Guest Blogger: Wade Joye

Recently, our service programming team sought to come up with a good way to evaluate our worship experience each week. How could we determine both on the front end, when we plan, and on the back end as we evaluate, whether or not a worship experience captured the spirit and vision of Elevation Church?

After being inspired by a conversation with Pace from Fellowship Church, we developed the following 5 elements that every Elevation service should have.

These elements are all built on the foundation of worshipping in a way that lifts the name of Jesus high and making Him the center of our time together.

We know that these may change, but right now they are …

Energy – Is the worship experience full of life? Both in the stage dynamics of our band and in the tone of the songs picked, are we boldly celebrating the life we have in Christ? A song doesn’t have to be super fast to have energy either. Hillsong’s Stronger is a slower tune that absolutely explodes in our worship experiences.

Flow – Does every element of the worship experience seamlessly fit together as one, or does the service feel jumbled with a lot of different elements that have no consistent theme? Do the spoken transitions by the worship leaders, the videos used, announcements, etc. all work together in a smooth and meaningful way? Are there any awkward silences or elements not executed well that kill the mood and become a distraction?

Creativity – This category is pretty broad, but is there at least one fresh element in the worship experience? Recently, we took Chris Tomlin’s My Deliverer, a song we have done a lot, and put a Radiohead hook in it to make it come alive in a new way. It reminded me that you don’t have to pull out all the stops to be creative and have a powerful moment.

Far from God focused – Are we too insider with our language, or are we thinking about the person who is far from God that is sitting in our service for their first time at church in years? Do the creative elements we choose speak more to the first time guest, or to “our people.”

Intentionality – Are we taking people on a purposeful journey in each worship service? We always want to have one “payoff” moment where no matter what frame of mind someone was in when they entered the service, they are now engaged in worship and ready to hear the preaching of the Word of God when Pastor Steven steps on stage.

While these standards work well for us, they might not be the best for your church. Pull your team together and work through what the essential elements are for your services. The exercise alone will be well worth your time.