#OC12-Worship Basics for Preschool & Children

Here is the first of many more posts from the Orange Conference.  This is from a workshop I attended led by Yancy.  My notes are below:

Music is a powerful way to connect with kids.

Yancy shared the following stat: By age 18, we have 10,000 songs in our brains.

She started by sharing ways we can use music in ministry.  They are:

• Create environment
• Before and After Class
• Use as countdowns
• Use as opening/ice breaker songs
• Use songs to reinforce the message
• Have praise & worship-She then focused on this for the rest of the workshop.  She said we need to give kids the opportunity to worship.  This involves us teaching them how to respond and participate.  She read Psalm 8:1-2 from The Message.

Here are thoughts she shared regarding praise & worship:

• Worship is communication (God & group)
• Leading worship is more about your leadership ability than your musical ability
• Define what you want to teach about worship for every age group
• Give kids the right size piece of worship for their age group.  A tip she mentioned was following fast & active songs with slow.  With younger ages, pick songs with lots of repeating.  If combined ages, aim for the oldest kids.
• You control the sound tracks.  Don't let them control you!
• PRAY!

Here are some things to remember when planning a worship set:

• Know your audience and the leader's vision
• How many songs are needed? How much time do you have?
• What do you want them to learn about worship?
• Make sure lyrics and vocabulary are appropriate for age group
• Remember attention span length for group
• Use a mixture of fast and slow.  
• When teaching a new song, follow it with a "home run" song that everyone loves.
• Have kids sit down for slower songs.

Yancy's Top 12 Tips for Leading Worship

1. Be prepared
2. Speak Clearly
3. Be energetic
4. Be bold
5. Be consistent
6. Don't hide behind a microphone stand
7. Make eye contact
8. Give vocal instruction
9. Be creative in your song choices
10. Teaching kids to worship
11. Constantly evaluate
12. Problem Solve

Check back throughout the week for more notes from Orange.