If you’re reading this, then I’m guessing you fit into one of these categories:
You’re a youth leader, but…
You have no idea where to start when it comes to leading a musician on your team.
You know how to lead your worship team, but, in the craziness of your schedule, you need an easier way to do it.
You’ve been leading worship yourself, but you know you need to start training someone new.
You’ve just been watching the worship programming for a while, and you’re realizing the worship leader talks too much, uses too much abstract imagery, or resolves the tension of the message before you even get a chance to give it.
No matter which of these you might be, we’ve got good news for you: We see you! And we’ve decided to do something to help.
It’s a new piece of content called the Worship Leader Guide, and it’s included in every XP3 Premium series.
Here’s what it does:
The Worship Leader Guide helps equip your worship leader by providing them with a summary of the series, verbal transitions to use as the lead, new things to try to engage your students, and a tip from the pros. The difference maker?
Everything was written with the exact age group you lead in mind.
For example, if you’re using the middle school Worship Leader Guide, the transitions will use language and concepts that speak directly to middle schoolers. Ever heard the phrase “vanity of the flesh?” Well, your middle schoolers haven’t, either. That’s why you won’t find it in the middle school guide. The songs will be stylistically appropriate for your middle schoolers, the lyrics concrete, and the themes understandable. And the same is true for high school! What works for a middle school student will be too immature for a high schooler. That’s why the tips, tricks, and information provided in each guide is designed to speak directly to them.
Included in the Worship Leader Guide is also a Try This section, created for each specific age group (middle school or high school) by a worship leader who gets the difference between the 11th grade phase and the 7th grade phase. All because we know that you can’t lead a student in worship the same way you might lead anyone else at your church. Sure, they may be able to sing the words, but the goal of worship isn’t for your students just to sing the songs. It’s for them to connect with the truth in the songs—to understand what they are singing and why they are singing it.[bctt tweet=”The goal of worship isn’t for your students just to sing the songs. It’s for them to connect with the truth in the songs—to understand what they are singing and why they are singing it.” username=”Reeseyspieces”]
Each guide is written by an experienced worship leader, giving you get relevant and relatable ideas from someone who really knows how to lead in youth ministry environments. Whether your worship leader is a seasoned pro, new to youth ministry, or someone new to leading worship in general, the Worship Leader Guide is full of content that can help them right where they are.
So, back to you, the Ministry Leader. Here’s how you can put this helpful tool to work for you!
If your worship leaders are pros, pass it off. If you’ve got a well-trained worship leader who just gets it, as soon as you download the XP3 content you can send them the guide directly. Let them take a look to get up to speed on the series info and soak in all the new ideas the guide offers. Think about it! Your worship leader gets the best context to help them better plan and prepare, and all you have to do is send an email. Easy, right?
If your worship leaders are new to youth ministry, use it as a teaching tool. Your worship leaders might be trained musicians, but how well do they know how to approach worship developmentally? Do they know how to lead to both middle and high school groups individually? The transitions and song choices in the guide are all meant to help coach these worship leaders to better speak to and lead students specifically.
If your worship leaders are starting from the ground up, coach them. Go through the guide together and help them incorporate some of the ideas into your specific context. Watch them as they lead, then give them constructive feedback and ways to improve. Help them develop their speaking and transition skills just as they develop their creative and musical skills. If you aren’t able to lead or coach them, pass on the guide to someone who can!
Leading worship doesn’t have to be your spiritual gift. Let your leaders do what they do best and simply come alongside them for the journey. With the Worship Leader Guide, XP3 makes it as easy as possible for you to resource your team in an effort to better reach your students.
To learn more, take a look at an example of a Middle School Worship Leader Guide HERE and a High School Worship Leader Guide HERE. Or, reach out to your Orange Specialist!