The Worship Leader

I made mention last week that I would blog about all the things that go on in the mind of a worship leader.  Since then, I have decided to do a little blog-series on different aspects of the worship leader:  the role, the challenges, the common mistakes, and the next generation.

Before I dive into all of that, here is a little history on Kevin Bradford the worship leader.  I led for the first time when I was a freshman in college at my home church, First Baptist Church of North Augusta, for the student service.  Back then we did powerful worship songs like “Pharoah Pharoah” and “I’ve Got A River of Life”  (What were we thinking???)  

After that, I went off to college in Nashville, TN, at Belmont University (go Bruins!) and eventually started leading worship for a student ministry at Judson Baptist Church.  This is where I really began to grow as a worship leader.  Sure there were cheesy camp songs, but there were also songs with meaning and power.  The first song I can remember like that was Better is One Day by Matt Redman.  It makes me laugh at how awkward I was then.  I would become so nervous if I had to say anything to the students over the mic…like, “Come on and clap your hands” was a struggle!  I did a lot of eye closing during those days…

After that, I moved up in the world and began leading worship for adults at a new church in Frederick, MD, called Summit Trace Church.  I began to dive more into worship books and discovered songs with a lot of depth to them that really connected my soul to worship.  I learned so much during this time.  I had a mentor for a short time that had led worship for many years at various Vineyard Churches around the country.  I remember him describing the unique role of a worship leader as being the ebb and flow of God to the people and the people to God.

The next six or seven years have seen me continue in my growth as a worship leader in North Augusta, SC. I have specifically realized that corporate worship is not about me and my time of worship, but rather it is about gauging where people are at and then leading them to a deeper understanding and experience of God.

So that is my background as a worship leader.  In the next post, we will take a look at the role of the worship leader.  This will be fun...