One question that every Worship Leader ends up asking at one point or another is, “How do I build our worship team?” We are constantly looking for more talented guitarists, gifted singers, knowledgable keyboardists, killer drummers, and sometimes it seems like they’re nowhere to be found. I’ve been in different church cultures, different worship teams, different roles, and this is always a prevalent question. We by no means have everything figured out in this department, but I have found 2 things to be true when it comes to building your worship ministry. Whether you are one church, multisite, or anything in between, these 2 steps can help you begin to build your worship ministry.
1. TO GET MORE PEOPLE, YOU HAVE TO BUILD PEOPLE.
The goal here is better, not bigger. Here’s one question to ask yourself: Are you waiting for the people to come so you can build the ministry God has given you a vision for? Or are you taking the action steps to build the ministry that people want to be a part of? God popped that question into my heart in a moment of frustration. I was upset and wondering why more people didn’t want to get involved. I mean, after all, we do have an amazing worship culture..and a captivating team culture..and an even better discipleship culture..right? Then I started to become convicted. I was so busy just looking for people to play on the weekend, that I was neglecting the people that serve consistently and are bought in to our mission and vision. If you want musicians and singers in your church or in your area to come and be a part of the vision, there has to be a vision. How are you building your team members to be better followers of Jesus? Are they leaving better husbands, wives, sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers? Are you pushing them to be better musicians or singers? Are you developing leaders or are you simply using people? If you build a healthy foundation and culture, the people will come..and stay. The problem is, you can’t do it backwards.
2. DON’T BE AFRAID TO HUSTLE
Once you’ve begun to build a better (not bigger) worship ministry, then you can begin to hunt down the people. Here at NLC we don’t settle. Every weekend is the Super Bowl to us. We WILL have a full band and tech team at every location. We have set a standard of excellence, and we believe that this standard helps us create a better environment for people to meet and experience Jesus. With 6 locations, and our 7th launching soon, that means we need over 50 musicians every weekend, and those people normally don’t fall out of the sky.
As the Worship Director, I have to continually hustle and find people. Our Worship Leaders have to continually hustle and get people plugged in. A healthy worship ministry isn’t going to fall into your lap. It’s going to take hours, sweat, and frustration, but good things never come easily. We have used every method in the book, and the ones that have yet to be written, in order to get people in church and serving on our teams. People want to be a part of something great, but a lot of times they don’t even know you exist. Don’t be afraid to call; make the ask.
Don’t allow your contentment to be the reason your worship ministry isn’t growing and thriving. Get out there. Find people. Don’t be afraid to take a risk and do something you’ve never done.
So in order to build a stronger and more healthy worship ministry, start by building the people you DO have. Set a foundation and a culture that can’t be shaken. Develop leaders, don’t just use people. Once you’ve started that, don’t be afraid to hustle. Get out there, find the people. Take a risk, pray, and see God open doors that weren’t there before.
1. TO GET MORE PEOPLE, YOU HAVE TO BUILD PEOPLE.
The goal here is better, not bigger. Here’s one question to ask yourself: Are you waiting for the people to come so you can build the ministry God has given you a vision for? Or are you taking the action steps to build the ministry that people want to be a part of? God popped that question into my heart in a moment of frustration. I was upset and wondering why more people didn’t want to get involved. I mean, after all, we do have an amazing worship culture..and a captivating team culture..and an even better discipleship culture..right? Then I started to become convicted. I was so busy just looking for people to play on the weekend, that I was neglecting the people that serve consistently and are bought in to our mission and vision. If you want musicians and singers in your church or in your area to come and be a part of the vision, there has to be a vision. How are you building your team members to be better followers of Jesus? Are they leaving better husbands, wives, sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers? Are you pushing them to be better musicians or singers? Are you developing leaders or are you simply using people? If you build a healthy foundation and culture, the people will come..and stay. The problem is, you can’t do it backwards.
2. DON’T BE AFRAID TO HUSTLE
Once you’ve begun to build a better (not bigger) worship ministry, then you can begin to hunt down the people. Here at NLC we don’t settle. Every weekend is the Super Bowl to us. We WILL have a full band and tech team at every location. We have set a standard of excellence, and we believe that this standard helps us create a better environment for people to meet and experience Jesus. With 6 locations, and our 7th launching soon, that means we need over 50 musicians every weekend, and those people normally don’t fall out of the sky.
As the Worship Director, I have to continually hustle and find people. Our Worship Leaders have to continually hustle and get people plugged in. A healthy worship ministry isn’t going to fall into your lap. It’s going to take hours, sweat, and frustration, but good things never come easily. We have used every method in the book, and the ones that have yet to be written, in order to get people in church and serving on our teams. People want to be a part of something great, but a lot of times they don’t even know you exist. Don’t be afraid to call; make the ask.
Don’t allow your contentment to be the reason your worship ministry isn’t growing and thriving. Get out there. Find people. Don’t be afraid to take a risk and do something you’ve never done.
So in order to build a stronger and more healthy worship ministry, start by building the people you DO have. Set a foundation and a culture that can’t be shaken. Develop leaders, don’t just use people. Once you’ve started that, don’t be afraid to hustle. Get out there, find the people. Take a risk, pray, and see God open doors that weren’t there before.
Clint Ledford is the Worship Director of Next Level Church, where he continually pastors the worship leaders across all of NLC's 7 locations, builds worship sets for the weekend experiences, and writes songs for the NLC Music worship collective.
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