WORSHIP TRAINING

THE ART OF
SPONTANEOUS
WORSHIP

WIT H VO CA L C OACH CHA RM AI NE BROW N


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BECOMING WORSHIP LEADERS,
NOT SONG LEADERS
Leading the congregation in worship is way more than being the loudest voice of the
lyrics on the screen! We need to lead people and encourage them to be hearing God for
themselves, engaging with God for themselves, and singing out a “new song”!

Psalm 40:3
“He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise.” 

“
“new” = a new thing, something fresh

Ephesians 5:18-20
“Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” 

Spiritual songs are spontaneous songs that the Holy Spirit is breathing on and leading in
the moment. 

Spontaneous moments can be moments for us to express the overflow of our hearts to
our God. 

The lines of the songs we know give us definition, but God is a personal God who speaks
between the lines. 

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As worship leaders, we need to learn to worship between the
lines and teach our congregations to worship between the lines. 

What might a spontaneous worship moment look like?

‣ a moment where there are many voices singing out different things
‣ just the worship leader singing something out

Spontaneous worship is important is because it goes so far beyond worship songs and a
worship set. We need to teach our congregations and model to them how to connect
with their Father God in a way that’s unscripted, raw, and authentic… so that they will do
that in their everyday lives.


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SPONTANEOUS / PROPHETIC
WORSHIP

Spontaneous worship ➝ any time we go “off script”, off the

lyrics on the screen. 

To understand prophetic worship, we must understand what “prophetic” means.

Rev. 19:10
“...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (NKJV)

"For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.” (NLT)

The prophetic testifies to the lordship of Jesus Christ. 

The prophetic points to Jesus.

The prophetic communicates the heart of God.

“
"The prophetic is the right thing at the right
time." — Rick Pino


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The prophetic is rooted in love.  
1 Corinthians 14
"Let love be your highest goal! But… you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit
gives—especially the ability to prophesy. For if you have the ability to speak in tongues,
you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. You will
be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. But one who
prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them.”

We will never be good at stewarding spontaneous prophetic worship moments unless

we’re aiming to be a prophetic person, all the time. 

“
“We’re called to be prophetic people, not
prophetic moment hunters.” — Amanda Cook

Prophetic worship ➝ worship that points to Jesus, is rooted in

love, the right thing sung at the right time.

Prophetic worship may be singing exactly what we planned for our worship set, or it may
be singing a spontaneous song.



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SPONTANEOUS WORSHIP:
FILLING THE SMALL SPACES
Print out the lyrics and find the spaces in the song (any time there’s room for more than a
breath).

Practice filling the spaces in the song. Get comfortable with the rhythm, music, and how
much time you have in each space. 

What words should I sing?

‣ Words/phrases that relate to the theme/focus of the song.
‣ Repeat the line you just sang.
‣ Cue the upcoming line. 
‣ Ad libs: i.e. “oo” / “oh” 

Practice trying different things in different spaces!

How do I know what notes to sing?

‣ The more you do it, the easier it will become to find melodies! 
‣ Watch lots of youtube videos where worship leaders do this… take note where they
sing or speak between the lines, where do they leave space, what kind of melodies
do they use.
‣ Find notes/melodies that are harmonious within the key of whatever song you’re
in. 
‣ Go through the harmony lessons at www.theworshipvocalist.com —> the more you
develop your ear to hear harmony, the easier you’ll be able to sing spontaneous
melodies.

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“Planned spontaneity” ➝ not an oxymoron! As you’re learning
this skill, plan out and practice exactly what you’ll sing! 

If you play an instrument, you can play and sing along. If you don’t play an instrument,
practice “filling in the spaces” with the original song recording.

Just do it. Don’t wait till you’re not afraid! 

Don’t compare your skills or your gifts to others. The biggest stealer of growth is
comparison!


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SPONTANEOUS WORSHIP:
FILLING THE BIG SPACES
The bigger spaces are usually between songs, or within a song if there’s a long
instrumental.

God doesn’t tell us he wants us all to prophesy… and then leave

us to fend for ourselves! He’s given us the Holy Spirit!
Music at its very core and nature is prophetic. It creates. It changes the atmosphere. 

If we can harness the innate, prophetic, creative power of music… music that we have
invited the very spirit of God to breathe on… there’s your spontaneous moment! 

As worship leaders, we are funnels of what God wants to say. 

As you prepare for a worship set list, sing through the songs at home and look for those
moments that could be where God will breathe, places to linger.

Practicing the presence of God is crucial to flowing in prophetic, spontaneous moments

in your worship sets. 

As you’re preparing, you won’t necessarily have the exact lyrics and melodies for the
spontaneous moments, but God may give you a sense of what He wants to
communicate. And sometimes He does give us the spontaneous song in advance as we
worship at home! 

It’s so important that we practice the process of the spontaneous song so that we come
to these moments in a worship set and we don’t have to try to be prophetic and
spontaneous. We just have to tune in to what God is doing, what God is saying, and have
a desire for our congregation to experience Jesus’ presence in such a beautiful,
refreshing way.

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PRACTICAL TEAM EXERCISE

Schedule time in your worship team rehearsal to practice

spontaneous prophetic songs. 

Tell the band: "play in this key, this rhythm, this chord progression.” Have them stay in
that pattern the whole time. 

For the vocalists, singing from scripture is a great place to start! Choose a Psalm and
encourage them to listen to what the music is doing and to just sing out a line or two
from that Psalm. 

God delights in our risk!

Give yourself grace. Don’t criticize yourself or be hard on yourself if it doesn’t go well! 

God is not judging your spontaneous moments. He is gracious and loving. He wants to
speak through you and He loves when you allow yourself to be His mouthpiece!



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FINAL THOUGHTS

Make sure to bring your congregation with you. They want to

follow you, they just don’t often know what to do. 

Take moments to teach them: i.e. “we’re just gonna wait on the Lord, we’re gonna linger
in His presence for a moment right now” … or “let’s just take a moment and reflect on the
name of Jesus, let’s just speak out His name… sing out our thankfulness for who He is.”

Make sure that you are submitted under authority and that you
have the blessing of your leadership to flow in spontaneous
worship. God honours our submission to authority. 

Here’s to many, many spontaneous songs that will minister life, healing, and refreshing to
our congregations and that will bless the heart of God!

My aim is to not only equip you, but also accompany you on this journey! As
you begin practicing the art of spontaneous and prophetic worship, I’m here to
answer your questions and cheer you on! Post your thoughts, questions, and
even share some stories of how it goes on www.theworshipvocalist.com or in
our private Facebook Community.

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