In this series we’ll explore what mentoring looks like in the context of your church’s worship ministry. Let’s get started by reviewing what we mean by mentoring. Biblical mentoring, also called disciple-making, is personally coming alongside one or more people to help them pursue God in a consistent, ongoing relationship.
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Jesus has called us to be in relationship with people in our lives that we are mentoring, and the worship team is a great place to do this. Mentoring helps the one who is doing the mentoring just as much, or more, than the person being mentored. It really is an amazing relationship and perhaps one of the best ways to share God’s love and the heart of the gospel with someone. If mentoring takes precedence in your worship team, it will help your worship ministry to thrive. So, let’s take a look at what worship team mentoring looks like.
Worship team mentoring is helping others grow in attitude and musicianship.
Worship team mentoring happens when one person chooses to enter into an intentional relationship with another person to help them grow in two ways: attitude and musicianship. Often people focus too much on the musical aspect of being on a worship team and not focus enough on the attitudinal part of being on a worship team. Even so, you will find that each person will be unique. One person may need more help learning the musical aspect of being on a worship team, and another person may need more growth in their attitude. Whether it is attitude, musicianship, or both, all of the resources at pursueGOD Worship are there to help you mentor someone who is currently, or wants to be, on a worship team.
How do you know you’re qualified to be a worship team mentor?
Many people disqualify themselves from being a worship team mentor because they don’t think that they are a talented enough musician, don’t have enough experience on a team, or don’t think they have enough knowledge. Here is the simplest way to know if you are ready: If you are a Christian on a worship team, you are qualified to be a worship team mentor.
What topics will you cover in a worship team mentoring relationship?
In the realm of attitude and musicianship, there are a three areas to focus on when mentoring someone:
- Matters of Life – This could include things such as money, marriage, faith, parenting, relationships, etc. Worship is a wholelife response to God, which is why it is important to not just focus on the musical side of worship, but on our life as a whole.
- Worship Team Fundamentals – This includes a good mix of attitude, musicianship, and worship theology. Things like how to pick a key, how to lead others in worship, how to do a transition, dangers of comparisons, etc.
- Technical Skill Development – This aspect of mentoring focuses on the musical side of worship. Things such as how to play a “G” chord on the guitar, how to do a difficult drum fill, how to play a certain rhythm on guitar, how to sing in tune, etc.
While it would be ideal that you fulfill all three areas listed above with the person you mentor on the worship team, it is not essential. For instance, say you are a guitarist, but you are mentoring a drummer; you could mentor that person in matters of life and worship team fundamentals, but maybe not in the technical skill development. Even if you are mentoring someone in just one of these areas, you are still helping create a culture of mentoring in your ministry and at your church. And remember, if you wait until you are 100% ready to mentor someone, you will never get started. All you have to do is be one step ahead of the person you are mentoring. If you are have trouble figuring out who you should mentor, talk with your overseer or pastor.
Make it a goal to be a worship team mentor
Whether you have been on a worship team for one month or thirty-five years, mentoring should be something that you are looking to do. You may get to certain point and think “Well, I have gone as far as I can, and there is really nowhere else for me to go.” You may feel that you have worked hard at practicing your instrument and improving musically as well as growing in your own personal relationship with God. So what’s next? It’s simple: Become a worship team mentor for someone else. Part of growing in your relationship with God is going full circle and helping other people around you grow. This can be intimidating, but we shouldn’t be afraid to grow or help others grow.
John 13:15 I (Jesus) have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.
If worship team mentoring isn’t a goal, worship team members can get stuck in just existing on a worship team. Then, when they can’t or don’t want to do it anymore, they just step down, leaving a hole in the team and ministry. Worship team mentoring will help eradicate this negative cycle from your church. By instilling a culture of worship team mentoring at your church, you will establish a new, healthy cycle. Not only is worship team mentoring biblical, but it gives you purpose for years and years because the more you do it, the more it will benefit the generations of lead-worshippers to come.
Discussion Questions:
- Invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- What do you think of when you hear the word “mentoring”? Have you ever had a mentor at school, in sports, or at work? Describe the relationship.
- Who has personally helped you to pursue God? How did they do it?
- How long have you been apart of your worship ministry? Describe the worship ministry at your church – how many people are involved, what is the average age, etc. Have you seen any mentoring happen in your ministry?
- Describe the relationship between attitude and musicianship in regards to being on a worship team. Which one do you prioritize? Why?
- Out of the three areas of mentorship, which one do you feel most prepared to do? Which do you feel least prepared to do? Explain.
- Do you think it’s better to have one mentor for all three areas or do you think it is better to have a different person for each area? Why?
- Read Matthew 28:19-20. Do you think the disciples felt qualified to become mentors? Do you feel qualified? Why or why not?
- What are some advantages that long-term worship members have in mentoring a younger generation?
- What are some steps you can take to create a culture of worship team mentoring at your church?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
Today, many Christians fail to understand the calling on their lives to mentor the people around them. But the Bible teaches that mentoring others is the single greatest way to grow our own faith (Ephesians 4:11-16). If you want to establish a mentor culture in your worship ministry, here are four principles to follow:
Start with one
It’s not to say that you can’t worship mentor more than one person at a time, but just start with one. Jesus didn’t go out and get twelve disciples all at once; He gradually built up his team. This is the approach we have to take for worship mentoring. If you try to worship mentor too many people, each relationship will suffer. Think of it like this: If every person on a worship team just mentored one person in a simple, reproducible way, imagine how much would come of that.
