How To Combat Stagnant Worship In Your Small Church

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Worship & Tech Series: Part 2

Looking to combat stagnant worship in your small church? Keep reading for ways to lead people deeper into worship no matter what worship style or size of your team. When we start believing we need better music, a bigger band, or more talented singers, we’re not thinking right. Worship goes way beyond music. While music can certainly contribute to great worship for many people, we don’t need music to worship. In fact, for some people, music will never be the primary way they connect with God or experience His presence, and that’s okay! Keep reading to learn:

Leading worship is not the same as worshipping in front of people
Why worship leading is less about you and more about them
How changing the worship style of your congregation might not be what they need
Creative ways to help non-singers worship god on Sundays apart from music

Whether you have a worship team, song leader, organ, or full band, many people hit seasons where worship on Sunday mornings just feels stagnant or uninspiring. We’re going to go over worship leading, specifically the singing part of it. We’re going to focus on what to do when things feel stagnant, I want to provide you with a few main things to consider, and I want to end with a little piece of perspective.

The Question To Consider

Are you leading others in worship, or are you just worshipping in front of them? There are a few different views about what makes a great worship leader. I think a great worship leader doesn’t just worship in front of other people but leads people in worship. There’s a big difference here. I love it when people genuinely worship while they’re leading worship. I think there’s a strong example being set there. However, not everyone is like this.

Leadership involves knowing someone and, usually, it involves them trusting you. Leadership is about helping people go from where they are to where they want to go. Good leaders don’t manipulate. They don’t try to get people to go somewhere, they inspire them to walk their own journey at their own pace.

Please understand, that I’m not saying you should change their worship style or that you need to get them to worship as you do. If you’re leading people in worship, it should be about them, about drawing them into worship. Humans experience God in different ways, and that is so beautiful.

If you’re the worship leader and your goal is to help people connect with the God of the Universe, then you have to get to know the people, culture, and relationships in your church. There are as many different ways to worship as there are people. Because of that, it’s important to consider leading differently on different days or even different seasons. Every week doesn’t have to be the same. In fact, it probably shouldn’t be.

If It Feels Like Stagnant Worship, There’s A Good Chance It Is

If you or your song leader are leading worship in the same style of music, with the same format and the same service structure, things may begin to feel stagnant. Consider shaking things up! Although our God is a God of order, He was anything but predictable. He was always blowing things out of the water and turning things upside down.

Have you ever introduced other worship elements or done a responsive reading? Have you ever switched up the way you do communion with an extended prayer time or even a sermon dedicated to its understanding?

No matter what you do, just do something different. If things feel stale, it could very well be because they are. Mix it up!

Be Intentional About The Flow Of Your Service

Are you leading these people from their arrival at your church into deeper worship or are you just wanting them to get with the program? Oftentimes, worship bands start with a song that almost demands thoughtful, deep worship and then the worship leader is disappointed or judgemental when they don’t respond or sing with the same heartfelt praise.

If this is you, please remember that your job is to lead them from where they are, at their pace, toward deeper worship. Don’t forget that you have poured over these songs, practiced them, and you’re prepared. You probably were there early to practice and set up so that you’re ready to go when people walk in. However, they might not be! They could’ve had a rough morning, so give them a break. Better yet, lead them into a transition from the harsh reality of life on this planet, to the throne room of God.

This can happen with a welcome, a responsive reading, or even a fun song that helps people get focused but doesn’t demand a deep dive into worship. You could even have a meet and greet! If you ever wonder why they can’t just walk in ready to go, remember that you probably didn’t either. You got there early, so give them some time too! Again, it’s not as much about you worshiping in front of them, it’s about leading them in worship.

Not Everyone Connects To God Through Music

People don’t need to connect with God through music in order to worship. Do you know how many people have been told that they’re not musical or have been laughed at when trying to sing? So many people experience this, and we wonder why people don’t always sing out loud in worship. Give them a break, and give them some options too! You can make it easier for them to worship, but remember, we don’t need music to worship.

Rather than saying, “Give the Lord a clap offering” you could invite them to take a moment to celebrate God, whether you clap or be silent or even shout. Another thing you could do is create silence. Give them the option to be silent if they want to be. You could say something like, “Let’s take a moment of silence. You might want to hold your hands out and consider how beautifully and intricately you’ve been created.” People might be uncomfortable with silence, so you could play quiet instrumentals or something like that.

2 Key Things To Remember

Firstly, I want you to remember that you can share things you learn in a sweet, non-threatening way. Feel free to share all that you know, but be intentional about how you do it. You could say something like, “Hey, here’s a link to this podcast, I thought you might like the way that they are leading!”. Yes, you can totally share new things if others are open to it, but remember the balance of authority and responsibility. If you have no authority or relationship, that leaves you with little influence.

Secondly, I want to encourage you to consider that you have 111 waking hours in the week to worship however you’d like. You only have 1 or 2 Sunday morning hours to be an incredible light in your community of believers. I think we all need to get this a little more, myself included. I have over 100 waking hours to worship God through dance, music, prayer, silence, and even nature! It’s my responsibility to stay connected to my creator, to grow, and to worship.

Shake Things Up!

Worship leaders and pastors, shake things up a bit! Do you need to build deeper relationships with the people in your congregation to better understand how you can lead them? Consider the different elements that you can introduce like responsive readings, traditional hymns, or a simple worship chorus.

Thoughts To Share With Your Worship Team

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