create the space to think BIG in your worship ministry

Sometimes, we just have too much going on to NOT be bored… huh? Read on…

In Today’s Email

1. 3 Ways to Create Space

2. ETA - 6 Months!!

3. Stott on Ministry Vision

3 Ways to Create Space

In the last email, we talked about how boredom can be a silent, undetected source of burnout for worship leaders. We don’t get bored or stuck because we don’t have enough to do. We sometimes get bored or stuck because we find ourselves doing the same thing week in and week out.

If you missed the last email, I suggest reading it here! That will give you some context for today’s email.

As promised, here are a few suggestions for how you can begin to create the space necessary to seek the Lord on a vision for your ministry. Once you feel like you have a sense of where you’re going, you’ll then be able to cast that vision to others.

But one of the most common barriers to beginning and finishing this process is: time. Most of us don’t feel like we have time to do this. We feel like we are too “in the weeds” with tasks. But we must do it.

*Disclaimer

We all share one central mission when it comes to our worship ministry: give God the glory He is due and help people see Jesus more clearly.

But we all have unique ways of accomplishing that.

This is your task: to discover how God might want to use you, with your unique gifting, skill set, interests, etc to accomplish the grand mission of worship in the local church.

So, let’s make some space.

#1 - Workload “Scrub”

Take time to write out all the things you do and are responsible for on a weekly basis. This includes all of the things you do regularly or semi-regularly.

Include even the things that aren’t directly related to Sundays or the worship department (that’s kind of the point, wink-wink). Include the things that you feel are important and even the things that don't feel important.

#2 - Evaluate

Now that you have a list, ask yourself some questions about the list.

• Which of these things are “mission critical?”

• Which of these things are totally random?

• Why do I have these random tasks and when did I acquire them?

• Why do I do some of these things?

Take your list and determine which tasks and responsibilities must be done by you.

Using the Eisenhower Matrix may help:

On your list, there were probably some things that were both urgent and important. You must do those things.

But, what can you delegate? Don’t be afraid to let go of some tasks. Let someone else who is competent and capable grow by doing them.

What can you delete? This can’t be answered alone. Chances are you are doing something that the church needs and can’t be dropped.

If there are things on your lists of tasks and responsibilities that someone else could oversee, it may be worth having an open and respectful conversation with your pastor (or direct report) to see if those responsibilities can be transferred to someone else.

Once these things have been done, it’s time to schedule.

#3 Schedule

Hopefully, after taking time to do your workload scrub, you have gotten some clarity on where your time is going. Once you know how your hours are being used, you can know what to delegate and see what could be deleted.

If you have been able to do these two things, you should now be able to schedule time to cast vision.

This type of thinking requires set aside and intentional time: It involves prayer. Maybe some strategy. Maybe there are others invited into this who are on your staff of speak into the worship ministry at your church.

Casting and maintaining a vision requires more than just one-time brainstorms. They are often the fruit of regular times set aside to pray, contemplate, and review.

If this is a new rhythm for you, we recommend these two things to get started:

1. Half or Full Day Meeting
   
   If you are the only one who carries influence over your worship culture, you would take this time alone, away from the office. If you work on a team, schedule a half or full day to do these simple things:
   
   - Pray
   - Identify, Discuss, and Solve (IDS)
   
   One of our dear friends leads us through this IDS exercise to tackle big issues/topics. Here’s how it works:

   
   First, identify. Don’t solve. Make observations about your current worship culture. What is working? What isn’t working? What should you keep doing? Why are some things done?
   
   Next, discuss. You STILL aren’t solving here. You’re throwing out and thinking through ideas about potential solutions. You start to put together the pieces here.
   
   Finally, solve. Once you have identified where you want to go, you need next steps to get there. How are you going to get where you’re going? Leave with some actionable steps.
   
   

2. Monthly Review
   
   Once per month, either on your own or with core team members, take an hour to review the previous month. Are you doing what you set out to do? If so, is that having any impact towards your vision?

Communicating the Vision

If the vision you feel the Lord giving you requires a shift in thinking or behavior from key team members or volunteers, the way this is communicated is extremely important.

Please, don’t send a Planning Center Email…

We suggest hosting some version of a team night where you: celebrate your team for their faithfulness and the fruit you see in the ministry and communicate how you want to keep moving forward.

As you communicate, spend 5x time on the WHY as you do the WHAT. Make sure your heart for God’s people and especially for them as a team shines through.

Hey-oh - firehose.

These things aren’t meant to be done alone. If you want some help thinking through or developing this process or leading an IDS meeting, we’d love to help! Just fill out the form here.

ETA - 6 Months!!

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We still have room for you and your spouse to join us in the Southern California mountains for 3 nights of REST & RENEWAL!

September 22-25, 2025

More info / Registration

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Join us in September!

Stott on Ministry Vision

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