This outline is intended to communicate key points to potential team members when forming a worship ministry from the ground up. Cut and paste with these ideas as needed for your context. Originally Published at RobStill.com – republished with permission.
Ministry Vision
These principles will form our vision as we develop this new worship ministry:
- My Personal Goal is to develop an awesome worship ministry for this community.
- Our Team Objective is to lead in such a way that people worship God wholeheartedly.
- Our Strategy is to make it easy for the average person to participate in worship.
- A foundational premise is that leading worship and serving as a musician or singer means … you are a leader and a worshiper.
6 Key Concepts
As we begin, we’ll need to be on the same page regarding key concepts which will shape our ministry values. These are:
1. Leading worship is … primarily a spiritual activity.
”God is spirit. He is looking for worshipers in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
“Worship of the true and living God is essentially an engagement with him on the terms that he proposes and in the way that he alone makes possible” David Peterson, Engaging God (20, 283).
2. Leading worship is secondarily a musical activity. Nevertheless it is to be done skillfully (Psalm 33)
3. The leadership aspect varies according to your role. Not only do you lead with your instrument or voice, you also lead with your whole countenance and how the congregation experiences you.
4. Leading Worship is a combination of art forms requiring skill, talent, aptitude, knowledge, understanding, insight, wisdom and discernment.
- Music is an art.
- Leadership is an art. So is preaching of the word.
- Leading Worship is a unique art form converging these aspects with spiritual sensitivity and “anointing” – that is, the power God to do His work, His way.
5. As a leader of worship therefore, you are called to a lifestyle of personal spiritual growth and maturity that is, discipleship.
- No, you don’t have to suddenly become “super spiritual”. You do however, need to understand that your role is much more than learning and playing music.That’s where this is going. Leading worship is primarily a spiritual activity.
- There is grace for you to start as you are, where you are, right now. You just have to be headed towards growing in the Lord.
6. To lead spiritually therefore, by definition, you can not take people where you have not gone yourself. So you have to lead yourself deeper spiritually in order for people to follow your leadership.
- You lead by the overflow of your heart. (Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45)
- David is a primary example of a heart that pleases God. He is a “man after God’s own heart” and is commended as a model to imitate (Is 55:4). Therefore we will reference regularly how to cultivate a heart of worship like David’s. This is the type of heart God is looking for.
Rob Still is a worship leader, artisan, instructor and blogger in Nashville TN. He teaches at conferences and extensively on the mission field in eastern Europe – and blogs at RobStill.com.
Editor’s note: Feel free to use this outline as a guide for bringing others into the first stages of developing a worship ministry. Having people know and understand what is expected from the beginning goes a long way in establishing and maintaining the health of a ministry.