Tonight our youth band led worship for our children’s ministry worship time. The best part was that I was never on the stage. Up until this point I have always been leading with my acoustic guitar, or on piano and singing.
Tonight though it was all the youth.
They chose the songs. They ran the rehearsal. They worked out the order, starting and stopping of each piece. They set up the screens. They ran the slides.
This is the place I hoped we would get to for a while. So how did we get there?
1. Be Patient – Youth led youth bands will not happen immediately in most cases. Ours has been a several year process. Slowly over time I have tried to wean away from being on stage. Tonight, it happened to work out.
2. Keep it Simple – There is no reason to do the latest and hardest music. Stick with songs that have easy progressions, that are in similar keys, and that have easy roadmaps. Use these simple songs to help build confidence. Add more difficult songs later.
3. Be Prepared – One of the most frustrating things is having my youth pull up a song just to discover I had printed the wrong key. It is difficult for the instrumentalist to change, and usually pushes it out of the vocal range the singers are comfortable with. Other things like not having batteries, or having sound set up wrong can tear down confidence, and hinder the groups growth.
4. Resist the Urge to Lead – The hardest thing for me to do is to let the youth lead rehearsal, and then run back up on stage every song to correct something, show something or just take over. I notice the more I can be quiet, stay off the stage, and let them work out the songs their way, the more they grow together as a group and the more confident they become. Sometimes I even leave the room and let them rehearse.
5. Give Youth the Freedom to Arrange – Just because you always start off “How He Loves” softly with a piano, does not mean it is the only correct way. Let the youth arrange the songs so that it fits them, their group, vocals, abilities and personalities the best. I am blown away more often than not by the creativity they can come up with when youth are allowed to be in control.
For those of you who lead worship, and enjoy doing so, it may be a little difficult to set down the guitar, and get off the stage. I encourage you to try. Next time we’ll look at 5 Things You Can Do, Now that You’re Off the Stage.
Read more of our posts about Leading Youth Worship Teams in our Youth Band Basics Series