Course Overview
A worship leader carries more than a microphone—they carry the responsibility of shaping how people engage with God. The Art of Leading Worship is a 6-lesson course designed to equip worship leaders with the biblical grounding, musical understanding, and spiritual awareness needed to lead with integrity and excellence. Drawing from decades of teaching and ministry, Dick Grout provides a practical and theological framework that helps worship leaders develop both their skill and their calling.
Course Description:
This course helps worship leaders understand what it truly means to lead worship—not just perform music. Each lesson addresses a vital aspect of worship ministry, from personal character and spiritual preparation to team dynamics and song selection. Dick Grout blends academic depth with practical experience, giving worship leaders a toolkit that balances planning with sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
Whether you’re leading a small team or a large congregation, The Art of Leading Worship offers time-tested principles that can transform how you prepare, lead, and serve. You’ll gain clarity about your role, confidence in your preparation, and a deeper sense of purpose behind every set list. This course is about more than music—it’s about learning how to faithfully steward the presence of God through worship.
What You’ll Learn
Equip yourself with the tools to grow as a worship leader—spiritually, musically, and pastorally.
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The biblical role and responsibilities of the worship leader
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How to lead with both skill and spiritual sensitivity
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Choosing songs that reflect theology, flow, and congregational connection
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Leading and mentoring a worship team
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Planning services with structure and openness to the Spirit
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How to grow in humility, excellence, and consistency
Who Should Take This Course:
This course is designed for anyone actively serving—or preparing to serve—as a worship leader.
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Worship leaders who want to grow in biblical understanding and leadership
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Musicians transitioning into worship leadership roles
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Worship teams looking to build spiritual and musical unity
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Church leaders developing in-house worship leaders
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Students pursuing worship ministry training
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Anyone called to lead others in musical, Christ-centered worship
Sessions
1. The Worship Leader
This session introduces the biblical and practical role of the worship leader. Dick Grout unpacks how worship leadership goes far beyond musical talent—it’s about character, preparation, and a heart that seeks to serve the congregation rather than perform for them. Students will explore what Scripture says about the worship leader’s responsibilities and why integrity offstage is just as essential as excellence onstage. By the end of this session, learners will have a clearer understanding of what it means to lead worship with both purpose and spiritual authority.
2. The Heart of Worship
True worship begins with the inner life of the worship leader. In this session, Dick Grout emphasizes the importance of cultivating a personal, vibrant relationship with God before ever stepping onto a platform. Topics include purity of motive, sensitivity to the Spirit, and how private devotion fuels public ministry. Worship leaders will be challenged to examine their own spiritual lives and invited to pursue worship that is not only musically excellent, but also rooted in surrender and reverence.
3. The Focus of Our Worship
This session re-centers worship around its true subject: the glory of God. Dick Grout challenges worship leaders to evaluate whether their leadership points people toward Christ or toward themselves. Through theological reflection and practical instruction, students will learn how to plan and lead worship in a way that keeps Jesus at the center—not just in theory, but in every lyric, transition, and expression. It’s a call to recapture awe, strip away distraction, and lead with eternal perspective.
4. The Worship Songs
Choosing songs is one of the worship leader’s most powerful responsibilities. This lesson explores how musical choices shape spiritual formation, theology, and the congregation’s connection with God. Dick Grout provides a framework for selecting songs that are biblically sound, musically accessible, and contextually appropriate. Students will also examine how to construct a worship set that flows meaningfully and invites full participation, rather than simply performing a list of favorites.
5. The Worship Team
A worship leader is also a team builder. In this session, Dick Grout shares strategies for leading a worship team with clarity, care, and spiritual vision. From scheduling and rehearsals to spiritual accountability and interpersonal dynamics, students will learn how to foster unity among team members and cultivate a healthy culture. The goal is not just to play well together, but to serve one another and the congregation with humility, excellence, and shared purpose.
6. The Worship Service
This final session brings everything together with a look at how to structure and lead a full worship service. Dick Grout walks students through planning, flow, transitions, and the delicate balance between preparation and spontaneity. Worship leaders will learn how to build moments—not just music—and how to remain open to the Holy Spirit while stewarding their role with intentionality. The session concludes with a challenge to lead services that are theologically sound, spiritually alive, and pastorally wise.
Nation-2-Nation Module
Details
Intermediate
6 Sessions
3 hrs 28 min
About the Instructor
Dick Grout
Dick Grout served as Worship Director at Elim Bible Institute & College from 1989 through at least 2023, shaping the school’s worship ministry program for over three decades. Under his leadership, the music department equipped students with both theological depth and practical tools for worship leadership. He authored 13 textbooks, including Developing a Christian Philosophy of Music and The Art of Leading Worship, both of which continue to influence worship leaders and worship educators worldwide.
Throughout his ministry, Dick Grout has written extensively on the biblical role of music in the church and helped design worship curriculum that combines academic rigor with spiritual depth. He and his wife, Marji, have led seminars for churches and worship teams, helping believers grow in both excellence and authenticity. Their shared ministry has encouraged a Christ-centered approach to worship across many congregations and denominations.
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