Leader or Pastor?

Worship leader or worship pastor.

Which one do I need, and does it make a difference?

That depends.

If your church organizational structure is on the lighter side with 5 or fewer people on payroll you might consider a worship leader versus a worship pastor.

Typically a worship pastor would be an individual who has made the investment in attending seminary, or a specialized class for worship where the fulfillment of that goal is a license as a pastor.

That said, a worship pastor may be on the lookout for a church with a larger staff and earnings opportunity.

There may be worship pastors who are not as interested in a larger church and quite content to be a worship pastor in a smaller church.

The upside to a worship pastor is the ability to potentially lead a service in a pinch or on a rotation basis.

Be careful of burnout here (a topic covered in another entry). Having staff members play multiple roles in a small to medium sized church can lead to burn out and eventual resentment that they are being asked to perform multiple duties without the compensation or the consideration of their time.

If you are replacing a teaching worship pastor and you can only find a worship leader you may consider dropping some of the duties and mentoring a new person into that role.

If you are replacing a worship leader, be cautious about how you describe the job because you may be signaling that you don’t want them to grow as a leader either.

So Leader or Pastor?

You might be looking for a worship "leader" if…

• You only need them on a part time basis.
• You need them to lead the music portion of the service only.
• You need them to organize the entire service and keep everyone on track.
• You need them to organize, recruit, train and spiritually encourage the musicians
• You need them to participate in occasional staff meetings.

You might be looking for a worship "pastor" if…

• You need them to do all the above and…
• You need them to work on a full time basis
• You need them to lead a bible study from time to time.
• You need them to step in to teach/lead a service from time to time.
• You need them to head up a spiritual formations team.