said the biggest mistake she sees in churches that don’t have the option of live worship is playing praise or worship videos without having anyone up front to lead.

She said that even if the music isn’t live, it is vital to have someone up front.

This person doesn’t have to be a good singer (they don’t even have to sing into a mic); they just have to be able to instruct and encourage the kids throughout the song.

Yancy said to look at a worship leader as the spiritual form of a physical trainer.

Just like a physical trainer teaches you how to do the right exercises the right way and pushes you to work harder, a worship leader teaches you different expressions of worshipping God and pushes you to go after Him more passionately.

Make sure your volunteer leaders are setting the right example.

The third and final thing we do is continually talk with our leaders about the example they set during worship.

If leaders are engaging passionately and following the instructions of the leader up front, the kids are much more likely to do the same.

The opposite is also true.

As we’ve started doing worship this way, our kids have gone from practically silent to now singing louder than the music.

They’ve gone from standing with their hands at their sides, to raising their arms in surrender and worship to God.

They’ve moved from disengagement to much greater engagement.

While live worship may be the ideal, in many churches (mine included) that isn’t realistic, so this is a great alternative to still engage kids, teach them how to worship, and prepare them for worship as they grow older.

Is there anything you would add? Leave a comment!

This article about kid’s worship originally appeared here.