One of the best lessons I ever learned about how to help others connect with God came through a technical problem that got my sweat glands overproducing until God showed me how to turn it into an opportunity for true worship. It was the quintessential worship leader’s nightmare: in the middle of a song, the projector went belly up. I was tempted to worship the technology: “How can we go on without the projector?” Fortunately, rather than heeding my anxieties, I took a risk and used spaces between lyrics to prompt the group with ad lib vocals. Afterward, I had people tell me that when the projector went down was when they went up—into God’s presence. The words weren’t there to distract them; they just closed their eyes and followed my lead. Sometimes removing the “middle man” of the printed word will bring people face to face with the God to whom they’re singing.

As worship leaders, we want people to worship God and not just sing songs. How can we help others make that critical transition from reciting words—or even singing with great passion—to actually interacting with the Spirit, who wants to transform their lives forever?

True worship from a person to God requires a spiritual connection that worship leaders can’t force, control or manipulate. We have to trust God and God’s work in people. This trust requires us to get into place as doorkeepers in the house party of God (Psalm 84:10) and, along with God, welcome fellow worshipers in to participate. We cannot make worship happen, but with thoughtfulness, persistence and a willingness to take risks we can get people into  the house and then help them have the courage to approach the host. Once there, they can thank him for the great party or have that heart-to-heart talk they’ve been needing to have.

Here are some ideas for how to use thoughtfulness, persistence and risk-taking to partner with God in transforming “singers” into “worshipers”:

Calls to worship aren’t just for Sunday mornings. Most churches have some form of a “call to worship.” It may be listed in the bulletin as such and consist of a formal prayer, or it may be a more spontaneous plea—an elder’s passionate testifying to the goodness of God, for example. Regardless, it’s a worthwhile tradition because it recognizes that human beings need to be exhorted to worship God.

Develop a call-to-worship style that works for your context. It may be a relevant Scripture reading, an exhortation from you, or a testimony from a chapter member. It may be a poem or a projected visual image that you ask people to reflect on before the first song. It may be different each week. Thoughtfully consider what will help your group transcend the distractions of their day and entrust their lives to God.

What do these words mean anyway? The call to worship gets people in the front door, but now they need a path cleared so they can actually get to the host. The lyrics we sing aid in opening this path. Help people connect with the words and not just recite them: explain or have them talk in pairs about how a phrase grown stale is still relevant to their lives; read a song’s words before you start it and let their meaning sink in; pray in the midst of a song, while the music continues, and use the lyrics in your prayer. This is where risk-taking comes in. Be willing to try new things so that your followers are engaging with the words and hopefully, through that, with God.

Allow space to confess, reflect, pray and deal. Don’t be the only one to pray over the group during the music—allow group members, individually and in small groups, to talk to God for themselves. Here’s where you need to be persistent. It takes time for most of us to open ourselves to God. Stand firm in your desire to see your friends connect with God and don’t cut prayer times short because you’re not sure if anyone is actually communicating with God. God speaks, but we need to create time and space for him to speak and for us to listen.

Other ways you can encourage conversation with God in the midst of musical worship are to encourage personal confession of sin, then speak assurance of God’s forgiveness, or give the group a topic for intercession. Don’t be afraid of situations in which some might be crying as they allow God to deal with pain in their lives. The Spirit wants to help others in the room deal honestly with him, as well; pray for wisdom and encourage people in that direction. With thoughtfulness, persistence and risk-taking, you can help your group connect with God—and you will experience God more deeply, too.

—Sundee Frazier and her husband, Matt, led the Urbana 2000 worship team. They now live in Pasadena, California. Sundee is a freelance writer.