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1Worship Ministry GuidelinesAs a worship leader I have been asked to do presentations on the Ministry of Praise & Worship.Usually this was in preparation for a renewal weekend or retreat. To this end, I put together aguideline for worship leaders to use particularly in the liturgical churches.First you must recognise that praise and worship is a ministry and it should be as natural asbreathing. It begins the moment we thank God for all of his goodness. Psalm 34:1-3 gives usan example of praise, note what the psalmist says:
"I will bless the Lord at all times; hispraise shall continually be in my mouth". My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; thehumble shall hear thereof and be glad"
. The psalmist then invites “
magnify the Lord withme, and let us exalt his name together.
"It is a deliberate act to give God thanks and praise whatever the circumstances and becomes a“sacrifice of praise”. This takes place when in times of despair, you can still say like the psalmistin Psalm 56:3-4:-
"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, inGod I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." 
As a worship leader youshould develop a 'praise attitude’, which saturates the environment of which you are a part.It should be noted here that the priest, minister, etc. should take an active part in praise andworship. 2nd Chronicles 5:11-14 tells us the role of the priests, musicians and singers joined inunison with the congregation.Following is a guide that I use when I’m going to lead worship and I share it with you in the hopethat it will help you in your ministry.
Preparation
1. The prayer life of the individual must be continual. One must determine to pray regularly.Consistent bible study is vital and should be a part of the individual’s spiritual growth as itrelates to worship.2. Thanksgiving should be offered up from the moment you awake in the morning.
 
3. One should be fasted! This means that your life is fasted and filled with prayer. Do notconfuse fasted with fasting! Our life is fasted when we eat more spiritual food rather than foodthat satisfies only the flesh. On occasion you may fast without knowing it, in other words, Godhimself will impose a fast on you. It has nothing to do with you or any of your expresseddesires; God in his wisdom may wish to use you in a situation and you will need to be empty sothat the Holy Spirit can fill you with a word of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. This iswhat Christ meant in St. Matthew's gospel, chap. 17:15-21 "this kind comes not out, but byprayer and fasting" (paraphrased). He did not mean that the disciples should fast before theyminister to anyone. Common sense indicates that it would be next to impossible to do. What ismeant is that you are disciplined and discerning.
Leading the Congregation in Worship
We were created to praise and worship God. The Hebrew style of praise and worship has beenexhibited in the charismatic and Pentecostal churches since the early 1900's. In the Anglicanand Roman Catholic churches it started in the late 1960's.It should be noted carefully, what it is we are doing, why we are doing it and to whom the glorybelongs. "Praise, the password to blessing" by Don Gossett states that we should always havean attitude of gratitude. Paramount to our praise is thanksgiving; for out of our thanks to Godfor his blessings comes the praise. Note Psalm 103:2 and Colossians 3:15, each reminds us tobe thankful.The congregation should be lead in praise and worship in a manner as described below:1.Begin with songs of thanksgiving and praise such as:We bring the Sacrifice of PraiseThis is the dayGod is so goodPraise the LordThrough All the Changing Scenes of Life, etc.There is no reason that traditional hymns or hymns from the various hymnals cannot be used.They should be used together with the more modern and contemporary songs.2.Continue with high praise with such songs as:Praise to the Lord the AlmightyBlessed be the Name of the LordAll Hail the Power of Jesus NameI Love To Praise His Name, etc.3.We are now ready to worship the Lord with songs of adoration and reverence such as:Holy, Holy, Holy,O Worship the King
 
O the GloryMajestyWe Exalt TheeI Love you, LordCommune with me, etc.Now that the congregation has entered the "holy of holies", the demeanour changes; we arenow in the presence of the Almighty, He knows we are there. There should be an atmosphereof "stillness and holy quietness" while we adore Him. [Remember the Holy Spirit willorchestrate all this.]Once we have entered the holy place, we do not go backwards [in other words, you do not goback to songs of thanksgiving and praise] but you commune with the Father. Note carefully, thethree stages: [i] enter the gates with thanksgiving, [ii] enter the courts with praise; and finallyworship, which means to do one of these things: honour, revere, venerate, adore, glorify andpay homage to.
What Praise & Worship is Not
A. Entertainment - It is not to be used to fill a gap, kill time or simply enjoy.B. Sing-a-long - not simply singing for fun. The definition of sing means several things, and
none of them refer to praise or worship; to sing is to:
a. intone; b. vocalize; c. carol; d. chant; c.croon, etc.C. It is not a tool to be used to draw attention to one's self.D. It is not a performance - showmanship has no place in the ministry of music in the churchand especially not praise and worship.E. It is not just for the worship leader or the praise team.Remember, the Praise & Worship team is responsible for leading the congregation only; it is notintended to entertain as in a concert. It is not the time to sing new and unfamiliar songs, whichthe congregation cannot relate to or participate in. Worship Leaders [and the praise team]should be sensitive to the congregation and allow them to participate fully by using the songsand hymns that are known, unless of course, the Holy Spirit says otherwise.Proper melodies of contemporary songs and traditional hymns will ensure that their is no over use of hymns or songs.Finally, the music or psalmist ministry is vital to the well being of the church as an effectiveinstrument to minister to God and His people. Those who are worship leaders and those whoaspire to be, should on a consistent basis study God’s word and where possible attendseminars and/or workshops that deal with the music ministry of the church. Foremost to study isthe actual calling to this ministry. One should be sure that they are called to music ministry inthe church and, more particular that of worship leader.If your church does not yet have the ministry of praise and worship and would like to start, Iencourage you to begin as follows:
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Mary Ghansah

one really needs to be really in love with the Lord to the extent of even dying for the him through worship,thus giving your all to him

reply02 / 19 / 2011
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