Praise and Worship Targets

Most worship leaders today seem to approach worship from the assumption that if they worship then the people they lead will worship... If you build it they will come model.

This approach excludes the majority of people in most churches. Most churches are made up of 3 different groups as it pertains to worship. Group 1 consists of the real worshippers. They love worship... enjoy intimacy with the Lord. Group 2 can be called the learners. They are just beginning to become aware of worship... just learning to touch the presence of God. They are still growing in understanding and can be somewhat uncomfortable with some of the more demonstrative and intimate expressions of worship but they want to get closer to God. Group 3 is made up of the seekers. They are those that really aren't connected to the worship at all. They may come with a spouse or friend, they may be seeking truth, or they may just enjoy the music.

I believe that as worship leaders we should be molding our service to meet the second group, the learners. We should be trying to draw them gently into deeper and deeper waters while providing something that stirs the worshippers and entices the seekers.

We can't do that by simply worshipping ourselves. We must be a teacher, a performer, a director, a leader, a pastor and a worshipper in order to accomplish this task. We will run a high risk of being considered 'shallow' by the worshipper group but molding our service to them will render us irrelevant to the other two groups... and I'd rather cater to those groups on the outskirts of God's presence than those already in. The worshippers are going to worship with or without our leadership... but the other two groups only see and experience the presence of God and the power of praise and worship through our leadership. If we teach them they will learn...