His performance is judged by only one thing—is the team winning?
If the team is winning, the coach will have a job.
Worship Leader, for too long you’ve judged yourself by the standards of a worship industry—boots, skinny jeans and trendy haircuts. Cutting edge music, new songs and epic stage lighting. For too long you’ve thought only about yourself and your performance.
But it’s time to think about your team. And not just your musicians. The team is your congregation.
Ask yourself these questions about your congregation:
- Are they thriving?
- Are they singing?
- Do they love Jesus?
- Do they worship beyond the song?
- Are they pressing in?
Of course, every church will always have new people who don’t know what they’re doing. They may not raise their hands. They may not sing. But your goal is to help them move from spectators to worshipers. Why? Because you’ve tasted the life-changing power of worship. Something happens when you declare the yes-and-amen promises of God. Something happens when you sing in the midst of the storm. Something happens when you learn how to press in deeper.
And that’s what you want your congregation to experience. So don’t be satisfied with just pulling off a service. There’s more. Don’t be satisfied with creating great music.
How to Lead Like a Coach
Coach them. Here’s a few ways to do that:
- Don’t sing all the time. Pull back and encourage everyone to lift their voice.
- Give exhortations. Don’t just pull off flawless worship song performances.
- Simplify. Don’t make every song this epic arrangement. Arrange around the voice of your church.
- Teach. Seize opportunities to teach during worship. Have your pastor preach on it.
- Create space. Songs are great, but they’re just a tool. Plan intentional moments in your set where people can respond in their own words.
- Identify what a ‘win’ looks like. Is it a win if you and your team do well? Or if your congregation engages well.
I’d love to hear your take on this. How is Worship Leading similar to being a coach?
How are you training your people to be worshipers?
This article about help your church members be worshipers originally appeared here.
