CFBC WORSHIP LEADER GUIDELINES & CHECKLIST
1) Preparation
a) Mental and Spiritual preparation:
(1) Pray and offer the worship service up to our Lord
(2) Pray for one another on the team for peace in our spirit. Specifically we:
(a) Pray for God’s Word—when we are asking according to God’s Word, we are seeking His will to take over ours. That would lead to assurance of His promise. 1
(b) Pray for spiritual qualities—Paul wrote in Phil 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but the interests of others.” Humility is definitely the one of most important qualities when serving Him. Remember He died on the cross for us in humility. There are other qualities that we want to pray: kindness, teachable spirit, forgiveness, obedience, discernment, purity, responsibility, courage, servanthood, passion for God, contentment, faith and love. 2
1, 2 are adapted from Chapter 2, Section 3 of Worship Team, New Heart Music Ministries
b) Selection of songs
i) Get the sermon schedule for the Sunday(s) that you would be leading.
ii) Ask our Pastors for the theme of the sermon if it is not obvious in the sermon schedule.
iii) Select the number of songs based on the length of those songs and whether there are any special events during the service, such as communion and testimonies. Usually 4 to 5 songs will be fine.
iv) Response songs: ask the pastor in charge if there are specific needs and ideas that he may have for the response. Whether he would like you to lead that as well.
v) In other words, get to know the service.
c) Get familiar with the songs
i) Practice the songs and picture in your mind how you would like things to be on that particular Sunday. Ask some questions of yourself:
ii) How many times do you want to sing a praise chorus? Or how many verses do you want to sing the hymn?
iii) How do I tie the songs together in a good flow?
iv) Any specific message from the songs that you would like to say a few words (remember: only a few words… not a sermon).
d) Be considerate when it comes to new songs
i) Avoid picking a brand new song to be the first song because warm up to the worship is important. We could usually build up “momentum” off the first song.
ii) You may consider saying the new song again the following week if you are leading.
iii) Remember we would want the congregation worshipping too.
e) Practice is important!
i) Practice with your team so that you, vocalists and musicians are familiar with the flow of the songs. Also, articulate the focus of your worship songs so they understand and blend in with you!
ii) If necessary, seek feedback from you team members during practice. Two minds are always better than one. (Ec 4:9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.)
f) Sequence or Flow of the songs
i) Why do you pick these particular songs for the worship?
(1) For example, songs that could be related to the scriptures or to the particular sermon for the week (or sermon series.)
g) Lyrics and overheads
i) Prepare the electronic overheads (PowerPoint is the standard program that we use) that will be used in the services
(1) Font size for the words should be at least 32. For Chinese Characters, it should be at least 36,
(2) Have the songs in sequence
(3) Make sure the CCLI # 491199 for CFBC is on each slide
h) Rest well the night before—a little rest will go a long way
2) Getting ready on Sunday before services
a) Mental and Spiritual preparation:
i) Pray and offer the worship service up to our Lord
(1) Pray for one another on the team for peace in our spirit. See Section 1 on P. 1 for specifics.
ii) To quote: "Worship is legitimate when God is its focus." (Elmer Towns, Worshiping With Eyes Wide Open.)
b) Others areas:
i) The worship leader is in charge loading the overhead file into the laptop. Either do it him-/her-self or find someone to do it for you. Also, the worship leader needs to fine someone to do the overhead for you during the services.
ii) It would be good if the worship team could assemble around 45 minutes before the service, especially if drums and other musical instrument need to be set up. The worship leader may want to come even an hour earlier.
(1) It is helpful if the worship leader understands a bit of the sound (PA) system.
(2) Have your musicians set up the instrument
(3) Communicate with the sound technician to set up the PA and sound system. For example:
(a) How many mic’s do you need?
(b) Do you need the sound monitor?
(c) Volume and the blending of the instrument and voices
(4) It is usually helpful to warm up a bit with the musicians and vocalists. Also, pick a song or two to warm up with.
3) During the Service
a) Avoid Talking Too Much
i) Never preach
(1) After all you are leading the singing, not the talking
ii) Fellowship & cell group singing versus Sunday worship
(1) Sunday worship is NOT a fellowship sharing time.
(2) It may be helpful to write out what you want to say.
iii) Respect silence
(1) Time of reflection.
(2) Keep it simple (KIS)—Simplicity can go a long way.
b) Getting People’s Attention
i) Observe
(1) Maintain eye contact with the congregation if at all possible.
ii) Flexibility is the key!
(1) "A worship leader stays in touch with the people in order to sense their needs." (Sally Morgenthaler, Leading Vs. Performance.) We could be in touch with the congregation in a variety of ways: our voice, our words, our eye contact and our inviting gestures, for instances.
iii) Listen to your team
(1) Listen to your musicians and vocalists. Also, vocalize your cues to your team if necessary. For example, let’s sing this (or chorus) one more time. This is helpful if you decide to “ad lib” a bit.
iv) Your words
(1) Be positive!
(2) Relax—Taking a deep breath before starting to sing may help
(3) Your lips help in the proper pronunciation of the words. Thus, the congregation follows your example.
(4) Remember you’re leading. So lead with your voice, steady and strong. In addition, your conviction and commitment to worship is important. Try to cue the congregation to come in with you, especially for newer songs.
(5) Let the Spirit work through you, your team and the music.
c) Other helpful things
i) Check whether the songs that you are going to sing have been used frequently in the past few months.
ii) Use recorded music as a last resort.
iii) Variety is good.
iv) Food For Thought from The Purpose Driven Life, “Worship is our natural response to God's amazing love, mercy and grace. The Heart of Worship is surrender.” We worship Him because we want to PLEASE Him and your leading is an important element in bringing the congregation along for that purpose, the total surrender.
v) Finding a replacement song leader—
(1) You may have an unexpected emergency or a change of your schedule that you would not be able to lead songs on a Sunday that you have signed up. Please find your own replacement. It would be appropriate to find your replacement on the sign-up schedule, like offering to switch with another song leader who may have signed on another Sunday. Notify the respective worship coordinator (Chinese or English) and the chair of the Music and Worship Committee of the change.