Would you like to improve the effectiveness and impact of your worship? Would you like the worship experience to get better? How do we do that? We start by debriefing the worship just concluded. We do this naturally and virtually immediately. Hopefully we notice both the positive and negative but we evaluate the experience as soon as it ends (and sometimes earlier).
As intelligent and emotional beings perhaps we cannot help but interpret and evaluate most everything in our lives. Debriefing can be very helpful is shaping, guiding and using our propensity to analysis to make things “better”. Regardless of the style of worship we offer would it not be a good idea to evaluate the effectiveness of what we do, why and how?
Start with choosing your “evaluation” team. Bring together some folks you trust who are willing to be honest, who are focused on helping to provide help and together create the best ministry possible and support both persons and program. It may be the worship leadership team, or a worship committee, or a few friends. The purpose is not finding flaws it is about building up, strengthening, enhancing and expanding the good we do. And when you meet, I recommend allowing some time to pass before gathering for review.
In your debrief meeting begin with prayer and the focus not on the past but on using the debrief to help prepare the next worship experience.
What to debrief:
- What were the goals? What were we trying to accomplish?
- What was the message we were trying to communicate?
- How did the Order of Service contribute or impede the experience and communication?
- What did we want people to be thinking and feeling after the service ended?
- Examine each worship element, its impact and effectiveness. From arrival trough the worship service to departure. How did each element contribute to the overall experience?
Please Note: I tend to approach worship thematically, insuring that all worship elements point in the same direction. Knowing that people respond differently and are affected by different things I work with my team to try to shape services with the idea that all elements contribute to the overall theme so that all had the opportunity to experience and understand.
Next, let it simmer. Give yourselves some time to consider the lessons and evaluation. Let the ideas mature a bit before you plan the next experience.
Finally, relax. Remember that worship development is a long and constantly emerging process. As disciples on the journey of faith and life we are constantly growing and becoming. People do not respond well to radical or rapid change, but often embrace the little changes and improvements that happen over time and enhance and enrich their experience and faith.
