You've just planted your first church and all is well except for one important thing, you don't have a worship team. Your spouse can't play an instrument, and you certainly can't sing! Don't despair there is hope. Often when churches are new, and even in the life of an established church, there are times when you don't have anyone to lead worship.

A few years ago my husband and I were pastoring a church that was blessed to have a young man who was an excellent piano player. Then one day he decided to leave for college. Guess what? I had to learn to play the piano in less than two weeks. I had never played before and the only thing I knew to do was to pray. I prayed for hours asking the Lord to give me the ability to at least be able to play some chords. I had tried to learn to play in the past and I couldn't do it.

The Lord was faithful! Within two weeks I was able to play all of our worship songs. I know very well that it is God that does it through me so I must depend upon Him at all times. I am telling you this to give you hope that if you desire to play, and there is a need, he will give you the ability.

It is helpful to find a piano course that teaches you to play by "ear" or by chording if you need to learn to play quickly. The best one that I have seen is Pattern Piano by David Sprunger. He quickly teaches you the basics to get you playing in no time. There are also many great guitar courses available on the net or at your local music store.

If you shudder at the thought of learning to play an instrument, another option is to use split-track CDs or cassettes. These are recordings that allow you to mute the vocals and still have the instrument parts to sing along with. You can find split-track CDs and cassettes at your local Christian book store or online at Christian Book Distributors.

If you have a little understanding of MIDI, you can use a software program like Band-in-a-Box to make your own midi tracks. This program is as simple as is gets. You simply type-in the chords to your worship song, pick a style, press a button, and it generates a full accompaniment to your song! You can put the songs in the order you choose on a floppy (if you have a MIDI player), or you can copy the worship set to a cassette or CD from your computer.

If you have a MIDI player, there are hundreds of commercial MIDI files that you can purchase. Try Music Mansion for the largest selection I have seen. With these files you can transpose the key, mute instruments, change the tempo, etc. These options are great for using as a backup for those times when you find yourself without musicians, especially when you are in the beginning stages of developing a worship team.

There are also several companies that sell worship DVDs which include enough songs for a worship service, nice visuals, and the ability to display the words if you desire. They are in a Powerpoint-like format and are very versatile. They can however be a little pricey depending upon who you buy them from. One company that offers these is Songs4worship.com which is a subsidiary of Integrity Music.

Of course if your church is established, you can usually find someone in the congregation that can play a lead instrument. Be sure to read the guidelines to knowing if a person is called to lead worship, and a great article by Bob Kauflin of PDI Ministries entitled "What to look for in a worship musician". Another way to find musicians is to place flyers or "ads" in the windows, or on the bulletin boards, of business in your area. You can also place a free add in Christianet.com. Be sure to give your location in the add.

I think we have forgotten in our entertainment era that a person leading a congregation in song from the pulpit, acappella, with a passion for Jesus Christ can be a very powerful thing. Don't feel that you must have a full worship team in place from the start. It seems most people expect to be entertained these days, but remember that's not why we are here. Do your best to bring to your congregation what Jesus wants. Let Him bring it together in His time and it will be a beautiful thing.

For more worship articles by Kim Linton click here.