Confidence is one key element to worship leadership in the local church. Not self-centered overconfidence… but the “I’ve got a handle on the situation” kind that sets the congregation at ease. The kind of confidence that allows others to join you. The kind of confidence that thinks less about yourself and more about Jesus, the mission, the people, and your ministry.
Confidence in worship leadership makes all the difference.
Where do we get this confidence? Here are seven ways to consider:
From Scripture and Prayer
True confidence comes from God. We can only be fruitful when we “remain in Him” (John 15). As we read His word and spend time in prayer, our purpose, our passions and our ministries grow naturally. This cycle continues. Here are some of my favorite verses that help bring confidence in my life.
From Calling
Thinking back to how God called you into ministry or into this particular ministry will give you confidence when you need it. When the going gets tough, and there are times when it will try to reflect on your call to serving in the church. A church worship leader is serving God by serving people – in that local setting. Be confident in your leadership. [Read: How To Stay Connected To Your Church (And How To Leave Should You Need To)]
From Preparation
Confidence comes from good preparation. This preparation is both short term and long term. On a practical level, when you have the songs together, the charts are right, the rehearsal is effective and everyone is on board, then you have a level of confidence you cannot otherwise get. Long term preparation is how you continue to grow in your craft. The longer you walk down this worship leading road, the more confidence you will gain. Every week stacks on the previous one and your experience helps you gain confidence. Read: Preparing For Worship Changes The Outcome
From A Good Relationship With Your Pastor
The worship leader/pastor relationship is really important in the church. When you have a great working relationship with your pastor, you can be more confident about your ministry. When you’re able to help support the leader well, you’re able to be more creative and you’re aligned with the same mission and vision. These things help give a worship leader great confidence.
From A Good Relationship With Your Team
When your team is enjoying solid community, a good culture and good momentum, it’s easy to have confidence as you serve with them. Leading people is no easy task. It requires an investment of time, energy and life. As you work to know your team members, connect with them and grow in faith with them, the overall confidence of the team grows. Read: Staying on Course as a Worship Team
From Being Able To Deal With Failure
No one is perfect. Understanding – and being okay with the fact – that you will fail somewhere along the way, is a great confidence booster. For some reason, just knowing this, and rolling with it when it happens is a huge blessing in the life of a leader. Confidence comes as we take risks and are successful. The caveat here is that if you are in the habit of taking risks, you must know that some will work and some won’t.
From A Faithful Off Stage Life
You can’t live two lives. You must lead a life of integrity. Your words and actions off stage will have more impact than your words and actions on stage. And you will have more confidence if those two are congruent. As you are living a faithful “everyday life”, then your on stage worship leadership confidence can grow.
Never forget that ultimately Jesus is the worship leader of the church (Heb. 10:19). This alone may sum up why we can have confidence. The church belongs to God and Jesus is the head of the church. Be a faithful steward, confident that God has you where you need to be, for now.
CHANGE THE CULTURE OF YOUR WORSHIP TEAM
We’ve developed a few Conversations and Culture Cards that can be downloaded, printed and handed out during your circle time to talk and discuss culture changing topics. Each card comes with a quote, a question, scripture and prayer.
