TWLL #2 - 4 Things You Can Do Right Now To Help Your Room Engage In Worship

We’ve all been there.  We’re onstage lost in worship, and then open our eyes to discover that the room is NOT with us 😂.

Maybe this has happened to you in the past, or maybe it’s something you’re currently experiencing.  

Either way I want to share a few things I’ve done over the years, to help you help the room really engage in worship when you’re leading.

Let’s dive in.

Number 1. You yourself engaging in worship. 

When the worship leader worships, the room worships.  Seriously, your example as the worship leader goes a long way.  

It’s like a ripple effect.  When you engage your heart with God as you lead worship, something shifts in the room that serves as a magnet to draw the room in.  

I’ve watched this play out not just as I’ve led worship from the stage- but also when I’ve been in the room.  I’ve noticed that when the worship leader onstage is worshipping, I feel a sense of permission, a sense of freedom, and a sense of empowerment to engage my own heart with Jesus in worship.

Number 2. Pick songs the room is familiar with.

If the room is mostly unfamiliar with a song, or they’re getting to know a song, they’ll need a good chunk of time just learning and getting more comfortable with it.  If the room already knows a song, they’re able to take that extra energy and mental space and direct it toward engaging with Jesus in worship. 

That said, there absolutely is a place for bringing in fresh songs to your repertoire!  You just don’t want the bulk of your set list to be new songs.

And I’ll slip this in- there are times when it’s good to pick a song that may not be your favorite- but you know it’s a song the room loves.  In other words, serve the room by doing songs that you know they'll respond to- not just the songs you prefer.

Number 3. Sing out short prayers that direct the room towards worshipping Jesus.

This is something I do pretty frequently in corporate worship settings.  Between songs, or between parts of a song (ex. end of chorus before 2nd verse or bridge) I'll sing out a simple prayer that helps the room re-center and re-focus on Jesus.

I’ll sing out something like “Jesus, we take the eyes of heart, and we look up to You.”  A prayer like that literally directs the room to behold Him, which is where engaged worship starts.

Number 4.  Feel it when you sing it.

When you're leading worship, sing with emotion. A song being sung with feeling and emotion is going to connect with and resonate with the room more deeply, which will help them to engage more deeply in worship.

This doesn’t mean that you have to “turn on” the emotion when you sing.  It means you access the emotion that’s already there in your heart and then express that emotion so it comes through in your singing.

When you access and then express the emotion as you sing, you’re using a simple but powerful human dynamic that God gave us, to help the room enter into or more deeply engage with Jesus in worship.

As you prepare for and then lead your next worship set - take these 4 things to help the room engage, and use them!

That’s it for now.

See you next week.

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