Leading people in worship to the Living God is an awesome privilege and involves four major areas: music, worship, leadership and your relationship with God. The more you understand and grow in each area, the stronger your worship leading should become. I have been leading worship with congregations ranging from 70 to 7,000 people for over 25 years, and I am still learning. Here are worship leader tips to consider for growth in your own personal journey.
4 Worship Leader Tips to Improve Your Worship Leading
1. Develop your music skills for worship leading.
- Take music lessons on piano and/or guitar (Keyboards: 12 Keys to Improving)
- Become a lifelong student of musical skills and styles
- Learn to sing at a good level (10 Keys to Improving Your Singing)
- Take music theory courses (Worship Musicians Theory Book)
- Learn to sing vocal harmonies
- Learn to memorize music
- Learn to play-by-ear, improvise with chord charts and read notes
- Develop a good sense of time and rhythm
- Learn to write your own songs
- Learn to write your own charts (Worship Charts: 7 Keys to a Great Rehearsal)
2. Develop your worship skills for worship leading.
- Worship in private
- Study worship in the Bible
- Understand the progression of worship
- Study under a strong worship leader
- Serve faithfully on a worship team
- Watch great teams online (Hillsong, Bethel, Gateway, Elevation, Lakewood, Passion)
- Read great books on worship (Some of my favorite books on worship)
- Develop strong stage presence Learn to pick great worship songs (12 Keys to Picking Great Songs)
- Be a lifelong student of worship
3. Develop your leadership skills for worship leading.
- Love people
- Learn the importance of serving – Matthew 20:28
- Lead yourself and your home well
- Be faithful with whatever opportunities (small or large) God opens up
- Learn good administrative skills (The Role of a Music Director)
- Learn to run great rehearsals (10 Tips on Improving Your Worship Rehearsal)
- Develop your own strong team
- Learn to communicate in front of an audience
- Learn how to be a constructive member of a pastoral teamÂ
- Develop a good relationship with your pastor
- Mentor future leaders and grow your worship team (12 Keys to Being a Successful…)
- Read leadership books (My favorite books on worship)
- Study other leaders and be a lifelong student of leadership styles
4. Develop your relationship with God for worship leading.
- Read the Bible daily
- Pray daily – Luke 5:16
- Listen to what God says
- Listen to what God is saying to the church
- Do what God is telling you to do – John 5:19
- Learn to trust Him more daily
- Keep your heart soft and pliable before God – Revelation 2:4
- Learn from other great men and women of God
- Learn to love the church like Jesus loves the church (Top 10 Guidelines)
Check out my book, Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure, available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions. This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.
This list of worship leader tips originally appeared here.
