The countdown hits zero. The band starts to play. You welcome everyone to church and then head into the first verse. As you look into your worship space as it slowly fills up, you notice that it doesn't seem like people are worshiping. They're just staring at you and the band.
Unless they've been specifically taught the contrary, the average church-goer sees music on Sunday as entertainment. It's a band on stage playing. Their job is to stand and watch and maybe sing along when the band plays their favorite song.
As a worship leader, you know that the musical portion of your Sunday gathering is so much more than that. It's not entertainment - it's worship. So how do you bridge the gap?
Here are 3 ways you can turn entertainment into worship on Sunday mornings:
1 | Songs Keys
If you want people to worship by singing on Sunday, you have to take away any barrier that would keep them from doing that. One of those major barriers, especially in smaller churches, is song key. The songs you lead have to be in a singable key. If a song is way too high or way too low for someone to sing along with, chances are that person will just stop singing.
How do you put your song in a singable key? Keep the melody between a low Ab and a high Eb (that's between the 1st fret of the A string and the 8th fret of the G string on a guitar). If you want to explore this topic further, check out a post I wrote a while ago - How To Put Worship Songs In A Singable Key!
2 | Speak the Expectation
You have to let people specifically know that what you're doing is worship and not entertainment. Invite them in - not just to watch but to participate. Use your speaking transitions to guide people through responding to God in worship. Teach them what their responsibility as a member of the church is during corporate worship.
3 | Model the Expectation
You and your team have to not just speak the expectation but also model it. Show your church what worship can look like. It's not just staring at chord charts hoping you hit the right chord - it's actively engaging with the lyrics of the song and singing them to God.
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