3 Ingredients for MORE engagement and participation in your worship service

This is Rico.

Rico led for two years before I was hired as the worship pastor at our church.

And after I was hired, he left for three months to travel.

And when he came back last weekend, he said, What the heck?

These people are rocking it.

And he was talking about the church.

They were super engaged.

And he was blown away that in three months, they went from the frozen chosen,

super stoic, not really singing, mostly watching, to participating.

We even had a few people shouting Hallelujah after the set.

And he’s like, What happened?

I led here for for two years and there was zero engagement, and all of

a sudden, three months later, I come back and they’re just super into it.

Well, I’ll tell you what happened.

It’s three simple ingredients that you can immediately

implement into your ministry, and it’s probably not what you think it is.

The truth is, not very much changed in those three months after I came.

It was the same band, it was the same service flow,

it was the same technology and production and speakers and microphones,

the same congregation, the same people.

So many worship leaders think, If I just change this or that or we get an LED

wall, everything’s going to be better.

I’m sorry, that’s not true.

The three simple ingredients that we changed over those three months

is something that doesn’t cost any money at all.

So let me tell you what they are. The first one is stronger songs.

You want to look at your entire song library and eliminate all the weak songs.

What are weak songs?

Weak songs are vague, they’re unclear, they’re not very deep,

they sing superficial truths, they’re not really God-centered.

In fact, I have an entire e-book that you can get below for free

all about the importance of strong songs, how to identify them,

how to pick them, and how to lead them.

So grab that e-book for free right below this video or in the show notes.

But I started to pick stronger songs.

Now, there are a lot of good songs on the radio, but that doesn’t

mean they’re good for church.

A good song on the radio doesn’t make a good congregational song.

You want songs that are singable, that are biblical, that are clear,

that say one thing really well, and that are God-centered, meaning

you’re singing your prayers to God.

A lot of songs on the radio are songs that sing to one another, and that’s fine.

But if you They really want people to engage with God, they need to be singing

their prayers directly to God, ascribe to the Lord, the glory due his name.

So you’re singing to him.

Songs are simply prayers set to music.

And so you want to help people pray and connect with God in the songs.

Let me just give you a couple of examples of songs

that I would consider weak songs.

And I don’t mean this disrespectfully, but just so you get a sense

for what I’m saying.

There’s an old song called Forever Rain, and that song doesn’t really

say anything specific.

Forever Rain, the verses are about you are this, you are that.

But then the chorus comes and it’s like, Oh, I’m running to your arms.

I’m running to your arms.

The riches of your love will always be enough.

Nothing compares to your embrace, Light of the World, Forever Rain.

Okay, if you had to summarise what that song is about, could you?

The bridge is about something different.

The chorus is about something different.

The last line of the chorus doesn’t really tie to the first lines of the chorus.

That’s a weak song.

Don’t make your people sing those kinds of songs.

Strong songs are rich and deep, and they help people to think.

Scripture says, God is seeking worshipers who will worship him spirit and truth.

So heart and head, emotion and intellect.

So you need the intellect.

A lot of worship leaders focus on the heart, how it feels.

But there are a lot of weak, vague, feely songs that don’t say anything clearly.

And you want to teach your people The Bible says we’re supposed

to teach the people with songs, hymns, and spiritual songs.

And so you want to sing songs that are rich, that are biblical, that are deep,

that are clear, like ‘Oh, Praise the Name’ by Hillsong or ‘ King of Kings’ by

Hillsong or ‘Man of Sorrows’ by Hillsong.

They say one thing really well. It’s very clear.

It’s singable. It’s biblical.

So that’s what I mean by sing stronger songs.

That was the first change we made.

And again, you can grab that free e-book below this video.

The second change was stronger leadership.

Now, I’m not talking about talent because because in terms of talent,

Rico blows me out of the water. He’s phenomenal.

He’s a great singer.

He’s got a great personality.

He’s super engaging, great stage presence.

