I’ve been to a few churches this year that don’t have a worship leader and struggle with where to find one. It’s a hot topic among normative size churches, and no one has a good solution. As the older generation of worship leaders are retiring, there doesn’t seem to be a pool of younger ones behind them to step up and fill the gap. Most of our seminaries don’t offer a music degree plan any longer but churches still need a trained musician to lead.
The way I see it…
To find a worship leader today requires thinking outside the box. He or she doesn’t necessarily have to have a call on their life to full time ministry and may have played a gig last night at a local venue. They may be willing to help your church for minimal pay just for the experience. Here is a list of 10 ideas maybe you haven’t thought of in your search for musical help.
- Contact your local community college music department
- Google Music Teachers Near Me and ask for recommendations
- Host a regular open mic night / karaoke at your church and see what kind of talent shows up
- Create a weekly jam session at your church for instrument players
- Ask a nearby church if you can borrow some of their extra talent on Sundays
- Ask a nearby church to pre-record a song set for you with or without vocals
- Promote your need on a community bulletin board (physical and digital ads)
- Minimize the number of songs sung and emphasize other things during the service (prayer, scripture reading, transformational stories, mission moments)
- Find musicians by advertising in Facebook community groups
- Sing along to a YouTube video with lyrics
Here are two bonus ideas:
http://www.Worship.lifeway.com is a resource you can subscribe to that offers help planning a worship service song set.
http://www.Replanthub.com provides worship resources for small, rural churches.
Maybe you’re a church that has plenty of musical talent and you don’t think this blog applies to you. If so, go back and read through the list again, this time thinking about how you can partner with another church to help meet their need.
Keith Durham 