Small group worship leading training

Due to unforseen circumstances, the first small group worship leaders workshop has been cancelled. We'll start on Thursday 28th September instead if thats ok.

Laura Davies's Sponsored Worship Marathon for Durban!!!

Well done laura on completing the worship marathon today! It was a good day but very tiring for Laura who is now resting her weary voice and fingers from playing piano. And to top it all off, BBC Radio Suffolk came along to interview Laura and record her playing, which is due to air on Sunday morning.

You can still donate to Laura's trip through the church office or check out her website

http://www.lauradavies.me.uk/

What makes a great time of worship?

What makes a great congreational worship time?
Quite a few people have remarked how the worship has been pretty good in church over the last few weeks, so I've been deliberating over this very question over the last couple of days and trying to figure out if there is a magic formula for a great time of worship.

But Im wasting my time here as generally there is no magic formula for a great worship set but there are some common factors which we can do which help create a great worship set.

So what are these common factors?

Thinking about my experience and observing others and being a part of amazing worship times led by other leaders has led me to draw some conclusions;

1) The songs need to be well known, with at most one new song or a song that some people might know or sung once or twice. (Putting 'How great is our God' in is generally the way to a great set! You can't go wrong with that one!!)

2) The set needs to flow both musically, lyrically and thematically

3) The worship leader needs know the songs inside out and be ready to lead people to another place.

4) The worship leader needs to lead openly and accessibly (no going off on a tangent leaving everybody else behind) creating short musical spaces in the set for spontinaety with usually a maximum of two. This may seem quite spiritually restrictive, but in a congregational setting you still have to make it accessible. I feel the times to 'go off on one' are in small group settings with a few people who love doing that thing (Ever done a 40 minute worship time on two songs? Its a blast!)

5) The band need to be as one and know where they are going (spiritually and musically!) These two factors go together. One without the other doesn't work when leading a worship set.

6) If 65 % of the congregation are up for it then the most of the rest will usually follow (A rough estimate)

7)The sound guy needs to be the unseen musician sensitively playing the mix with the band.

8) Pray hard over what you have prepared for God and for the people you are leading. He needs to bless these times otherwise its just plain old hard work for us.

These are just some common factors which we can do to make it good, but when it comes down to it if God isn't there and doesn't come then its just hard work. There have been a few times when I can do all these things and it just doesn't happen. Its good but just not great. I dont' know why that happens, all I know is that i've got to keep doing what Im doing.

But what makes it rewarding is hearing the stories about how God has changed lives during these worship times and really moved in people. God flowing through the praise and worship and the times of intimacy and touching his people. For me thats the acid test of a great worship time.