The worship team that you are a part of is the fruit and result of older generations’ investment and discipleship of your generation. Investing in the younger worshippers in your church is vital for the continual growth and development of the Church. For me, I started leading worship at the age of 13 and to be completely honest, I am so grateful for those who have journeyed and taught me throughout my time in the worship team.

 

To tell you a little bit about what my journey has been like, I have been leading worship for 7 years. Starting out at a young age, I had no idea what to do or how to lead worship. To have those around me who were older and a lot more experienced was an absolute blessing to me. They taught me many things about leading worship and being part of a worship team, but best of all, they were great examples of true worship. For years, I have witnessed worshippers lead us into the presence of God during our times of worship and through that, I have learnt what it means to know His presence and how to invite others into His presence. And without them involving me in the team at the age of 13, I believe I wouldn’t be the worshipper I am now. 

 

The young people in your church right now are the next worship leaders, musicians, songwriters, and more, who will soon be leading you in worship. These youths are an integral part of church life, and a huge blessing to your team. Why? Because they bring a fresh perspective on things that others might have overlooked, and they too, have gifts from the Lord that He is wanting to bless the Church with. Let’s be investing in our young people because we want to see them flourish in their musical and leadership gifts, but also because they are an important part of bringing God’s Kingdom through their worship. There are, of course, a few practical questions that are important to answer, especially when it comes to how we practically involve young people in our worship teams. But, it is so important to remember and come back to the “why” before we head into the practicalities of it. Just like us, young people have a lot to learn from others and a lot to teach others. So, let’s create an environment for them to be able to flourish in this.

 

One of the first things we have to consider when investing in the young worshippers in our church is knowing what the best way is to involve them. Is it better to develop youth bands or to develop them in the church worship team? I think both! Putting them in scenarios where they are surrounded by those who are similar age to them and with people older than them, really helps them to learn how to adapt and lead in different environments. In my personal experience, it is so much more daunting to lead your friends and peers in worship at a youth night than on a Sunday morning! These are people that these young people go to school with, and so they might need some encouragement and helpful input before we throw them in the deep end. I have found, from being a youth and a mentor myself, that leading with the young people before we get them to lead by themselves is so important in their journey. Something I find super helpful is the discipleship square (see diagram below), which really captures the heart and vision of investing in people. 

 

 

 

For example, you could start out leading worship at a youth night with a young person as a backing vocalist, so that they can see and observe how you lead worship (Phase 1). Then, there could be a time after that where you could lead a few songs and they lead a few songs (Phase 2), and so on. By going through this square (slowly!), it helps the youth to feel involved and at the same time, released in their gifting and leadership. We want to be a part of their journey in imparting wisdom but also giving them the opportunities to practise their gifts.

 

Involving them in the church worship team is so important in their journey too. What we want to avoid is young people seeing the church worship team as the finish line, where they can say “I’ve made it!”. When young people are involved in both of these, it not only helps them to feel involved in the worship team but also helps to avoid them seeing one team as better than the other. Having them be a part of the team also teaches them how to lead in these two very different environments, which is a great skill to develop. Young worship leaders will learn how the song lists might differ from a youth night to a Sunday morning, and young musicians will learn that there might be more spontaneity on a Sunday morning than a youth night. So, see if you can involve your young people on Sunday mornings, it will really stretch and develop them!

 

Another thing to consider is that most young people are still learning what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and how to express their worship to Him, so we need to be gracious and patient as they go through this journey. This might mean that their musical gifting needs more development and coaching, or that they will need some pastoring and mentoring to help develop their character. Do we change character and gifting requirements for the young people that are joining our church worship teams? Personally, I don’t think so. One of the things I learnt very early on in my journey is that being part of a worship team is fun and beautiful, but at the same time, it’s to be taken seriously. It means coming to practise on time, sending through song lists in advance, learning the songs well enough and coming prepared with my own in-ears. It also means spending time with God in the secret place, learning to become more Christ-like and staying humble when others teach me something new. Of course, we are creating room for them to grow and learn from their mistakes, so stay patient with them, but it is completely fair to talk gently with them when certain requirements are not met frequently. 

 

Something that might help your young people develop their musical gifting is pairing them up with someone from the church worship team. The church worship team should be and should want to be involved in developing our young worshippers. Which worship leader can you pair with that young worship leader? Which electric guitarist can help that young, aspiring electric guitarist? These mentors should not only help musical gifting and practical skills development, but also be an example of the character that you require in your team.

 

So where’s your starting point today? Is it to create a youth band that will lead worship on your youth nights? Is it to get one of your young people involved in your Sunday mornings? Or, is it even to consider expressing to your worship team how important it is that we invest in young people now? 

 

Although there is so much more that I could say, I will just leave you with a question. Who in the younger generation are you investing in?