If you’re a children’s ministry leader, you know good music can totally shift your environment. Want to see it in action? Try playing a game with slow, somber music. It’s probably not going to bring the same energy as bouncy, up-tempo dance beats.
Now, it’s pretty easy to incorporate music into a game or even at the start of a lesson, but how do you use music to lead kids in worship? It’s actually a lot more doable than we might expect—it just takes a good strategy.
It’s alright if adding worship to your weekly environment has felt a bit… intimidating. We get it. As ministry leaders, we’ve had our own share of trying to develop a vision and plan for worship in our services. We know what it’s like to wonder which songs to sing or how to find engaging songs and videos kids can dance along to.
So, we want to help. We’ve put together this list of four tips to help you add a time of worship to your weekly environment. We hope you’ll walk away with a few ideas for your ministry, so get ready to steal ours!
Sound good? Let’s get started!
EVALUATE YOUR RESOURCES
Let’s start by taking a look at your ministry’s resources. Not every meeting space is set up for a live band every week. Even if it were, you might share the space with another ministry or need someone to run sound for you every time you schedule worship.
Then there are the rehearsals, lyric slides, and more that go into leading worship through music. Thankfully, there’s more than one way to add worship to your weekly environment, you just need to focus on what you do have in your meeting space.
When you peel back the layers of a time of worship, you only need a few things…
- A list of songs
- Ways to sing them
If we see worship from that perspective, there are all sorts of ways we can be creative in inviting kids to sing with us. Sure, we might have a band come in to lead our kids in worship, but we can also…
- Use a wireless speaker to play music
- Introduce a new dance or lyric video
- Invite kids to stomp and clap as they sing together
So, yes, having a band can be a fun way to add worship to your weekly environment, but it’s not the only way. You can design a weekly worship experience that works for you and your context.
To help you think about your resources, here are a few questions you can ask…
- Do I have a way to play songs?
- Do I have a way to show song lyrics for kids to sing?
- Do I have the software I need to show videos & lyrics or play music?
- Is there someone who can lead this for me?
- Are there any sensory needs to consider?
CHOOSE ENGAGING SONGS
There are so kids worship songs to choose from. Seriously, go count them… we’ll can wait. ?
Having great music is only part of your song selection process. The other part is making sure kids are actually interested in the music you’re offering. What this looks like will change for each ministry, but we’ve put together a few ideas for how you can choose the best worship songs for your ministry.
- Ask your kids and volunteers. Your kids and volunteers might already have a list of their favorite songs. Ask for their input and search online for kids versions of each song.
- Search Online. With so many great content creators, there’s a chance that the next hit worship song in your ministry is a quick search away. Use your favorite search engine to find the “best kids worship music” or “kids worship videos.”
- Ask Online Groups. Incorporating worship into your service isn’t something you have to do alone. There are hundreds of kids ministry leaders like you who have gone through the same experience. That’s why we created this online community with over 30,000 kids ministry leaders. It’s a space for you to share ideas, ask questions, and learn from other leaders all around the world!
- Use Grow Kids Music! We’ve released a growing library of kids worship songs that are available for purchase. And if you’re using Grow Curriculum, they’re included with your subscription for free! Each song comes with MP3s, videos, and lyrics, so you can start using them right away!
KEEP IT SHORT (AT FIRST)
So far, we’ve talked about the resources you have (or need!) for your ministry and a few places you can go to find the best worship songs for kids. So, what does it look like to actually add a time of worship to your weekly environment?
When you’re starting out, keep your time of worship short. During these weeks, focus on signing one or two songs for the kids and make sure at least one song is the same each week. This will help kids learn the words or dance motions and give them the space and time they need to connect with the song. If you’re regularly changing the song, you might find it challenging for kids to learn the words or engage with what you’re singing.
When you focus on keeping things short, you give kids a way to process what’s happening. Some kids might be all in initially, but others might need a few chances to warm up. To help them get comfortable with music and singing out loud, take time to explain what worship is and why we do it before you play the first song. Set up your time of worship well, and once you’ve finished, be sure to invite kids to process their experience by asking them follow-up questions, like…
- How did you feel before we sang these songs? How do you feel now?
- What was your favorite part of our time of worship?
- Were there any words you didn’t know or understand?
- How can you worship God at home?
HAVE FUN WITH IT
When it comes to leading worship, there are a lot of technical things that go into it. Worship through music combines music, video, dance motions, and technology, which means there can be a lot on our minds once we press play.
We’ve found it helpful to remember to have fun during worship. Yes, there are a lot of little technical details to think about in the moment, and there might be a few accidents that happen, too.
- A video might not play correctly
- Audio might be muted
- You might forget a dance move or word
And while these moments can be discouraging when they happen, they’re also not the most important thing to focus on. Believe us, we love excellence—it’s one of our core values! But we also know things happen. When they do, we can choose to pivot and remember what’s at the heart of worship: we’re creating moments for kids to connect with and grow closer to God.
With each song, we’re helping kids understand their relationship with God and the world. That’s a much more important part of worship than whether a video played seamlessly. So, yes, do your best to avoid big, distracting accidents, but also remember why we’re here in the first place. It’s to help kids grow closer to God, and God is big enough to reach kids even if our audio cuts out before a song is finished.
But fun isn’t only related to the technical parts of worship—it’s also in how we participate. That’s right! Kids worship isn’t just about getting our groups to sing, dance, or clap along with the song. It also means we can model what worship can look like in kids ministry.
When we’re first adding worship into our weekly environment, it’s important to show kids how to get involved. Kids will naturally look around the room to see how their leaders and trusted adults are participating. If they see you talking in the corner or disengaged from the service, they’ll match your behavior. But, if they see you’re having fun, singing along, and following all the motions, they’ll know this is something they can take seriously.
So, even if there are dozens of things on your mind, try and do your best to model these practices for your group. This is your chance to be silly, sing, and worship freely with the kids in your ministry.
There you have it! Four tips for adding worship to your weekly environment! We can’t to hear your stories of how your kids continue to grow their relationship with God.
And if you’re looking for new worship music for kids, we’ve got a free Grow Kids Music song for you! Our song “Joy” is free and comes with everything you need to sing, dance, and worship with your kids. Plus, you can stream all of our Grow Kids Music on Spotify and Apple Music!
Good luck exploring worship in your weekly environment!
In this post, here’s what we’ll cover: