How I Started in Worship Ministry

I still remember how I got started in the worship ministry…

I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was young (less than 12). Because I wasn’t attending church after that, my faith took a backseat to role-playing games and music. But there was always this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that God deserved a lot more seriousness than what I was showing him during those years. So when I finally had a chance to attend church services I jumped at the opportunity.

The pleasant surprise for me was discovering that church had music!

One thing about me, I’m quite capable of going on with something if I was convinced it was good for me. I didn’t need it to be entertaining, exciting or enjoyable, it just had to be meaningful. I was ready to not enjoy any aspect of the church experience but just keep turning up anyway.

So having enjoyable music at church was an unexpected benefit!

Because I didn’t know the songs, I couldn’t join in the singing. But I did appreciate the music. Unfortunately, that became my habit – paying more attention to the music than what people (and I) ought to be singing to the Lord. It’s not that I was a total reprobate during that season; I would seek God in prayer and in the Scriptures. And I would encounter him there.

But encountering God during the worship? No, it didn’t really happen.

And that meant that, if I was put in charge of a team of musicians at that time (I wasn’t, thank God!!), any decisions would be made based on what would sound good musically, rather than whether it would be spiritually pleasing to God or helpful to the congregation.

The Point of What I Am Saying…

… is that if your church has decent music, it’s quite likely that there are people like me in the congregation. And this means:

1. Your pastor may have to regularly preach and teach on encountering God in worship, yearly or half-yearly if your congregation has regular growth; AND 
2. People like me may apply to join your church worship team. And you have to start thinking and praying about how God wants you to handle such people.
   

Of course not every church musician is like how I was at that point of time when I first started serving in the worship ministry. Some knew God first, before they discovered their interest and talent for music. You may encounter different challenges with these people, compared to my sort.
Then again, I wasn’t exactly the most mature and easy-to-handle person in those days either!

So that was how I started serving in the worship ministry. I have another two major milestones to share, but those will have to wait for future emails and posts. So in the meantime, be blessed!