Think about the first time you led worship. Did you feel ready? Did you feel like "Yeah! I got this!"? Probably not. Most people feel like they aren't ready to lead worship the first time they do it.

That's not the problem. The problem is that most new leaders get stuck in the perpetual cycle of never feeling ready enough to lead. They keep making the excuse that they "just aren't ready yet" over and over again and they never take that step of leading for the first time.

This is one of the key barriers you have to break when you are training new worship leaders.

Here are 3 ways to break the cycle of "I'm not ready to lead worship yet:"

1 | Constant Encouragement

Let them know that, although they don't feel ready, you recognize the potential in them to succeed. Be specific. Let them know how far they've come. "You've got your chord transitions down." "Your harmonies sound amazing." "You know all the songs that we know and you've put in the hard work!"

2 | Invite

Don't make them lead alone for the first time. Start by inviting them to lead with you. Tell them: "I'd love for you to lead worship WITH ME on Wednesday night!"

This is far less intimidating than throwing them right into worship leading by themselves. Walk alongside them and show them the ropes.

Utilize safe spaces where they can lead in smaller environments. That might just be leading your worship team in a song during rehearsal. Or have them lead with you at a small group. The key is to have them lead in smaller settings before you ask them to lead with you on Sunday.

3 | Push

Eventually you've got to push them. You've warmed them up to this point by slowly giving them more and more responsibility, now is the time to push them. They still won't feel ready but they'll feel MORE ready than they did before. Keep that encouragement coming and remind them of the potential you see in them!

On a scale from 1 to 10 (ten being terrified to death), how afraid were you the first time you led worship?