What to LOOK FOR when Leading Worship

Over the last few weeks we’ve been talking about pastoring in worship. We started out with a couple ways to pastor off stage – like getting to know your church and praying for them. Then we spent a couple weeks talking about pastoring on stage – through modeling and teaching worship. Those things are great to help you prepare for Sunday, but what about ministering in real time? How do you know if you need to get out of a song, speak into a moment, or go back into a part of a song? 

That’s what I want to talk about today: staying aware of the room! If you want to be more effective in ministry, then you need to be more aware of who you’re ministering to! The best way to start is by opening your eyes. 

Here’s why it’s important to open your eyes in service: You’re leading people! You need to make sure they’re tracking along with you. Make sure they’re following. Look to see if people are engaging in worship or if you’re getting blank stares and confused looks. If you’re getting blank stares it may be time to pause and encourage worship, share testimony, and remind people how good God is. If you’re getting confused looks it’s an opportunity to pause and explain what’s going on. Teach for a moment on why we gather to sing, why people are lifting they’re hands, etc. 

There are three things I’m looking for in a service: Engagement, Reaction, and Connection.

Engagement

It’s likely that everyone reading has a different idea as to what engagement is. That’s okay. Different congregations have different definitions of engagement in worship. What’s important is that you do indeed have an idea of what engagement is. Define it for your context. For my church, I’m looking for people singing, lifting hands, and kneeling. Remember, what you model for your church is often what you’ll see in your church. So, don’t try to define engagement by something you and your team aren’t doing! What do you think you should be seeing? When I look in scripture I see worshipers singing, lifting hands, and kneeling. That’s why it’s my measure for engagement! 

Reaction

When talking about reaction, we’re moving away from singing and toward speaking moments. Look for how people are reacting to the words you say between songs. An easy way to test this out is to direct your congregation to take action. That might look like telling them to sing a new song to the Lord, meaning to sing their personal praises to God or urging them to lift their hands. It may simply be asking them to close their eyes in reflection. 

How your church responds in those moments tells you a lot. If there is no reaction, I may need to explain myself further or teach more. If there is a reaction I may need to later follow up with members of my congregation to see how they experienced God in those moments. Was it beneficial or did they do it because the guy with the microphone told them to? 

Connection

Throughout the entire set I am looking for connection. How are songs or particular pieces of songs connecting with the church? Sometimes a lyric will hit the nail on the head spiritually. It will be just what my congregation needs to hear, declare, or worship God for at that moment. When that’s the case I’ll often stay there for a moment or go back to that part of the song later on. Looking at engagement and reaction will help you see points that are connecting heavily with your church. 

Open your eyes to see how your church is engaging in worship! Look for how they engage with songs, react to your words, and connect with lyrics. Doing so will help you minister to your church in real time!