5 Signs You're Stuck in Your Worship Ministry (And What To Do)

My first eight years in ministry felt like someone threw me into the deep end of a pool. I spent those early years treading water, figuring out which way the shallow end was, and learning so much at once. Trial by fire is a tough way to grow, but it's the reality for a lot of worship leaders.

Within those first eight years, I began to figure some things out - I learned basic swimming strokes, if you will. But it wasn't until I made a move to a different church for a short period and then returned that I learned how to swim well and fast. I discovered that what was missing wasn't more musical skill or better volunteers. It was vision. Once I found clarity, momentum followed. I began to swim with intentionality and purpose, cutting time off my laps as I went.

Looking back, I realize I was stuck for years without even knowing it. And here's what I've learned: feeling stuck isn't a sign you're failing. It's often the first sign you're ready to grow. Let me walk you through five signs that you might be stuck in your worship ministry - and what to do about it.

Sign 1: You're Unclear on Vision

You know you're stuck when you can't articulate why you do what you do. When someone asks about your worship ministry, do you default to talking about song selection and production quality? Or can you cast a compelling, biblically-saturated vision that makes other musicians and tech volunteers want to join what God is doing?

Here's the hard truth: clarity brings momentum. When you don't have a clear vision, you end up doing a bunch of stuff at once with no strategic thought. You see a good idea on social media and try to implement it - adding click tracks, changing systems on a whim, trying creative ideas - without putting it through the grid of what works for your context and the vision God has given you.

I see worship leaders take the "fruit" of successful ministry they see online and try to plant it in the ground at their church. But that's not how it works. The seed you plant is the gospel and the contextualized response of worship to it at your church. Psalm 96:8 reminds us to "ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name" - which is infinite and unending. That's the fruit we're looking for.

What to do: Get out of the weeds of ministry to work on the ministry. Ask and answer the hard questions. What is the one thing you and your ministry are called to do? Answer that question with Scripture, prayer, and strategic thinking, then build from there. We're called to build our section of the wall (Nehemiah). So build what God has called you to with the resources He has given you.

Sign 2: Volunteers Keep Dropping

When I first started at my current church, the volunteer system wasn't broken - it just wasn't optimized. Scheduling was built around who was available, what instrument they played, and spreading songs around "evenly." This method made the person singing or playing the center of everything instead of what helps the church worship fully.

Great people were doing great things, but the wrong focus caused problems. Moving toward a "who can carry this song the best so the room can worship fully" approach changed everything. When you lean into being the best you that you can be - in service of the church's worship - everything shifts.

Here's the reality: broken systems will get you fewer quality volunteers. You need objective ways to evaluate and adjust. No system or a bad system keeps things at a personal level, which you don't want. A good vision and system helps keep things more objective.

When volunteers don't have clarity about expectations, scheduling, resourcing, or growth paths, they drift away. And you can't blame them. If you're making it up as you go, they feel it.

What to do: Do an audit of your systems - or lack thereof. Look at everything: scheduling volunteers, resourcing volunteers, worship planning, recruiting, training. Pick one or two things that need the most immediate work, open up a Google doc, and begin. But don't start with systems alone. Vision comes first. Create a clear vision and build your systems from that foundation. Systems without vision are just bureaucracy.

Sign 3: Your Setlists Feel Stale

There's a fine line between a "musical rut" and "familiar." Too often worship leaders want to get creative because they're bored. But we need to realize that our churches aren't breathing the “worship world” air like we are every week. They may only get a breath on Sundays.

Musical ruts often come from laziness and no amount of risk-taking. But the balance is tricky - you need to gauge how the church is responding and know if your volunteers have the chops to pull off whatever you're about to throw at them.

I always say: mimic, then replicate, then create. Have your band play the song just like the record - then have them sound like the parts—then when they're ready, let them create a bit and add their own flair. Play the song close to the original recording. Not because you can't be creative, but because you're typically working with volunteers who have 50-hour-per-week jobs, and over-complicating things doesn't serve them or the church.

