YOUTH WORSHIP TEAM
NEW YEAR , NEW GOALS | Vance & Michelle Shepherd
We are now well into the new year , and some of us have been committed to our New Year ’ s musical resolutions ( if you ’ re one of those people that like to set resolutions ), and some of us have already let them fall by the wayside . Whatever your goals or resolutions were , looking back on the past few months , do you feel that you ’ ve dedicated enough time and energy to reach that goal ? Maybe you ’ re not happy with your results and you see the last few months as a loss of energy . In either case , it ’ s so important that you have a goal , a plan , and a time frame to reach that goal .
To keep things fresh and fun , why not seek out a group of musicians and vocalists that you would really like to hang around , form a small group to do a musician ’ s Bible study once a week , and also jam musically together ? This is a great way to not only fire up your faith but be in great community with people you want to be around and learn from , that have similar interests . Start by choosing a study that interests the whole group , so everyone is excited to participate , then also pick three songs with the group that most of you are experienced playing or singing to start things rolling .
Once you have your group polished up on the three songs ( however long that takes ), set a day to meet with your youth leader and toss them the idea that you would like to have your group volunteer to lead worship or do special music for their youth service . More than likely they will be happy to have you and your team – they ’ ve probably been hoping somebody would step up and volunteer , even if they already have a regular weekly team . You can ’ t have too many musicians , and it allows people to be able to rotate . If you get a date on the calendar , it will motivate you and your team to put more time in on your instrument or vocals to be the best you can be for the event .
If you ’ re the youth leader at your church , can you imagine someone having the desire to play sports , then working hard to get into shape , running laps , doing push-ups , sit-ups , etc . every single day for 2 hours without seeing any opportunity in the future to get to play the sport ? How many football , baseball , soccer or basketball players would we have if that were the case ? When we train in something like sports or music , we need an immediate outlet to keep us encouraged and driven , and to then excel at it and reach the next goal .
As youth leaders , you have this amazing opportunity and a great platform to grow and cultivate these young future worship leaders , providing them with a goal and a vision . They simply need to know that there will be an outlet for them to exercise their skill set if they ’ ve taken the time to learn the songs . It ’ s
no secret that our churches are struggling to find musicians and vocalists - even in our main houses of worship . How many people in your congregation do you walk past every week , that used to take music lessons and never pursued it because they never saw the goal ( reward ) in sight ? When I cross paths with these people they always say , “ I wish my parents wouldn ’ t have let me quit ”, or “ I regret that I didn ’ t take advantage of lessons to become a musician or vocalist ”. Help set the goal for them , give them something to work toward , and they will more than likely have their own built-in time management and self-discipline , and you ’ ll be on your way to helping build your next generation of worship leaders in your church and city !
May you be blessed as you pour into or become the next generation of worship leaders !
Vance & Michelle Shepherd Founders of The Shepherd School of Music in Las Vegas , NV , where they work with youth to raise up the next generation of worship leaders and musicians . facebook . com / shepherdschoolofmusiclasvegas www . ShepherdStudiosLV . com
42 January 2024 Subscribe for Free ...