I recently watched a church's live-stream and, honestly, it felt more like a concert than a worship gathering. The band sounded amazing but they were just heading from one song to the next with no real direction. A transition sounded like "Hey! This next song is called _____!"
Eventually the camera panned out to show a wide shot of the congregation only to reveal a group of spectators. Everything seemed ripe for an amazing time of worship but the worship leader missed these 3 steps.
Here are 3 steps to turn spectators into participants:
1 | Explain
People will never participate if they don't understand what's going on. It's easy to assume that everyone knows what worship is and why we do it when we go to church. However, that's not the case - even people who have been going to church their entire lives need reminded. So before you start leading, take a moment to explain why you're doing what you're doing. Talk about how you aren't singing to each other, you're singing to God. Explain how the songs you're singing aren't just songs, they're prayers and praise directed to God for the things he's done.
2 | Invite
Invite people to worship with you. Some people in church think that the time of worship is just something the worship band participates in. Let them know that they are expected to worship with you.
It's kind of like when you and a group of friends are playing a game and someone walks in the room - by default they'll start watching. But, if you simply invite them to join you, they'll become a participant. The same is true in worship.
3 | Model
Show your church what worship looks like. You don't have to be over the top but what you do on stage shows people what's appropriate for worship in your church.
Keep in mind, this is the final step. One mistake worship leaders make is that they try to make this the only step. "Surely if I just model worship really well people will follow along." Modeling worship is important but don't forget the other steps too!
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