Equipping Students for Worship Leadership
Worship Lab Summer Camp
Serving as the foundation for this project's work is Worship Lab, the summer music leadership camp. This event brings together students from across the country for a week long training experience.
Students who attend the camp will be equipped in four specific ways: musically, theologically, spiritually, and intergenerationally.
- Musically
During the camp, students will participate in instrument specific breakouts. Each breakout allows the students to develop their musical skills. The two breakouts offer different information for the beginner and intermediate players. Having breakout options designated by skill level, allows students who play multiple instruments to receive basic training on an instrument they are just learning and more advanced instruction for their primary instrument.
- Theologically
Students will attend breakouts that address non-musical topics. Previous topics have included breakout sessions on stage presence, planning worship, and spiritual disciplines. Each of these sessions equip students beyond what they do musically. These skills provide well-rounded training for each of these students.
- Spiritually
Beyond breakout sessions, the students have designated small group times with their band. These times help develop greater relations between the students but also to prompt deeper thinking and conversations on important topics. The small group times operate as a brief bible study where the students are guided through Scripture passages and discussion questions. Through these discussions, students get to know one another better and deepen their understanding of the Bible and how to apply its truths to their lives.
- Intergenerationally
Students participate in the worship gatherings at the Alleluia Conference that takes place concurrently on Baylor’s campus. These worship services provide meaningful times for both the older and younger generations. This intergenerational opportunity may be the only time a student sings with the older generations outside of the holidays. Some churches choose to silo the youth in their own worship service on a Sunday morning, so this opportunity is especially important for those students. In addition to the worship services, each band will have a lunch conversation with an attendee from the Alleluia Conference. These lunch conversations allow for the relationship to move beyond singing together to learning and growing with one another. There is much that can be learned from the younger and the older generations.
Worship Lab Church Workshops
The Worship Lab Workshops are a one-day regional workshop hosted at a local church. The workshop is a condensed form of the weeklong camp. Due to time constraints, the primary training that is offered to all students are the breakouts on non-instrument topics. The breakouts include sessions on planning worship, stage presence, and spiritual disciplines. In addition to these sessions, students are taught through large group sessions divided into voice, instrument, and tech. These larger breakout sessions provide musical instruction for the students in a condensed format. Musical instruction is provided through a masterclass with the host church’s youth band. This master class allows for the attendees to learn about specific band related techniques that they can take with them back to their home churches. Lastly, a Q&A discussion on the topic of what worship is allows the students to move beyond the act of worship to learning about the reason for worship and what it truly is. These workshops are valuable opportunities for us to create relationships with churches in various regions. Youth music ministries from neighboring churches can attend this free event and receive instruction without having to travel to Waco. Lastly, they function as previews for the Worship Lab summer camp that encourages the students to attend if they enjoyed the one-day workshop.