Proverbs 21:5 (NIV) The Plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
When you are creating a culture of mentoring on your worship team, understand that slow is fast. The shift is not going to happen overnight; it is going to take time — and that’s okay.
Honestly evaluate in love
Being honest and upfront with someone is one of the most important things you can do as a mentor; but make sure it is done in a loving way. It is hard for anyone to take criticism, but it can be especially hard for a musician to be told that they need to grow in their ability, even when done in love. It really is a two way street. The mentor needs to be honest and loving, and the person being mentored needs to have a teachable attitude.
1 Peter 5:5 (ESV) Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Empower to repeat
The goal of worship mentoring is to help someone to eventually go “full circle” and then to turn around and mentor someone else. In other words, you want the people you mentor to mentor people who make mentors. You could impart all the information in the world to the person you are mentoring, but if you don’t encourage that person to go and help someone else, it might just end there. All you have to do is look at Jesus’s ministry to know what mentoring truly looks like. Jesus mentored people who would in turn go and mentor other people. We want to mentor people who will worship God with their whole lives and help those around them to do the same.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Pray often
Whether you are looking for someone to worship mentor, are currently worship mentoring, or have handed off the person you were mentoring to go and mentor someone else; there is one thing that you should do throughout the whole process: Pray.
1 John 5:14 (NIV) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Make sure that you pray for the person you are mentoring often. Pray that God would help you identify the right person to mentor, pray that God would be with the person you are currently mentoring, and pray that God would be with the person as they go and mentor people in their own life.
1 Corinthians 3:6 I (Paul) planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
Don’t get discouraged if someone is not living up to the potential that you think they should. You as the mentor can only do your part and trust that God will work on the heart of the person you are mentoring. Pray and trust that God will work out the situation according to His will.
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Give some reasons why it would be good to start by mentoring one person? How many people do you think you could effectively mentor at once?
- Recall a time when someone evaluated you. Was it easy for you to take the criticism? Why or why not?
- Read 1 Peter 5:5. Why does Peter focus on humility? What can that look like in regards to accepting criticism.
- Give an example of how not to lovingly tell someone they need to grow in a certain area. Now give an example of how you would lovingly do it.
- What does it mean to go Full Circle? Why is it important that every Christian goes full circle in their pursuit of God?
- Why is prayer so important in our walk with God? Why is it important to pray for the people we mentor?
- Read 1 Corinthians 3:6. Why is it important to know that God is the one who makes the seed grow? What does this mean for the people we mentor?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
Now that we have laid the groundwork for what worship mentoring is and what it looks like, we are going to look at five practical tips that will help you succeed as a worship mentor. As you are worship mentoring, make sure to follow these steps in each of your relationships.
Invite
In most cases, people may not come up to you and asked to be worship mentored – at least at first. For this reason you should actively look for someone to mentor, and once you have identified them, invite them to get together. This may sound uncomfortable, but you would be surprised at how many people would love to be worship mentored. This could be someone who is new to a worship team, or maybe someone who is not yet a worship team member, but wants to be.
Ephesians 4:16 (NIV) From Him (Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ultimately, you want to worship mentor to build up your ministry, which will build the Kingdom of God. As we do our part in worship mentoring those in our ministries, God will be with us and help our ministry flourish. So don’t be afraid to invite someone into a worship mentoring relationship.
Model
This is arguably the most important tip, because if you’re not modeling what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus in the context of being on a worship team, chances are the person/people you are going to mentor will pick up on that real fast. You can’t lead someone where you have never been. Make sure that you are “living what you are preaching” while mentoring. You don’t have to be perfect or have it all together, but you need to be growing in your relationship with God and walking in integrity.
Proverbs 10:9 (ESV) Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
Teach
Don’t feel like you have to be make your teaching overly complicated and involved. Focus on the two main areas in worship mentoring: attitude and musicianship. Using the FLEX method and tools available at pursueGOD.org/worship, you should be able to keep your teaching on track and clear. All of the conversational articles and videos are grounded in scripture.
1 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Listen
Just as we are going to be imparting wisdom to the people we are mentoring, they will also impart wisdom to us. It is because of this that we need to make sure that we are not doing all of the talking.
Proverbs 18:2 Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.
Trust
You as the mentor could do everything possible, but at the end of the day, you have to trust that God’s plan is higher than our plan. Don’t get discouraged if your mentoring relationship is not going how you want it to; instead, pray that God would work in the situation. All you can do is your part.
Psalm 37:5 (ESV) Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Personally order the five steps above from most important to least important. Explain why you have ordered them this way.
- Would you feel comfortable approaching someone about mentoring? Why or why not?
- Why is it so important to model what you are saying?
- What is the FLEX Method? How would using it help you mentor someone?
- Would you consider yourself to be a good listener? What are some things that you can do while mentoring to make sure you aren’t doing all of the talking?
- Describe a time when you were frustrated or disappointed with someone who didn’t meet your expectations, even though you had done your part.
- Which of these steps is the hardest for you? What are some steps you can take to grow in that area?
- Identify someone within your worship ministry that you could mentor, as well as someone that could mentor you.
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
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