He is like the ideal worship leader.

What I’m talking about when I say leadership is the connexion to the people

in the room, to really making a strong connexion to them, both off the platform

and on the platform, to where you’re helping them feel like

we’re a family, and I’m giving you clear direction on what’s happening.

I’m not just singing songs, I’m leading the room.

I’m not just playing music, I’m pastoring people.

I think that’s a really big distinction because a lot of worship leaders

get on stage and they’re like, I’m going to sing, I’m going to worship, I’m going

to dance, I’m going to get into it, and I’m hoping you’re coming along with me.

No, you actually have to make the connexion with people and bring them

along with you through different things like vocal cues or speaking before service

or leading them mentally, cognitively through speaking

and praying well between the songs.

You want to lead people really well.

And leadership takes clarity.

In order for people to follow you, there needs to be clarity.

There needs to be clear direction.

Just having that strong sense of a leader on the platform guiding us through

this time each week, week after week, they start to get comfortable with you.

They start to get familiar with you.

They start to realise that you’re a real human.

I think a big part of leadership is letting your guard down, being silly

sometimes, being funny, just being normal, acting like a normal human.

You don’t have to act like this super rigid, have it all together person.

People don’t relate to that.

People relate to a normal human.

And so learn to connect with people both on and off the platform and learn

to provide that clarity that they need to feel comfortable to follow you.

As they become more comfortable with you, they will express their praise

more passionately in the seats.

And then the third change that we made that really brought out

more engagement is more scripture.

Yes, it’s that simple, more scripture.

What do I mean by that?

Well, I mean that I start service with scripture almost every single week.

We do a call to worship.

I’m going to be making a video about how to do a great call to worship soon,

so subscribe to make sure you see that.

But I do a call to worship every week where I’m reading some passage

of scripture, a Psalm, or something from the Old Testament, or something

from the New Testament that really centres people’s hearts on the Lord.

A lot of worship readers just get on stage and they start the song right

when the countdown Timer gets to zero and they’re like, Get up, everybody.

Let’s clap. Are you ready to worship?

First of all, I hate that phrase.

Are we only worshipping when we’re singing?

Were they not worshipping when they were waking up this morning

and praying and getting their kids ready and loving their spouse well?

Were they not worshipping during those times?

Are they not going to worship when it’s time to tithe?

I just hate that phrase, Are you ready to worship?

Anyway, side point.

When you get on stage, don’t just start with music.

Start with scripture. Start with a warm welcome.

Start with a greeting. Connect with them.

Be that strong leader.

And then let’s read this passage from Psalm something, something.

Let’s centre our hearts on the Lord.

Let’s state our intentions and start with scripture.

And then more scripture on the screen.

So anytime I have a long instrumental or right before a song starts and there’s

an intro, I put scripture on the screen that relates to either the previous song

or the song we’re going into.

More scripture, more revelation equals more response.

Biblical worship is always revelation first, then response.

So you want to reveal Christ clearly, not just in the songs,

but also through the scriptures.

And so more scripture will lead to more response.

Those were the only three changes we made, and the church woke up in three months.

It didn’t cost any money.

We didn’t have to work really hard.

Just change those three things, and I promise you,

you’ll start to see more engagement.

And if you’re interested in really seeing your church grow in their engagement,

I have an engagement course in the academy that you can try for just one

dollar, and I cover the 14 factors of strong congregational participation.

And I help you understand what are those 14 factors

that go into the church participating and how can you improve each one.

And you can try for just $1 by going to worshipministrytraining.

Com.

Plus, we have nine other courses, live monthly trainings, supportive community,

coaches, lots of stuff in there for you.

But help your church express their praise to God.

Worship leading is not about you, it’s about them.

And so help your church express their praise to God.

You can grab that free e-book below this video or sign up for

the academy for your $1 trial.

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future videos.

And I look forward to seeing you either inside the academy or in the next video.

God bless.