Why Worship Matters

Does your ministry struggle with worship? Do you have trouble finding students to lead worship? Is worship engaging in your student ministry?

Each of these questions can sometimes give us youth pastors a serious headache. We want our student ministries to have worship, we want our students to lead worship, and we want our students to be engaged in worship! So why does it have to be so difficult? The truth is, it really doesn’t.

Why Worship Anyway?

Worship can seem daunting for most people because our ideal worship setting resembles large conferences, concerts, and mega-churches (I promise I'm not throwing shade; we tend to follow this model in my ministry). In the average youth ministry context, there aren’t paid adults to lead worship. So, we must find alternative methods to regularly lead our students to the throne of Jesus!

Before we can find these alternatives, we must realize what true worship is! Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Our true worship is when we offer ourselves fully to God! I am quite positive that is what we want to see in our student ministries – EVERY SINGLE STUDENT OFFERING THEIR BODIES FULLY TO GOD!

How do we help them do that? First and foremost, by being an example. We must lead by example, and if we don’t pour worship out of ourselves regardless of where we are, how good the music is, what our circumstances are, how can we expect our students to do so? Additionally, we need to ensure our volunteers are doing so as well. This means being enthusiastic at church, being in tune during prayer, soaking in the message, and being engaged during the singing! Can it mean raising your hands during worship? Absolutely, but it is so much more than that!

But My Worship Time Is Still Struggling…

Okay, okay… We all want our worship time (the actual music) to be better. We want it to be fun, uplifting, and engaging. How do we do that? Well, it starts by being extremely patient. We have to be patient in developing student leaders who can sing, play an instrument, and, more importantly, lead the room.

I have been blessed over the past two years to have two amazing students lead my student worship team. Before that, we struggled. One has moved off to college, and the other is close behind, so I am about to struggle again. I know it’s coming. However, I am preparing now for that time!

I am preparing by working with younger students interested in leading worship. I am preparing my other students by utilizing different methods of worship instead of just singing. I am preparing by praying God will lead, guide, and direct our services however He sees fit! Regardless, I still have to be patient.

Younger leaders tend to know fewer songs, may not understand keys, and may not understand the technology (especially if you use click tracks and in-ear monitors). This is where you come in! You have to work with them consistently, patiently, and with grace. Building anything good takes a lot of time, and worship is no different. One thing I have learned is that sometimes it is better to try different methods than to overuse the same songs because your students don’t know any other songs. AND THAT IS OKAY TOO!

Programming Worship Into Your Setting

For us, we do youth nights differently. We do not play games every week. Games are set aside for special theme nights that happen every fifth week. Worship is part of every week, though. We are trying to build our students to love church, not just youth ministry, so we tend to model our services like a traditional church service.

We start with a countdown. Sometimes, we use a worship bumper, and sometimes we don’t, and then we invite our students to worship. We always try to start our services with a higher-energy song and then move into more spiritual, vertical songs. We do three or four, a message, and then another song for a time of response. Regardless of whether there is a full band, an acoustic guitar, or a karaoke version of a song being played, if the students are steered in the appropriate direction, your worship setting will change.

It took us months, but it has finally happened. We are fully student-led, which allows the students to buy in more. They ask to lead the welcome, they ask to pray, they ask to lead the announcements, they raise their hands, they pray for one another, and I truly believe they are starting to grasp worship.

So, What Is The Point?

The point is this: regardless of your setup, talent, number of students, technology, lighting, or whatever else may be an issue, worship is an essential tool to meet with King Jesus. Worship is one of the tools we have in our belt to help us enter into His presence. Worship is a vessel for many students to rid themselves of the outside circumstances that this life so often hurls their way. Worship is fun. Worship is sentimental. Worship is real.

Don’t let the circumstances of your ministry bring down a very real instrument designed by our Creator to be utilized by us to meet with Him. Worship is essential. Worship is a method of letting Jesus know just how much we love Him.

Share your thoughts with others in our YM360 community:

1. How do you prioritize worship in your ministry setting?
2. What is stopping your ministry from having an abundance of worship?