What if I told you that the BEST MINISTRY doesn't happen at your church building? Let me explain.

The longer I'm in ministry the more I see the importance of ministry OUTSIDE of Sunday mornings. And, more specifically, OUTSIDE of a church building.

And I'm not JUST talking about evangelism - of course this applies to that as well. But, ministry outside of the church building is equally as important for the members of your church…

There's A LOT to do in worship ministry.

You've got songs to plan. You've got chord charts to create. You've got rehearsals to prepare for. You've got speaking transitions to craft. You've got lyric slides to create. Need I continue?

Here's the thing though.

All of those things are meaningless if you don't take time to get to know the people you're leading…

In Monday's post we talked about how a healthy culture was one of the essential pieces of a sustainable worship ministry.

The truth is culture will naturally develop on your team over time - for better or for worse.

So, if you want it to be for the better, you need a plan to steer the culture in the direction you want it to go…

Think about all the different pieces that make up a worship ministry...

At it's core you've got: some musicians who lead worship, a worship rehearsal, and worship services.

Most leaders can get those pieces up and running.

But, it's so important to - not just build a worship ministry - but to build a SUSTAINABLE worship ministry…

Leading your worship team is about so much more than just making sure they can play a few songs on a Sunday morning.

Worship team leaders who lead well know that, for their team to truly get better at what they do, they have to teach them…

Worship team devotionals are a great way to regularly communicate vision to your team and pour into them spiritually.

In fact, I think devotionals are so important that I regularly list them as one of the 5 essential pillars of a great worship team rehearsal.

But, for worship team devotionals to truly be effective, they have to be led in the correct way…

If there is one message you can communicate to your team to help them lead worship well, it's this: We are ALL worship leaders.

Those 5 simple words have the power to change EVERYTHING about how your worship team members understand their role…

You know how it goes...

You pick out some worship songs and send the list out to your worship team.

Then, you show up to worship rehearsal and you realize NO ONE on your worship team is prepared to rehearse them…

If you could only communicate ONE thing to your worship team before they lead this Sunday, what would it be?

For me, it's this: We are ALL worship leaders.

Those five simple words have the ability to change EVERYTHING…

On a recent Insta story poll, I asked "Are you a worship TEAM leader?"

Over 90% of the people who answered, answered: "Yes. I lead a worship team."

It got me thinking: what makes a great worship team leader?

Here are 3 qualities of a great worship team leader…

Have you ever had someone quit your worship team?

It always hurts when someone leaves your worship team - especially when you're not sure what went wrong…

Simplicity makes things faster. In the long run, simplicity is cheaper. And simplicity leads to clarity.

What if what you did in your worship ministry could be done faster, for less money, and result in a clearer message? That's the power of embracing SIMPLICITY!…

As time moves on in our worship ministry, we have a tendency to make things more complicated.

You know how it goes: you start out small. Then you add one more thing... then another... and another... and so on and so forth until, 5 years later, you've got a jumbled mess of a weekly to-do list, gear that no one really knows how to use, and too many events to plan for…

Summer will officially be here at the end of this week! (At least in the US... sorry Aussies - enjoy your winter!)

For many church leaders that means things slow down a bit as regular church get togethers pause and people go on vacation…

Be honest: how does your worship team look when they lead worship?

Do they look excited? Do they look like they're confident in leading your church in worship?…

Ever have someone on your worship team who just isn't quite there musically?

It's hard to address those problems because pointing them out can feel like a personal attack. But, ultimately, you know that they can do better and you want to help them improve…

Do you struggle to find more volunteers for your worship team?

Maybe you'd like to have some redundancy in your team - a couple people who can fill in for other people when they aren't able to be there…

There is much frustration to be felt during this period of returning to in person worship.

Listen, this is a difficult time.

But, in the midst of frustration and uncertainty and discerning, don't forget that you are first called to love the people of your church…

Worship leader: as lockdowns lift, I know you have a million things you're trying to figure out.

In the midst of all of your "I don't knows" and logistics, don't forget that you still have a responsibility to lead your worship TEAM…

It's been difficult keeping our worship teams engaged during this season of ministry, hasn't it?

For the time being, it seems like it would be easier if we just did everything ourselves. 

But the truth is YOU still have a responsibility to lead your worship team even if you don't regularly see them!…