Let’s talk worship pastor goals for 2023!

It’s time for us to start thinking through our worship pastor goals for 2023, because… it’s a new year! A New Year. Sweet for some. Bitter for others.

Some recognize a New Year as a clean slate. A blank canvas just waiting to be decorated with the colors of new experiences and goals accomplished. Others sense the newness like a weight to be carried for another 365 days. Dwelling on sour moments and missed opportunities and “what if’s” of the year lying ahead.

For me, I find myself fluctuating at the crossroads of these two emotions this year.

Naturally, I am an opportunist and optimist. It’s just my nature to see the “bright-side” in pretty much all aspects of life. But can I be totally honest with you? … I feel the weight of going into this New Year. I look back and I see missed opportunities, things I got wrong, and goals I didn’t quite achieve. And when I look ahead, I sometimes sense the pressure of the “what if’s”.

I get to do what I absolutely love and what I know the Lord has called me to in my role as a Worship Pastor. I get to celebrate and experience so many holy moments filled with hope and light, by seeing Gods hand at work often…but along with the title, comes with a huge responsibility to lead well, teach well, equip well, and empower well.

Going into this New Year, I’ve reflected over the past and have prayed for guidance as I embark on the new. Heed warning- I’m inviting you into my headspace as I share my 3 worship pastor goals for 2023.

1st Worship Pastor Goal for 2023 – Develop. Not deprive.

I love my job. I love every opportunity to use the gift of music that the Lord has given me to praise and teach of who He is. But the role we have as a leader and/or Pastor is so much bigger than what we do administratively or musically.

Ephesians 4:11-12 says this, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.”

This is not something to take lightly.

Going into this New Year, my husband and I have made it a goal of utmost priority, to better empower and equip our teams. In our years of ministry, we have been so blessed to be mentored by such giants of the faith. It’s because of the example set by these spiritual giants, that we can understand the importance of developing and discipling others.

It’s not only an honor to help others step into and grow in their creative giftings, but it’s what scripture asks of us! To equip others for the glory of the Church is our God-given responsibility.

By not being intentional about my teams individual development, I’m depriving them of growth.

By not being intentional about empowering, I’m enabling stagnation.

Here are some tangible steps I’ll be taking this year to ensure I’m contributing to the development process.

Intentional, one on one conversations. At least once a week, I’ll invite someone from my team to coffee, lunch, to the gym, or on a walk.. If you don’t already have an established rapport, it’s time to start building that first and foremost.

When a relationship has evolved and trust has been established, that is the perfect opportunity to identify goals (both spiritually and musically) and begin to create with them a realistic process in how to achieve those goals.

This could look like a mentorship, accountability program, one on one teaching time, one on one devotionals, equipping with resources specific to the goal via book or online, etc.

I’m confident that these conversations will bear fruitful relationships and allow you and I to identify and meet the specific and unique needs of each team member.

2nd Worship Pastor Goal for 2023 – Give the House a Voice.

I love to write. Music, poetry, blogs … call it the “gift of gab” (if you will), but make it *aRtSy*

More recently, I feel so strongly that there are songs just waiting to be birthed specifically for the local Church.

I think about the local Church I’m at… a one-service, still growing, still healing from past traumas, Spirit-filled, Gospel focused kind of Church.

When the congregation leaves and it’s just myself inside the four walls, I often wonder the stories those walls could tell.

There’s a tangible sense of the prayers that penetrate the drywall and soak through to the foundation. This House has a story worth sharing, and I feel a strong conviction to write songs with a congregational representation of what God has done, is doing, and will do through His people.

So going into this year, our team has set already set aside time every week to write.

We plan to bring ideas and melodies to our writing sessions. We’ll invite our Pastors and elders to be apart (because who better to convey the songs for your Church than the leaders with the vision?). We’ll invite Worship Pastors from other local churches in our community (because we realize that the (capital C) Church is ALL Churches).

As I dive head first into this dream, consistency and fervent prayer are going to be the keys to success.

Consistency to keep going even on the days that you can’t come up with anything to write… and prayer that when the words do come that they are God orchestrated and would convey His heart.

3rd Worship Pastor Goal for 2023 – Over-Communication

I have had to work realllllllllly hard to be the communicator I am today, and I still have a long ways to go.

When the Lord was designing my DNA makeup, he went a little crazy with that Type B personality trait.

I’m well aware that when it comes to leading people (and even leading myself) that my overwhelming spontaneity can be a blessing and a curse…

A blessing in the sense that it’s so important to be able to teach and lead from a place of flexibility to the Spirit. A curse in the sense that this year specifically, I have made some crucial mistakes when it comes to lack of detail. I’ve had to come to the hard realization that I am not leading well when I am not communicating well.

This includes (for me) not setting clear expectations for onboarding, sometimes not sending out PCO reminders or sets in a timely manner, changing setlists without proper notice, etc., etc., etc..

So, as I embark on the newness of 2023, I can’t stop pondering the quote from author, Alex Irvine…

“Overcommunicate. It’s better to tell someone something they already know than to not tell them something they needed to hear.” *mic drop*

I know these goals are what I need to go to the next level this year.

So here’s to keeping detailed, weekly to-do lists, delegating some of what’s on my plate in order to help free my mind up to ensure consistent communication is taking place, and (for the sake of accountability) asking for honest feedback from my team and fellow staff.

These are just a few of my “high-priority” worship pastor goals for 2023 on my big list of thoughts going into the New Year. 

There’s so many things I want to do better this year than I did last year. There’s so many things I’m looking forward to.

But at the end of the day, I want to be closer to God tomorrow than I was today.

I know that by spending time in His Word and in His presence that that is where true growth lies.

With Him, I can accomplish the things I’ve set my mind on and more. So much more…

Christ-likeness is the goal. Jesus is the Way.

In this New Year, I’m choosing to think about the vastness of opportunity that lies in front of me.

What I sense ahead feels much more significant than what I’m leaving behind.

How about you? What are your goals as you head into 2023? Let us know in the comments below!

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