A common problem in churches is finding those who are gifted as musicians. As a worship leader, you may find yourself wondering if you will ever have the team you need to get the job done with excellence.
My encouragement to you is, you will. It takes consistence, so don’t give up. I will share a few things that have helped me get to the point where I wouldn’t trade my team for anything.
I have had the privilege of getting to know the worship leadership of several small churches in my area, and I have found that at every church, they are holding on to people who possess little to no musical ability. As a christian, we are called to unconditionally love people, which makes it hard to ask people to step down from a position where they don’t belong - especially when it comes to the worship team.
It would be nice if they were never on the worship team to begin with, but unfortunately it happens. As a worship leader, you have to realize that holding on to them is killing your entire team. For example, if you have a musician who never comes prepared, eventually you will have an entire team that doesn’t come prepared all because you are neglecting a problem that is really an infection.
When you sign up for leadership, even in the church, you can expect to encounter confrontation. Either you will be the source of confrontation, or if you neglect the problem long enough, your team will confront you.
When you let someone go, it will hurt their feelings. But, is it really worth destroying your entire team to refrain from hurting one person’s feelings? Examine your team, and identify those that do not quite fit. Now, pray for the boldness to confront the issue with love.
Maybe you just need to show them the problem and they will correct it. If not, then its time to ask them to step down and find a place to serve where they will excel. Remember, dead weight is in no way beneficial to anyone.
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So many times, we sit back and pray for God to bring talented musicians our way. The truth is, we often have them sitting in our congregation. They just haven’t discovered their gift.
Here’s the kicker: to discover these people, you will have to take the risk of bringing someone on who you may have to let go in the near future. So you will have to decide now to be bold, and do what is best for the entire team.
It was a usual Thursday rehearsal when my bassist told me she would be gone for the next several weeks. At this point, we had no back up plan. She was our only bassist. My 15-year-old brother had been taking bass lessons for about a month at this point, and I decided to bring him on board.
He had to learn 3 songs in a week’s time, with only a month of experience as a bassist. At this point, I would have never even considered such a thing, but I needed a solution...and quick. To my surprise, he did an amazing job. I think my jaw was on the ground, seeing such a young musician far surpass my expectations.
I absolutely love how God will put us in these situations, to push us out of our box, and discover the hidden treasures that we would have never considered otherwise. It is now a year and half later, and my little brother plays every other week at the level of someone with 10+ years of experience.
So, take a chance, look outside of your box and discover those hidden treasures that are in your church right now. There is nothing wrong with believing God for gifted musicians, but you probably already have them.
Its time to remove neglect and fear from your leadership style. Tackle the problems at hand, and always use love when dealing with people. Don’t be afraid to seek out those untrained musicians, and help them discover their gift.
Remember, the band does not have to be perfect for powerful, life-changing worship to occur. Do your best to create and maintain a well-working team, and Sunday morning worship will be a time that you and your entire team will look forward to every week.
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That's a really good word, Kade! We have a church with three campuses and our central campus has 5 services a weekend. All of our band positions are volunteer. That's about 12 hours of commitment throughout the week. We've put them on teams and now we have three full bands. We've had to let a couple of people go to and you could not be more right about how tough that is.
Really good suggestion on taking a risk with other players that might not be as seasoned. I did that in student ministry and until now have been hesitant to do it on Sunday morning. Thanks for sharing bro!
I am a trumpet player who has been playing for 60 years on worship teams in 3 different churches. The first 2 were quite rewarding. This last one I'm involved in is so frustrating I cannot begin to tell you the problems I'm having. First of all I am not in charge so I cannot say much. When I do I am dismissed as irrelevant. There is intonation, rithym, and timing and blending problems. Worst of all, they don't even care. I stay involved because I want to be a part of something.I am a soloist with many years of experience so I do get to perform at certain times. I try to inspire them, but to no avail. Maybe you can help?
Wish I could help Joseph...but it's tough, if not impossible, to help someone who does not want to be helped. Best thing to do here is keep a good attitude and pray that the Lord open their eyes to see the possibilities for improvement.
Hi Kade, thanks for all you do here.
I just took over as worship leader of a small church, big heart.....
There is some disagreement between myself and one of the members on how the songs are picked.
What is your process of picking songs for the team?
I actually have a few questions but I'll start with that one
Hey Scott - congrats on the new position! That's awesome.
I've always encouraged my team to suggest songs, but also set the expectation that the ultimate decision comes to me. They haven't always liked it, but I build enough rapport in other things (showing up prepared, helping them every way I can, etc) that they generally don't stay upset for long if I decide not to use their suggested song.