If you are looking for worship advice, chances are you are dealing with an unresponsive audience. If you’ve been leading worship for a while, you’ve probably come across such a congregation, and because each group is different, it’s often difficult to know how to deal with the situation. What works for one group may not work for another or even your specific situation, however there are some general worship tips that can make a difference when faced with an unresponsive audience.
The Basic Tips for Worship
First, the worship leader’s basic tips apply in almost every situation. You should look at the type of material that you are using on the service and, in particular, the type of songs. Are there too many new ones? Are there too many old ones? Are you offering the kind of songs you like instead of what your audience likes?
Next, take a look at your performance and musicians or singers and ask yourself if this is conducive to worship in your church. Does your band make too much noise and turn off some members? Are they too soft so that people don’t have to sing enthusiastically to hear themselves? Are they in their own little world and completely misinterpret or even worse ignore the responses from the audience? Are they playing bad notes and sound horrible? One of the easiest worship tips to apply is to make sure the sound is pleasant, well played and well sung, as well as being well presented. If you do this, people will enjoy it and be more inclined to relax and really worship.
Top Worship Tips for the Stage
If you lead praise and worship in your church, one of the best tips I can offer is to minimize your conversation between songs. Many feel like they have to preach a mini sermon, especially if something goes wrong! True worship is based more on the ability of the Spirit than our ability to speak, so if you want to see God do something wonderful, try to speak less and let the Spirit work more in hearts.
That said, saying the right thing at the right time can also be effective. Playing an inspiring musical interlude is another way you can affect the mood of the gathering and open people’s hearts. Therefore, one of the most effective tips for leading worship is to be open to innovative and inspiring changes in music and mood, rather than being locked into a set format. I mean, if you decide to do the chorus twice at the end of the song, and the Holy Spirit is about to take off for the third time, if you follow the plan, you will miss the blessings! Be open, innovative, and flexible enough to change depending on the direction of worship time.
Top tips for worship
If you are faced with an unresponsive audience, the best tips for leading worship that I have shared above may fail if you are not prepared as a worship leader. Therefore, the best tips for leading worship are to be prepared in heart (walking close to the Lord and in close fellowship with Him) and be prepared in capacity (studying and learning about leading worship). Having a strong relationship with the Lord and a strong background in leadership theories and principles will fully prepare you for an unreceptive audience.
Ultimately, your calling as a worship leader is about service, not glory and success (Mark 10:45). If you use every opportunity to lead as an opportunity to serve, then you can do all you can and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit. Whether they respond, raise their hands, or sit in stormy silence, serving means you go ahead and do your best regardless of the results.
So the next time you lead church worship, apply these tips for worship, then commit your ways to the Lord and see what He can do with an unresponsive audience.
