12 Ways To Say “Welcome” In Worship
“I guess we’ll go ahead and get started.”
“Please rise to your feet.”
“Good morning…um, good MORNing! ...That’s better.”
“Are you ready to have a good time!!!!”
“One, two, three, four…”
“ ” (this is you, saying nothing)
“The first service was still asleep, so let’s see how awake you guys are”
“It’s a beautiful day out there.”
“We know that everyone needs compassion and love that’s never failing, so let’s sing.”
You may be guilty of using phrases like these to kick off a time of gathered worship. Or you’ve experienced a leader missing an opportunity to help the congregation engage.
As a leader, you’ve spent so much time preparing the music, that it’s easy to miss planning the beginning, the “welcome.” Yet one moment can shift the atmosphere and help thirsty hearts connect with the Lord. Or, as worship leader Dustin Smith (@dustinwrc) says, “Lead worship as a shepherd: beat every enemy off and bring the sheep together.”
So what is your goal for the welcome? These are some of mine, written from the congregation’s voice.
Invite
It’s the power of simply asking. Imagine someone coming to your door. You open it and then walk to the table to start eating without inviting them to join you. We like being asked and invited.
Help Us Feel Comfortable, Set Us At Ease, Make Us Glad We Chose To Come
It was a choice, after all. We may be hesitant, tired, bored, or apprehensive. Church may have lots of baggage for us. Lead in such a way that our internal response can be, “wow, I’m thrilled to be in this room!”
Give Direction
Is something different happening today? Let us know. Are there logistical details that will be helpful for us to know? “Songs are a place we go.” (@DanWilt) Be a tour guide.
Activate
I still remember walking into a young adult gathering called TBS over fifteen years ago. I was hanging on by a thread. Then the worship leader began by breaking scripture over us. She compelled us to respond to the scripture and engage with what God was doing. It brought me to life. Worship leader, please activate us!
Point God Out
Matt Redman (@mattredman) defines worship as “Our response to the revelation of God.” In that context, your job is to help us have a revelation of God…the response will come naturally. Help us see God in a new way.
Connect The Dots
Most of us don’t find the same meaning in the songs as you do. We don’t understand the significance of our setting that morning. Help us to get there. Give us context and help us recognize the meaning and beauty. It can be the song. It can be something happening in the service. It can be something happening outside the church. Help us to connect the dots.
Inspire Vulnerability
Our ability to experience intimacy with God is directly proportional to your willingness to be vulnerable. When I’m not honest with myself and God, it hinders my intimacy. “Be still and know.” (Psalm 46) There’s no knowing without intimacy. There’s no intimacy without vulnerability. Be still and be vulnerable. “Intimacy is the posture of one heart toward another.” (@dunnandwilt)
Call Us Back and Help Us Realign
Whether it’s to the heart of worship, the reality that we are dearly loved sons and daughters, our hope of heaven, or the worth of the Son of God…life disorients us. We are “prone to wander, and Lord, we feel it!” Help us come back into alignment with God’s thoughts, ways, and truth.
Draw Our Focus
We are the Twitter generation…ooh, there’s a bird! Give us something to set our hearts and minds on…like a flint. (Isaiah 50:7)
Connect Us To Your Heart
You’re leading us. We want to trust you. Chris Tomlin did not show up today. We don’t know him. We know you. Help us trust your leadership.
Get Us Off Autopilot
We like comfort and predictability, but autopilot can make us entirely miss what God wanted us to experience. Get creative with this one and help us think, feel, do, act. Stretch us and don’t allow us always just to do the same old’ same old’.
Teach Us
Hey, most of us learned what we know about worship from being kids in church…being told to sit still and be quiet. We’ve hardly ever studied the scripture to find out what a biblical model of worship is. We have embedded theology that isn’t even God’s heart for worship. Change that. Disciple us, please! We need you to.
So, where to start? First, please don’t misinterpret this as a call to give a 5-minute sermon before you start singing. Let me show you a great model for your inspiration. Dan Wilt wrote an eBook called “BAM! Worship Teaching Bombs (and how to use them).” See it here: https://www.worshiptraining.com/media/bam-worship-teaching-bombs-and-how-to-use-them/.
One final reminder. While many of us walk in before the first song, many of us do not. “The Welcome” may need to reappear during the set, once the room is full. It will look different, but your awareness that I just dropped off my children in the KidMin area (after getting to church late), and am just getting into the sanctuary ten minutes after you started…is a real blessing to me! Lead on, worship leader, lead on!
-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)
12 Ways To Say “Welcome” In Worship (Nº 48)
