Not in my sphere of influence . I want to make sure I present Jesus and His awesome power in what I sing and how I lead others into His presence .
Do the oldest in the class need me to aim high ? Yes , they do .
Did my newfound Mom revelation shift my perspective as worship leader ? Yes , it did .
Would I forfeit what was best for the older kids because of my sudden awareness of what the younger kids needed ? No , not completely . It ’ s not an either / or scenario . It ’ s really a both / and one .
Just like when you ’ re adjusting the focus of a telescope that day my vision was adjusted for how to lead my whole group . What does that look like practically ? It means I do songs geared for older kids . I do other songs specifically to engage the younger ones . It ’ s an intentional focus in what I plan and share to invite them into participation . You can strategically place your songs in your set or service order to engage the whole group . If you play your cards right all the songs will work well for both age ranges . But , even if you experience some push back from the older ones pull them aside and just share the why behind the songs you ’ re doing for the younger kids . As long as you are making some choices that you know are meeting their needs then have a heart to heart and communicate the why behind what you ’ re doing . Empower them to be a leader and set the example to the other children of giving all they are in worship .
I believe wearing my “ Mom hat ” strengthened my ability to lead kids more effectively when I ’ m wearing my “ worship leader hat ”.
If you ’ re a parent take some time to evaluate what you do thinking it through from the perspective of your children . What would help them ? How do they learn best ? Consider the shifts and changes that you could make to refine what you do as worship leader to engage them better . Just like anything I believe this is a moving target . Taking time throughout the year to evaluate what is working or needs to be tweaked is always worth the time and effort .
© 2021 Yancy Ministries , Inc . Yancy Yancy is a worship leader and songwriter for kids that travels the globe doing family concerts and training worship leaders . Every week her songs are used in thousands of churches around the world . Her beloved “ Little Praise Party ” series for young kids is Dove Award nominated . Yancy has a passion to serve the Church which is why she created “ Heartbeat ”, a curriculum to teach kids the heart of worship . Her book “ Sweet Sound : The Power of Discipling Kids in Worship ” releases in November . She lives with her husband and sons in Nashville , TN .