Youth Band Basics #1 – What’s Your Purpose?

I’ve begun updating and expanding  this series in a new set of posts. Go check out “Starting a Student Ministry Worship Team: From the Beginning” where I elaborate more on these thoughts about youth led worship.

So you want a youth worship team in your youth ministry. There is nothing better than youth leading their peers in worship. Many groups want to have a youth worship team, but most do not know to go about starting one. This next series of posts I am going to go through how to start a youth worship team.

First I want you to think about this question.

Why do you want a youth worship team? There are many valid reasons, but defining your purpose will have an effect on everything else you do with the ministry in the future. Define the purpose of your group. Do it in writing. Make sure everyone is in agreement.

Here are some of the most common reasons youth groups start worship teams.

1. Everyone else is doing it? – Not the best reason, but becoming inspired by seeing something another group is doing is not a bad thing. Just realize, there has to be more. If you do it just because others do it, you are not making it your own, it has little direction. Your group has to own it,  it has to be yours.

2. Travel and play? – If your group has aspirations to lead worship out side of your local church youth group, you need to discuss this and prepare accordingly. This will bring up many more questions you will have to answer. Do you have a sound system that can travel? Does your youth group schedule allow for you to have a traveling group? How will you handle bookings, money, travel?

3. Lead Worship For Youth Group – Some groups do a great job leading worship each week for their youth group worship services. If this is the case when will you do rehearsals? How will you handle auditions?

4. Teach Youth Musicians – Some groups do not lead, but spend their time learning. Get a group of aspiring musicians together an use worship music to teach the their instruments, and how to play together as a group. They can have fun and worship God for an hour a week within the group without ever leading.

Some other questions to consider…

How will it work with your youth program?

Will it support or hurt your program?

Is now the right time?

It may seem like I am saying not to start a youth worship team. That is not it at all. What I am saying is make sure you know what the purpose of your group is before you begin.

What would you suggest?