Before we planted a church in 2011, my husband, Wayne, was a youth evangelist. For over 10 years, we traveled together to all kinds of settings, great and small. It was really a privilege to see across the country how God was moving in so many different places.

We found a very consistent pattern. In the churches that were experiencing God in a powerful way, there were some similarities. We consistently found powerful worship and an openness to the Spirit through some type of responsive prayer time. Sometimes it was in cities; sometimes it was in rural communities. But it was the same Spirit.

This consistent factor in Pentecostal worship goes back to the Azusa Street Revival. There was a flow of continuous prayer, singing, singing in the Spirit, and preaching. There was a looseness to the worship that made it cohesive. There was a shocking diversity that made it united. The very enthusiasm that characterized Azusa is what propelled its participants to evangelize the world. Styles may have evolved through different movements, yet those hallmarks have endured somewhere in Pentecostal worship.

For a long time, worship and preaching operated completely separate, except for the rare moment when everything happened to align. In the last decade with more churches planning various sermon series, there has been a better understanding of how every element of a service can be pointing toward the same message. Still, how can we use the best planning tools available to us while maintaining the distinct openness associated with Pentecostal worship?

For starters, a philosophy of partnership between the lead pastor and the worship leader is fundamental to creating an atmosphere where God can move. Music, when used as a vessel, is a powerful tool for opening our hearts to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It is a means to an end. It is not the end. As a worship leader, there is great freedom when I lead from this understanding. It’s not about me and my song list; it’s about setting the table for an encounter with the living God.

That may mean an interruption to our thoroughly rehearsed plan. Setting up my pastor to preach the word to open hearts is my number one goal. I’m here to serve the team. I have seen the flair of tension between the worship leader and the pastor/speaker in churches large and small. I get it — a lot of time goes into preparing for a worship set. But it stunts the maturity of the entire church when the worship leader believes that what he or she brings is the most important element of the service.

A philosophy of partnership between the lead pastor and the worship leader is fundamental to creating an atmosphere where God can move.

At the same time, music is fundamental to a Pentecostal service. A speaker relies on a worship leader to be sensitive to God, from the start of corporate worship through the response. Mutual respect for each other's creative craft will establish a partnership that can go the distance.

Another challenging factor is time. When you have multiple services, how do you get people to shake off the week and get into the presence of God when the set is 18 minutes long? I was always amazed when I was a student at North Central University (Minneapolis), how we could have powerful worship day after day in chapel. It was 12-15 minutes. I learned that it wasn’t about the time, it was about the space.

Often, worship leaders try to pack in too many songs, and there is no room to just focus on the presence of God. Eliminate one song in the same amount of time. Give God space to speak and move. Build in time to take liberty with the song; the room will engage in a deeper way.

It was also because our leaders at NCU spent a lot of time with God, and the moment worship started, they were comfortable in His presence. When a worship leader’s heart is daily saturated in the presence of Jesus, we lead from the overflow. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you are running on spiritual fumes Sunday morning. But there’s nothing better than continuing in the flow of what the Holy Spirit has been speaking to you throughout the week.

Many people may think it is a given, that those leading from the front should have a deep devotional life. But no one can pay you to be a man or woman of God. If they could, then they could take it away from you when the job was over. It is a daily decision to walk in Spirit through prayer, love of the Word, and personal worship, regardless of one’s position or career.

I believe many of us want to produce quality programming while still pursuing the Holy Spirit. Let’s defer to one another in love. Let’s create some space for God to move in our midst. Let’s allow the passion of Pentecost to burn in our hearts and fuel the message of Christ in everything we do.