Lead People To Praise God

Lead People to Praise God

By Shawn Stinson (US Ambassador for NLWI)

(Editor’s Note: We are going to start to feature articles written by our Next Level Worship International Ambassadors and Lead Team from all around the world. This article was written by Shawn Stinson, one of our US Ambassadors for Next Level Worship International. Thank you for contributing to our blog!)

When I was a kid, way back in the 1900’s, I thought I had things pretty figured out. I definitely knew what a worship leader’s job was in church. Sunday mornings right before church I would see our church worship leader (aka Minister of Music) sitting on the front pew flipping through a hymnal and making notes. He was deciding, and writing down for the pianist, what hymns we would sing that day. He also directed the church choir. So from those few things I saw him do, I deduced that the worship leader picked the songs, led the songs, and directed the choir in church. That was it.

Lead People to Praise God

Many people these days might agree that those are still the primary functions of a worship leader. (Admittedly, choir isn’t always part of the gig in many places these days.) My years in ministry as a worship leader has taught me that there’s another HUGE part of being a worship leader that doesn’t involve music at all. Psalm 113:3 tells us “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.” Did you notice it didn’t say anything about singing or music? It just said He is to be praised. What if part of a worship leader’s job is to lead people to praise God at all times, even when not on stage?

Minister to the Individual

Know of a church member going through a health crisis? Take time to make a phone call or a quick visit to share some encouraging words. Maybe another church member is dealing with some struggles with their children or another family member. Send them a text to let them know you’re praying for them.

I’ve found that, as a worship leader, if I spend time ministering to people off stage and helping them praise God during life’s good times and bad, they respond to me differently when I am onstage because they know I care about them.

These simple little things we can do as worship leaders not only minister to these individuals, it also gives us a chance to grow a relationship with them. I’ve found that, as a worship leader, if I spend time ministering to people off stage and helping them praise God during life’s good times and bad, they respond to me differently when I am onstage because they know I care about them.

Listen, Love, then Lead

When I stepped into my first full time ministry position, a mentor of mine advised me to “Listen, Love, then Lead.” Those words have stuck with me through all these years. If you’ll take time to listen to your church family members, love on them and allow them to get to know you and love you, then it will be so much easier to lead them in the direction God has led you.      

Shawn Stinson has served in worship ministry for over 30 years. He began his journey into ministry way back in the 1900’s, before the days of lyric projection and click tracks, when as a 16 year old, he was asked to lead the singing at a church plant his family was helping to launch.

From there, he served for over 20 years in bi-vocational ministry at numerous churches in central Alabama. Since 2013 he has served full time as the Minister of Music and Outreach at Northside Baptist Church in Jasper, Alabama.

Shawn has been involved with NLWI since 2016, having started by participating in the Worship Leader Sponsor Program. When not serving the church, Shawn loves spending time with his wife, Kristi, and his teenage sons, Ethan and Gavin.

The WorshipLife Personal Journal can be used as a stand-alone journal for one’s personal growth or as part of a small group study. It is also part of the WorshipLife Churchwide Campaign, in which case a church would order copies for the adults and teenagers in their congregation. The WorshipLife Personal Journal was written by Dwayne Moore, best-selling author and founder of Next Level Worship International.

The WorshipLife Personal Journal contains:

1. 30 daily devotionals (6 per week over 5 weeks)
2. 5 family devotionals
3. 5 note-taking pages for the pastor’s sermons

This resource is just one of many at our Books & Materials page. Be sure to visit this page to explore more about Worship Life and other resources.