What is a Worship Leader?

In our 2008-2012 Strategic Plan, seven priority areas are identified to give us direction as we continue to seek to “change our community and world through growing relationships with Jesus Christ.” The second of those priorities is to expand on the excellence of our worship services to include a focus on passion in our worship. A team of our members was put together to think through what that might mean for us as a church.

The first consideration that came from that team was to hire a worship leader. The idea came from the book Go Big by Bill Easum and Bil Cornelius. This was the book we used to help challenge us as a congregation into our next stages of growth. In the chapter on “Staffing the Church for Explosive Growth”, the authors emphatically recommend hiring a worship leader. In fact, they say that the most important staff person following the lead pastor is the worship leader. In our setting here at Stonebridge UMC a worship leader would work with the other music and worship staff to design worship, help in choral song selection, conduct a growing number of music groups and lead in the presentation of music, particularly in the Celebration Services. In a sense, this person is to make sure the congregation is brought into a spiritual mood of worship as we begin our service. The worship leader is to help us reach our potential in our praise of God. He or she is to enable us in glorifying God.

When Don Smith started this church, he recognized the importance of music and made some of the first hires of the church our music leadership. When we started The Bridge, we knew the success of that service would revolve around the music; so we hired D-MAC to team up with Pastor Terri and The Bridge was off and running. Now, the next step for the Celebration services is to enhance the dynamic music Stonebridge has become famous for by adding a worship leader to our staff. Our Staff Parish Team has already written a job description for the position of worship leader and has approved posting the position to gather candidates for the job.

You are going to get a taste of what that might look like in Celebration Hall on Sundays, June 28, July 5, and July 12. Our very own Tracy Lastrapes will play the role of worship leader in those services to, as Emeril Lagassi would say, “crank it up another notch.” This does not mean the Celebration Service will become more Bridge-like. We want each of our services to be as distinct as always. It also does not mean it will be louder or more contemporary in style. What it does mean is that our worship will be more passionate; with the singing more robust, infectious and praiseful.

Make sure you are in church these Sundays to see the beginnings of our next steps of growth in the name of Christ.