How Can We Have Dynamic, Meaningful Worship?

Where does dynamic, meaningful worship come from?

It’s the result of prayer, planning, and preparation.

Prayer

When your personal time with God—reading His Word and talking to Him throughout each day—is dynamic and consistent, you’ll be receptive to His prompting for your personal life and for your responsibilities in developing worship sets that create a meaningful worship experience.

My prayer to God is not limited to my morning routine or my time before bed at night. I talk to God during my day. If I’m frustrated, I talk to Him like a friend. If I don’t know what to do in a certain situation, I ask Him for wisdom. When I read my Bible, I see what God says about Himself and about me. My prayers are based on that understanding, and I like to use those words from the Bible when I pray. Here’s an example: “Father God, I don’t know what to do in this situation, but James 1:5 says that if I don’t have the wisdom I need, I can ask you and you’ll give it to me. So I’m asking for wisdom, and I’m thanking you in advance that you’ll show me what to do, in Jesus’ Name.”

In a previous blog, I talked about corporate worship being an overflow of your personal worship. Even more than that, your personal understanding of the Bible affects the songs you choose, which impacts the depth of the worship service. If you don’t know what the New Testament says about believers and about God’s interaction with us, then you may be tempted to choose songs that focus only on a person’s experiences and feelings instead of on songs that have a primary focus on God—who He is and what He’s done.

If we want dynamic, meaningful worship, we need to read the New Testament.

Planning

How do you plan for a service?

I think that the most important thing in planning is to listen. Listen to God’s prompting when you look through your choices of songs. Listen to His prompting about whether He wants you to choose songs based on a theme, like the name of Jesus, or victory, or grace. Ask Him what would please Him for that service; then listen.

Look at where you are in your yearly plan for introducing new songs to the congregation, and include one if it’s time or if you feel prompted to do so.

Look at your record of when you’ve sung a song recently. Have you sung it multiple times recently? If so, why? Do you choose that song because you like it or because it has special meaning for you? When you keep a record of what songs have been sung and when, then you can avoid overusing a song to the point where the congregation no longer engages. Keep it fresh. Here’s more information about creating a dynamic set list.

Think about who will be on the team for that service. What’s their skill level and what can they handle musically. Then adjust your arrangements to accommodate that.

Plan your rehearsal so it flows efficiently. Here’s a link to 10 steps to a great rehearsal.

If we want dynamic, meaningful worship, we need to be thoughtful and organized, and we need to listen.

Preparation

On the day of the service, what do you do to prepare yourself?

I recommend personal prayer and worship while you get dressed and as you travel to the church or other venue. When you arrive, be responsive to God and to the people. As you’re with the team, pray together, do your brief run-through of the songs in the set, stay in unity, stay focused on God, and listen for His prompting and direction for the service.

Remember, worship ministry isn’t about you; it’s not about drawing attention to yourself. It’s about pointing toward God, revealing His awesomeness through song, encouraging reverence of Him, and honoring what He’s done and who He is. It’s about creating an opportunity where believers can join together in celebrating the One who loves them deeply, and they can express their love to Him in return.

If we want dynamic, meaningful worship, we need to remember why we do this.