When leading worship for a congregation, there are several goals to keep in view. Certainly, you want to worship Jesus and lead by example. You want to honor God by focusing on Him and offering your best. But with so many other things you need to accomplish, it’s easy to lose sight of worship entirely.

Here is a partial list of concerns a typical worship leader has:

• Perform songs well. You can’t lead people well if you’re struggling to remember the chords or the lyrics.
• Direct the band and vocalists. This often consists of volunteer musicians who need guidance as they navigate their way through the song. The worship leader needs to make sure those same volunteers are growing in their gifts and enjoying themselves so they’ll want to continue to serve and not leave the church.
• Lead the other volunteers who are involved in the worship service. You need to make sure the sound person is mixing the volume well and the media person has the right slides, for example.
• Keep the congregation engaged. You want to represent your church well and impress visitors. You also want to keep the regulars happy — although I’m pretty sure the number of worship leaders in history who successfully pleased everybody remains at zero.
• Keep an eye on the front row. Is the pastor happy? Does he or she like the songs and think you’re doing a good job? Are leaders stressed about the worship team, the sound, or the lights? Does the preacher want extra songs to help pad out this week’s sermon?

Finally, worship pastors need to fix their gaze on Jesus, worship Him in the splendor of His holiness, and model worship for those observing.

As a side note, I’d like to encourage all lead pastors to engage in worship with your congregation. I know you too have many things on your mind, but it sets a wonderful tone if you worship. Don’t use that time for final sermon prep. If you don’t have your sermon ready by the start of the service, perhaps there are other scheduling issues you should address. Also, don’t worry so much about music, sound and lights. Certainly those things can be a distraction, and we should strive to offer God our best, but more distracting than sound and lighting is a staff of pastors nervously pacing the front row, glaring at the sound booth, and raising the collective blood pressure of everyone in the room.

Recognizing all of these worship service complexities, how could we possibly reduce all of this down to one goal for every worship team?

This one goal is rather simple and easy to measure. It is attainable for big and small congregations, and for professional worship teams and volunteers. It is applicable to churches with fog machines and worship team members in ripped denim and sneakers, as well as those with orchestras and robed choir members.

We can all foster environments where people can sing together and honor God.

The goal is for the congregation to sing — really sing to the Lord. I believe that if a high percentage of the congregation joins in to sing and worship, the worship service was a success.

Why is singing important? First of all, Scripture repeatedly tells us to sing — to sing a new song, to lift our voices with joy and gratitude, to proclaim the goodness of God, and to admonish one another through song (Psalm 33:3; 68:32; 95:2; 96:1; 100:2; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

A corporate time of worship is never something to observe; it’s for participation. Singing is how people participate. We can also dance, clap, and lift hands, but I believe singing is the most important expression.

One of the most unifying things we can do as a congregation is to sing. There’s something about joining our voices to express the same words and proclaim the same truths, in same melody — together.

There are also many benefits to us personally when we use our voices to sing out our worship of God. Words are powerful. If we speak negatively often enough, our thoughts will follow suit. Likewise, when we proclaim God’s mercy, faithfulness, love, and power, those words can affect us at a heart level.

Singing the truths of Scripture helps us remember those truths. Perhaps you memorized the U.S. state capitals in elementary school by singing them. Putting words to music helps us remember those words. Since singing helps us remember, we should be sure what we are singing contains substance and Scripture — something worth remembering.

And finally, singing is a good goal because it’s attainable for every worship team. It does not matter whether you have a big church or a small one, a full band or just a piano. We can all foster environments where people can sing together and honor God.

I have seen too many churches try to replicate the look and sound of some other church, only to leave the congregation bewildered as silent spectators. If your goal is to look and sound like someone else, you may or may not achieve it. In fact, it’s likely you won’t.

After all, the church you’re trying to imitate probably has professional musicians, singers, and sound systems. Meanwhile, the typical church is fortunate if the teen from the high school marching band shows up and remembers to bring drumsticks.

However, if the primary goal is simply to sing together, your congregation can achieve this. And that singular focus can help bring down the stress level of Sunday mornings significantly.

I’m not arguing for or against a particular style of music or band. If you have a great band that crushes it every Sunday, that’s great. If you have a small team or even just a solo instrument, that’s great too. We can sing along either way.

So what does it look like to have singing and participation as your goal? First, you must choose songs and song keys that allow anyone to sing along. Many worship songs are too lyrically complex, with a vocal range that few people can manage.

Finally, to accomplish this goal, worship leaders need to lead differently. They need to engage more with the congregation. Plan intentional times when the band volume comes down so everyone can hear all the voices. The entire approach changes once you establish a clear and attainable goal.

Your church may have a number of goals for the worship service, and that’s fine. But I believe singing is a great place to start.