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Leading kids in worship is one of the things I love doing most! Luke 2:52 describes how Jesus grew "in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." I believe when we lead kids in worship we are helping them to grow in wisdom as they grow in the knowledge of God, and in favor as they learn how to draw close to Him through corporate and personal worship.

Many worship leaders feel very comfortable leading hundreds of adults into God’s presence, but ask them to lead a room full of kids and suddenly they’re not quite sure where to start!

If I may, let me give you a few ideas which I hope will help you if the Lord is opening doors for you to minister to these of whom Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me…"

Choosing Songs for Your Kids’ Worship Set

Take your time. Don’t attempt to throw a worship set together just before leading! (I often take 2 hours to put together a ½ hour set.) Pray! God knows who will be there and which songs will be most effective to touch their young hearts and minds!

Keep in mind:

These are kids! Many adult worship songs have melodies and ranges too difficult to sing, and concepts too complex or abstract for a child to understand. Remember, worship songs are often prayers being sung. Choose songs with words that kids would actually use! Prayers they would actually pray! These are the songs they’ll continue to sing.

If your kids worship repertoir is fairly limited, there are many good website resources for kids praise & worship songs. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention www.hisandhernandezmusic.com. I hope you’ll include it in your search for fun and effective songs you can learn!

OK… enough of the shameless plug!

More things to keep in mind:

Subject matter - Find out if there a theme, a holiday or an object lesson this week (i.e. Thanksgiving - Every Beat of My Heart, which can be heard here on Worship Source.) If possible, reinforce the theme with a song!

The size of the group of kids… 10 kids or 100? The more kids, the more you need to work to keep the kids engaged, possibly using more up-tempo or action songs

The ages or grades of the children you’ll be leading. Preschool vs. Elementary – There’s a big difference in songs you should use. If possible, divide your kids into different worship times: K – 3rd grades vs. 4th - 6th grades - Gear your set toward the larger (not older) group without leaving out the smaller. Older kids will not be inclined to do motions. Older boys are more self-conscience about singing out. Younger kids will lose attention more quickly. They have shorter attention spans. It’s better to sing 2 verses 3 times than 4 verses once.

New songs vs. songs they already know. It’s good to introduce new songs, but no more than one or two, depending on how many overall. If you introduced a new song last time, it’s a good idea to include it again in your set possibly 2 or 3 weeks in a row so they can get familiar with it.

Consider such elements as:

• Variety of tempos (praise songs vs. worship, not all fast or slow) It’s usually good to begin with an up-tempo song to get their attention right away.

• Fun!

• Motions

• Changing speeds

• Contests – Boys louder, Girls louder, different grades louder, etc.

• Letting the kids sing solos, leading a verse or a chorus

• Repetition (I like to use ‘Echo Me’ songs for this)

• Content they’ll remember - i.e. God’s character, God’s Word, ect.

• Keys (Try and keep the melody between middle C & 1 octave up.) It should be comfortable for you, but even more comfortable for those singing with you! Tenors, watch those high notes. If you’re a guitarist, a capo is your friend! Learn to use one.

Prepare more songs than you’ll need. After choosing your songs, play and/or sing through them. Be sure you know them well enough to focus your attention on the kids, not the songs. It’s best to know all the words, but don’t hesitate to use lyric sheets.

 

There’s so much more we could talk about, especially what to do WHILE you’re leading kids in worship. But that’s another blog!

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about any of the above. Blessings to you!

-Frank

frank@hisandhernandezmusic.com

 

 

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