{"id":3382,"date":"2014-10-24T11:59:38","date_gmt":"2014-10-24T16:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=3382"},"modified":"2017-06-22T06:44:12","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T11:44:12","slug":"leading-students-in-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/leading-students-in-worship\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading Students in Worship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/10\/LeadingStudents.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3383 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/10\/LeadingStudents-1024x447.jpg\" alt=\"LeadingStudents\" width=\"1024\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/10\/LeadingStudents-1024x447.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/10\/LeadingStudents-300x131.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/10\/LeadingStudents-160x69.jpg 160w, https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/10\/LeadingStudents.jpg 2037w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a> <em>By Wade Huggins<\/em> Many times, the first venue for a new worship leader is at a youth gathering. What\u2019s next? How do you best invite these students to join you in worship? I\u2019ve had this conversation with many youth pastors, bands, and worship leaders. We all agree, students are not the easiest to lead in worship. Let\u2019s be honest there is a lot to compete with in the lives of the average student today. If you\u2019ve ever felt discouraged after leading a youth gathering, you are not alone. So how do we best direct their attention away from so many competing interests and guide them towards fixing their eyes on Jesus? Here are a few things to keep in mind next time you step in front of a youth group to lead worship.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Meet them where they are and be in that moment with them.<\/strong> I can&#8217;t stress how important this is. I remember an evening not long ago the students looked worn out. It turned out that most of them had just finished a long day of standardized testing. I knew that there was going to be no way to get them going and energized. They needed rest. It was a great opportunity to lead them to a place of rest in the presence of God. Then there are the nights where the students have all seemingly consumed two 12oz Red Bulls and are bouncing off of the walls. You may not have any chance of knowing where they are at until twenty minutes before things start. So plan for this. If you\u2019ve planned and rehearsed for an energetic start to the night, but notice they need some rest, be willing to change your planned direction to best meet the students where they are.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Give them direction.<\/strong> Some worship leaders like to think that if they just get up there and sing through the song, God will do the rest. There is both truth and myth at work in this philosophy. While you have to allow the Spirit to break through and guide the hearts and minds of students into worship, consider that it is through you that the Holy Spirit is doing that work. Be prayerful about the worship set. Find ways to give guidance in the spaces between songs. Use transitions to guide the student\u2019s hearts <em>and <\/em>minds in worship. This can be as simple as guiding them to repeat a small phrase of scripture with you, or it can be a devotional thought, or it can be a simple scripture reading. Remember that you are taking a part in raising up the next generation of worshippers. Teach them how to unleash their spirit to worship God. Talk about why we sometimes raise our hands in worship. Talk about why we bow down. Talk about why we worship. Aaron Keyes has some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aaronkeyes.com\/teachings\/\">great thoughts<\/a> on the Hebrew words for worship and praise. Share some of these thoughts with the students. I have found them to be incredibly helpful and think you will as well.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t treat them like children.<\/strong> \u2013 This seems self-explanatory but the fastest way to lose a group of students is to treat them like they are kids. You would be surprised by how the phrase, \u201cHey kids!\u201d causes them to immediately disconnect. Respect them by not treating them as children and they will be more willing to follow you where you lead them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Know why they may feel uncomfortable<\/strong> <strong> &#8211; <\/strong>In a room of students ranging from 6<sup>th<\/sup> graders to seniors in high school, honestly, you are going to have some who are very uncomfortable singing. I\u2019ve found this to be especially true with middle school boys. Their voices are changing and some are embarrassed to sing. We need to be careful not to lead them to think that loud singing equals worship. That misses the mark. Instead of encouraging them to sing louder, try encouraging them to find words in the song that are really speaking to them. Give them direction to worship silently if they wish. The singing will come as their heart grows in worship for God.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Invest in the lives of the students you are leading.<\/strong> &#8211; Be more to them than the guy or gal up there on the stage singing songs. Be their friend. Recognize that you are in a position of influence and use that influence to point them to Christ.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be Yourself<\/strong> \u2013 Students today see right through the fa\u00e7ade. Authentically worship God as you lead. Do not be afraid to be vulnerable. You are not Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, or Hillsong \u2013 don\u2019t try to be. Be yourself and allow God to use you to lead the students in worship.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lead Familiar Songs<\/strong> \u2013 They want to sing songs they know and are more likely to engage in worship when they feel they know the songs. Sometimes it takes singing something over and over to really allow the words to be written on our hearts. Help them embody the songs through leading songs they are familiar with. Find two or three songs that the students really enjoy singing and try to sing one of them every week.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now, go out there, be yourself, and lead the next generation of worshippers! <em>Wade serves as the Worship Pastor at First Baptist in Athens, TX. His primary hub for leading is the local church but he also leads worship at camps and other student events. He is in the process of completing a masters degree at Baylor University&#8217;s Truett Seminary. Wade loves The Lord, Kristin (his wife of three years), the church, the Texas Rangers, and a delicious sandwich every now and again. <\/em> <em>Hit me up on on Twitter and Instagram <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wadehuggins\">@wadehuggins<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<div><em>Blog: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wadehuggins.com\/\">www.wadehuggins.com<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Wade Huggins Many times, the first venue for a new worship leader is at a youth gathering. What\u2019s next? How do you best invite these students to join you in worship? I\u2019ve had this conversation with many youth pastors, bands, and worship leaders. We all agree, students are not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.5.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Leading Students in Worship - Loop Community Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/leading-students-in-worship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leading Students in Worship - Loop Community Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Wade Huggins Many times, the first venue for a new worship leader is at a youth gathering. 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