Why You Need to Have a Vision for Your Worship Team

Whether you’re a part-time volunteer or full-time worship leader on staff at a church or house of prayer, I strongly encourage you to have a vision for you and your worship team to pursue. Overlooking this step will present challenges down the road that you may not foresee right now. Get the vision. Write it down. And walk it out. You might be thinking, Wait, isn’t vision better caught than taught? There is some truth in this statement, but I think it’s best to have it taught and then caught and then taught and then caught again, and again, and again. We’re human. We easily forget and lose sight of things. So we need to set the vision, seek to live it out, and remind ourselves of it often. Here are four reasons why you need to get a clear vision for your worship team:

1. A clear vision helps keeps you and your team sustained for the long haul.

The worship we offer before the Lord is beautiful and significant because God is beautiful and significant. Even so, there are times when, like with any ministry or job, it can become mundane. Having a vision clearly laid out can help you and your team persevere. Vision allows you to see the higher purpose. It gives you a roadmap for where you are going and mile markers along the way.

“Vision allows you to see the higher purpose. It gives you a roadmap for where you are going and mile markers along the way.”

2. A clear vision helps keep your team accountable.

Many times, I talk with worship leaders who are struggling to move forward as a unit. When I investigate the reasons, the leader will usually end up talking about how a few members of the team are making it challenging because they don’t seem to be fully on board.In conversation, I’ll ask that leader to go back to when that person joined the team. I’ll ask them, “If the person isn’t unified with you in vision and value—how did they get on your team?” Many times the leader will admit that these people showed up to auditions and had the skill, so they were invited to join the team.If that person is providing challenges, are you leading them well and with a clear vision? Sometimes, humans are just going to be human, but often—if the vision and values are not clear—there is little to hold one accountable to. Make the vision clear. Before someone joins your team, make sure they understand your vision and are willing to sign up for and invest into that vision.

"Before someone joins your team, make sure they understand your vision and are willing to sign up for and invest into it."

3. A clear team vision helps people assess whether their vision aligns with yours.

If your vision isn’t clear for your team and Johnny comes along, his personal vision will begin to seep into your team. I’m not saying this is always a bad thing. But you need to be aware that it’s happening if you don’t have a vision for your team. Maybe Johnny has a vision for playing in a band but has never really thought about getting a vision to sow into younger, less-talented people. Maybe Johnny is only able to invest a few hours a week and his lack of commitment to the team will end up frustrating and holding the entire team back. What does the vision for your team require time-wise? By clarifying your vision, you are making space for others to clarify their own and evaluate whether your team is the right place for them to serve.

"By clarifying your team vision, you are making space for others to clarify their own and evaluate whether your team is the right place for them to serve."

4. A clear team vision helps keep you aligned with the vision of your church.

If you are leading in a local congregation, I am assuming that your church has a vision statement. If you’re not sure—ask your pastor. The vision statement for your worship team should overlap some with the vision of the church. There are multiple reasons for this, but the main one is that it fosters unity between your team, pastor, and executive leadership. This is always a good thing to do.

"Whether you’re a part-time volunteer or full-time worship leader on staff at a church or house of prayer, I strongly encourage you to have a vision for you and your worship team to pursue."

So many things will begin falling into place once your vision is clear. I’m going to be sharing my personal team vision soon, but for now, I encourage you to begin asking the Lord what vision could look like for you and your team. I would love to hear your thoughts below. Let me know what the Lord is speaking. If you have a vision statement, share it with me!

Huge thanks to my friend Jordan Vanderplate for letting me use this photo from Corgarff, Scotland. Check out more of his work here.