An open letter from Harmony Smith, Director of Worship for Vineyard Worship UK & Ireland.
Dear Worship Tribe
Thank you for all that you do! This is a simple message of encouragement to you. Worship leading and how we do church has changed overnight. But here are some things that have not changed.
Intimacy with Jesus
Intimacy is still at the heart of who we are as worship leaders in the Vineyard. If you already have rhythms of personal prayer and worship, you are well prepared for this season. If you have found this difficult, now is a great time to try something new. Many of you have heard me say – the greatest threat to worship is not production or platform, but neglecting the secret place. We have a new opportunity for intimacy with Jesus to flourish. I trust that Jesus will lead you into new rhythms for a new season.
We have some helpful resources available to you, such as the How to spend time with Jesus booklet; a recent film on Intimacy by Jesse Duley; plus we’ve made our Spiritual Formation cards available to you free of charge, to download and print at home.
Your calling
How you connect with your people has probably changed dramatically, but your calling to love and serve your community is still the same. You might feel ill-prepared for this season – but we are all in the same boat. None of us have done this before. Most of us are learning new skills like live-streaming as quickly as we can. We are all simply doing our best. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect! I had a coach who used to say to me: ‘Sometimes ‘done’ is good enough’! Are you prepared to be faithful to your calling and to lead, even when you feel out of your depth?
We now have a section of this website dedicated to equipping you throughout this pandemic.
You are creative
If you are like me, your inner creative self is giddy with anticipation of having more time to write! I am so curious about what will surface and where the Holy Spirit will lead. Are you ready for the download of creativity and inspiration? I am expectant that powerful songs and world-changing ideas will be birthed in our worship tribe over the coming months!
You might find these free resources helpful to you: Developing Creative Culture by Adam Russell on our YouTube channel; and a talk I gave at the 2017 National Worship Retreat, titled ‘Our Voice.’
Worship leading is still a team sport!
We cannot do this alone. More than ever, we need each other. Let’s continue to work as a team. Let’s look for creative ways to enlist the gifts, skills, and stories of the people around us. Let’s find ways to encourage participation even as we live stream. (For instance, maybe people at home can get their instruments out and join in!) And let’s not give in to the enemy’s strategy to isolate us. We are not alone!
We would love to hear the stories of what God is doing in your community. E-mail [email protected] to share your story with us.
You can do this, worship tribe!
Much love
Harmony Smith
Director of Worship
