Leading Worship 101

For those of you who lead worship on either a permanent or a temporary basis, I have some tips to share with you that I have learned over the years…

• Projecting song lyrics: For the easiest readability of slides or transparencies, 1) Left align text (don’t center it), 2) Use a bold, sans serif font (such as Arial Black), 3) Don’t use all capital letters (they are harder to read), 4) Use at least a 16 point font.
• Choosing songs: Keep in mind the message of the song you are choosing. For example, is the song all about heaven or all about God? Is it all about what we get or is it about who God is? The bottom line is this – when choosing a song, look at what the song is saying.
• Practice so you and everyone else can worship: Practicing can be a hassle, but God blesses a prepared servant who wants to give only their best to Him. Many worship leaders are so concerned about sounding good and hitting the right note and coming in on time, that they cannot worship, much less lead others. Practicing eliminates this problem. If you and your worship team have previously practiced for the service, then the glitches have already been worked out, your mind is rested, and you are ready to worship. After all, if you aren’t worshiping, then all you’re doing is leading singing. God didn’t say in John 4:23 that He is looking for singers…He said He is looking for worshipers.
• Be led by the Holy Spirit, not self: If the Holy Spirit is leading you to say something between songs or read a Scripture, then by all means be obedient. But if the Holy Spirit is not leading you to do so, please don’t feel like you must. In most cases, it is best to move directly from one song into another, because it encourages continuous worship. Unless the Holy Spirit directs you otherwise, you will encourage others to worship much more by worshiping yourself than you will by talking about it.
• Worship privately: Worship the Lord throughout the week. Get alone with Him, and really, really love and worship Him. This will overflow into the worship services you lead and make a difference. Be genuine before God.

I strongly recommend the book The Praise and Worship Team Instant Tune-up by Doug and Tami Flather for understandable but thorough expert advice about leading worship.