Worshipping and praising God should be one of the highlights of your children’s ministry. However, for many leaders (and kids) it is one of the most dreaded times. Here are seven secrets for getting kids excited about worship:
1. Keep it fresh. Singing the same stuff every week gets boring. There’s no way around it. No one wants to sing the same songs every week in adult worship. Your kids don’t want that either. Constantly be on the lookout for new songs to use with your kids.
2. Get a leader that is passionate, not a professional. Kids don’t care how good your voice is or how nice you look in a Countryman mic. What they need the most is a leader who is excited. I’d take passion over a professional any day of the week when it comes to leading kids in worship.
3. Use motions whenever possible. Simple hand motions add energy to your kid’s worship. Here’s a secret: You don’t have to create the motions yourself. If you YouTube about any song, you’ll find lots of hand motion ideas.
4. Start with high energy and move to meaningful worship. Start with songs that the kids can clap to and jump to. Then intentionally move to deeper, more meaningful songs. Don’t save the jumping up and down song for right before your lesson. That’s murder.
5. Get the kids involved. Kids respond to watching other kids in action. Consider getting a few of the kids from your ministry to help you lead the songs. You’ll be amazed at how the kids respond. (Teenagers make great leaders too.)
6. Don’t wear them out. Thirty minutes of back-to-back singing is too much. I have found it is best to do a few worship bundles throughout the service. I like to start with 2-3 upbeat, high-energy songs. Then later in the service move to 2-3 meaningful worship songs.
7. Visualize the songs. Use PowerPoint, Media Shout, worship videos, poster board, or a variety of all of the above! Get creative in how you visualize the lyrics, but make sure you visualize them. (By the way, if you are leading preschoolers in worship, you can ignore this point!)
These are a few secrets that I’ve found helpful in leading kids in worship. What do you think? Anything you would add to the list?
