Different people respond to being led in worship in different ways. You'd lead a group of teenagers differently than you'd lead a group of 80 year olds. It's not about what's right or wrong, it's about what best engages the people you're leading. Maybe hymns don't work as well with teenagers but they do with older members of the church. Or maybe you have an older group at church who loves contemporary music. It's important to know the people you're leading in worship!…

How'd you feel in your preparation for Christmas this year? Were you overwhelmed? Did you feel like you didn't have enough time? Not enough help? Are you rushing to get things done last minute? Use this year's Christmas planning as a learning process. Think about what went wrong, what went well, and what you can do better next year…

Christmas carols are great because everyone knows them and can sing along with them. However, along with that familiarity comes a sense of nostalgia that sometimes overshadows the fact that we are worshiping God when we sing these songs. Instead of thinking "here are some worship songs," it's easy for your congregation to just think "here are some Christmas songs that we always sing this time of year…"

There's no other way to put it: there ARE going to be people who come to your church this week who only come once a year. The question is: how are you going to respond to them? Are you going to ignore them and only focus on the people who regularly come? Or is there a better way where you can serve everyone who shows up? There are a few things you can do to engage the people who come to your church this weekend!…

Christmas carols are an important part of the Christmas season. They tell the story of Jesus coming to earth! In addition, they are typically familiar songs that people who don't regularly come to church can sing along with…

Christmas is a time of joy and happiness. There's lots of good things going on. But, when you're in ministry it doesn't always feel that way. Your schedule is loaded with events at church which you not only have to go to, but you're in charge of them as well! There's a lot going on and it's easier to be stressed out than joyful during the Christmas season. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to stay joyful during the Christmas season…

Mistakes happen. They're often the best way to learn. And if you lead worship for any amount of time, you're going to make a mistake or two. The problem isn't making the mistake itself - it's when you don't learn from it…

Last week we talked about "3 Keys To Writing Songs For Your Church.” Now let's take a look at the process of introducing those songs to your church and using them in a worship gathering.

Here are 3 things you should do before you introduce a song you've written to your church…

Jake from Churchfront and I just put out another Q&A podcast session where we answered some more of YOUR questions! Check it out by heading to www.churchfront.com/podcast or searching for the Churchfront Worship Leader Podcast on iTunes.

During the podcast we discuss these 4 questions…

Songwriting for your church is different than writing personal songs. There is a lot more responsibility to carry because these songs are not just for yourself - they're for your church. That's why it's important to understand these 3 key ideas to writing songs for your church!…

Do you ever feel like you aren't good enough to lead worship? Maybe you're self-conscious about your voice. Maybe you compare yourself to other worship leaders who you know are better singers than you. The truth is: you don't have to be the best singer in the world to lead worship. You only need to be slightly above average…

For most leaders, especially when they're just starting out, their eyes are closed 75% of the time and only opened 25% of the time. Leading with your eyes closed is probably your default. But, there are a ton of advantages to keeping your eyes open when leading - we've covered these at length in multiple posts.

Since we've already covered some positive reasons to keep your eyes open, let's look at some negative things that happen when you don't keep your eyes open…

Ahh.... the elusive day off. That in and of itself can be hard to commit to. But what if I told you, if you follow 3 simple steps, you can take an entire week off? It's really that simple.

We all know time off for rest is important but rarely do we feel comfortable taking it. What will my church think? How will my weekly responsibilities get done?…

It can be difficult to pick songs when the keys simply don't work well together. Sometimes, worship leaders compromise song key for flow and they just do all the songs in the same key. On the other hand, other worship leaders ignore song keys and start and stop between every song. The solution is to learn how to smoothly transition between different keys…

It's important to sing traditional Christmas songs during the Christmas season. But, it's also good to incorporate some more modern songs during the season too. The problem is: a lot of newer Christmas songs were written for the radio and not necessarily for congregational worship. So it can be hard to find the best songs to lead in your church. That's why we've put this list together (with YOUR suggestions) - problem solved!…

Christmas is coming! That means it's time to start planning your Christmas services. Don't wait until the last minute to figure out what you're going to do. If you want to lead well, you've got to plan early. When you plan early, you aren't stressed about what's going to happen. Plus, planning earlier allows you to do more and do it all better. So get to planning!…

It's the most wonderful time of the year!... at least that's how the song goes. But it definitely doesn't feel like it sometimes if you're a worship leader. There's a lot to do during the Christmas season. You've got special events to plan for, extra services, and let's not even think about all those chords you still have to learn for those classic Christmas songs. There's no doubt Christmas can be a stressful season for worship leaders. But, there are a few things you can do to remove that stress…

Last week we looked at 3 reasons why the songs you choose for your worship set should connect with your pastor's message. Now, let's take a look at how to actually do it…

There are essentially 3 things that happen during a worship service: musical worship, prayer, and preaching. You can either treat these 3 things as separate or you can plan them so they work together. Most leaders connect musical worship with prayer AND preaching with prayer but sometimes leaders neglect connecting musical worship with preaching…

Let's be honest, being in ministry is usually not a high paying job. Because of that, it's super important to handle what money you do make well. That will allow you to take care of your family and yourself while not being a burden on your church.

When you don't handle your finances well, you end up thinking you need way more money to survive than you actually need. That causes you to feel under-payed, undervalued, and, in many cases, pastors leave ministry all together as a result.

That doesn't have to be your story! If you grasp these 5 principles of managing your money well, you will realize that God has provided you with more than enough to not just survive, but thrive when it comes to your finances…