What to do: Try something simple to refresh without overwhelming your team. Do a "front row" service - give your whole team the week off, set up with just an acoustic guitar, and remind everyone that worship isn't about what happens on stage. Or strip it down to cajón, cello, acoustic, and piano. Throw in some variance in the chord voicings. Be creative, but use creativity as a tool - don't make it the goal.

The moments I remember most aren't tied to any particular song or creative arrangement. They're tied to the church going all-in with singing and physical response to the glory of God. An alive room authentically worshiping is what keeps me working on things like creativity and musical excellence.

Sign 4: Ministry Feels Heavy

When I get too caught up in the what I'm working on instead of the why I'm working on it, ministry shifts from a calling to a job. I can also tell when I'm not personally walking with Jesus well - daily in His Word, prayer, around people who encourage me in the faith - because I begin to lead out of a shallow well.

Here's the connection: private worship informs public worship. This is biblical. Sundays aren't the end of your week - they need to be a pit stop. During your week, you worship the Lord with your life. You recognize your daily dependence on Him. You see Him working through a warm hug from a friend, a kind but rebuking word from your spouse to help you be more like Jesus, His provision of three meals a day and a roof over your head, your daily amazement that you - a sinner - can be saved because of God's grace.

Then you come on Sunday having breathed that in all week, and you breathe it out in praise. Full-on worship.

What to do: Do a time check. Look at the screen time on your phone. Are you four hours a day on Instagram and five minutes a day in the Word? Flip that and you'll notice a major difference. Find a great devotional plan—maybe not one on worship, but on God's character or a deep dive on the gospel. Spend time with the Lord in communion with Him. Pray for the Spirit to speak to you. Don't read the Bible to prep for something, but as oxygen for your soul.

Romans 12:1-2 tells us to be living sacrifices - meaning nothing we have is our own. Not our talents, money, resources, or relationships. All is for the praise of His glorious grace. It's all from Him and for Him.

Sign 5: You Feel Alone

When I first started in ministry, I felt pretty alone. I was doing all the work by myself with no one to bounce ideas off of, encourage me, or call me out when I messed up. I only had my lead pastor, who did a good job leading me, but the authority gap made it difficult to have the kind of relationship I needed.

When I found a good friend who loved Jesus - someone I didn't feel like I had to be a "pastor" around - I felt relief. He'd hear me out, challenge me, pray for me, and just hang out with me. That changed everything.

Worship leaders sometimes struggle to find community because of our public role on stage. A lot of people know who we are, but they don't know us. We're also super busy in full-time ministry, and our main job is on the weekend. So the chances to connect with others are more difficult and harder to come by.

Here's the reality: pastoring is lonely. Your whole life is one circle - job, spiritual family, friends—they all overlap. And that can be isolating.

What to do: Pray for the right relationships to come along. Do a relational audit. Is your family your first ministry? Do you have close friends you can confide in? If you have a worship staff, is there enough of a relationship there to make it more than just co-workers? I'd also strongly recommend finding a mentor—someone who isn't on staff, maybe isn't even in worship ministry, but who can help you grow just as a leader, parent, spouse, and Christian. Someone who isn't impressed by you but is for you and can help guide you. This was a game-changer for me.

Find your people and calendar time with them. It's that simple and that difficult.

Getting Unstuck Starts With Naming Where You're Stuck

If any of these five signs resonated with you, here's what I want you to know: you're not alone. Feeling stuck is way more common than you might think. And before you go looking for your next church - which is often the answer worship leaders seek - seek wise counsel on whether the Lord is done with you where you are.

Don't underestimate what you can do in five years, but don't overestimate what you can do in one year. Longevity in one place is a lot more valuable than you realize. Maybe you aren't stuck - maybe you just need fresh vision and direction at your church.

Seek help outside of yourself. An objective person outside of your church who gets where you are and what you're dealing with can help you see things you can't see. It's like a golf swing - you think you can fix it yourself, but you need someone outside of yourself to observe and help you make adjustments so you can drive it 350 yards down the fairway.

Getting unstuck starts with naming where you're stuck. Once you know, you can take your next step forward.

Feeling stuck in your worship ministry? You're not alone. I created a free toolkit for worship leaders who are ready to get unstuck and grow. Download it here →