Louder Than The Music

LTTM chatted with renowned worship leader and songwriter Tim Hughes about his work with Worship Central and his thoughts on the role of the modern worship leader. We started by asking him about the forthcoming Worship Central Conference in London on 1st and 2nd November...

Tell us what people can expect from the Worship Central Conference in London next month?

For most of this year I have been hugely excited about the upcoming Worship Central conference in London. I feel this is quite a significant gathering for our ministry. The real heart behind it is that we might see worship leaders and musicians gather from all around the UK and beyond with a heart and a vision to come and seek God and ask that he would equip and envision us in our role and responsibility of leading his people in worship. There are many amazing conferences that really invest in training and resourcing and we are committed to do this. As well as this, I think there is a desperate need for leaders to re-engage with a first passion and a first love of God and to catch something of his heart for the church and this nation.

My hope and prayer is that God might speak to us, empower us and anoint us for all that we are involved in. The thought of over 2,000 worship leaders being filled with God's Spirit and being sent out to serve their churches hugely excites me because the fruit of that could be very significant.

Which guest speakers and worship leaders are coming this year?

We can't quite believe who has agreed to come - it's amazing. We have Brian and Jenn Johnson from Bethel, Matt Redman, Reuben Morgan from Hillsong. We have Alan and Kathryn Scott who lead a church in Belfast; Kathryn wrote the song 'Hungry'. We also have Pete Greig who heads up the 24/7 Prayer movement. Then there is Beth Croft from Soul Survivor, Nick Herbert, Jake Isaac, Nick and Becky Drake, Neil Bennetts - who heads up the worship for New Wine - Tom Read from Hong Kong, as well as our home team: myself, Ben Cantelon, Luke Hellebronth and Al Gordon.

The role of the worship leader seems to have really grown over the past few years, why is this such an important role in the church?

It is interesting how more and more worship leaders are playing a significant part in gathered services. Obviously the expression of worship is a significant part of any church and it seems more and more churches are spending more time coming together to meet with God, to worship and to sing and spend time in his presence; and worship leaders are key in facilitating that. I have definitely observed how worship leaders are given more responsibilities which is exciting but at the same time I'm really passionate that we see worship leaders and senior church leaders working closely together so that they can give real direction and space for God to move.

How would you define worship?

Probably the best definition of worship is found in Romans 12:1 where it says, 'Therefore... in view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God - this is your true and spiritual act of worship'. Worship is a response to God's love and his mercy and it is in response to this that we offer all that we are. So, I guess, worship is our whole-hearted response to God's initiating, life-changing love.

Which new worship songs are you using at the moment?

We've been loving using 'Oceans' by Hillsong as well as 'God I Look to You' from Bethel. Also, Luke Hellebronth has written some amazing new songs which we are loving using; 'Awesome is He' is a particular favourite.

Worship Central's album 'Let It Be Known' topped the UK's new Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart earlier this year - do you think it's important for the UK to have it's own Christian chart?

I guess I can see reasons why it is good to have an official Christian and Gospel Albums Chart. It is good to show the rest of the world that there is a thriving, creative community who are releasing great music. At the same time, I don't fully understand it or quite get it. I'm longing for the day when the songs of the church are topping the charts, not just because Christians are buying it but because those outside of the church are fascinated and hugely impacted by the songs and the spirit behind them.

Any plans for a new Worship Central album?

Yes, we are currently writing songs and trying to find a date to record a new live album, hopefully sometime in 2014.

What has been your biggest highlight with Worship Central so far?

For me the biggest highlight with Worship Central has been working with an amazing team of friends who love each other and are committed to serving the church globally. It is amazing to see the ministry really taking off in different nations. We have just been hearing this week about worship leaders being trained through Worship Central in Russia, Austria, the Netherlands, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. We released the Worship Central course a couple of years ago. It is a 7-session course which is free to download online and covers the key theological and practical issues around leading worship. To date, we have seen nearly 2,000 courses running in 80 countries. The potential seems huge and it is exciting to see leaders being mobilised all around the world to run the course. It is not just something happening in London but all over the world. That is hugely exciting.

How would you define success with what you do at Worship Central?

I guess for me, defining success with Worship Central would be to see thousands of leaders being mobilised with a vision to train and equip others, with the worshipping life of local churches set on fire. Obviously this is something only God can do but I see a huge need for leaders to step-up and step-out and to take initiative with training, encouraging and gathering together. That is why it is so exciting to see this happening in different countries around the world. There are so many young, amazing leaders out there who could have such a huge impact with a bit of encouragement. That is what I feel our role as Worship Central is: to try and identify leaders and encourage them with all of the things they carry in their hearts.

What does the next year hold for Worship Central?

We would love to record an album next year but the key thing for us is to develop international 'hubs'. So far 18 nations are running a division of Worship Central, whether that is putting on events or encouraging people to run the Worship Central course. We would love for people to run those hubs and plant more. Also, a massive focus is getting the message out about the Worship Central course. Myself and Al Gordon have recently filmed the sessions as well. They are each 22 minutes long and a great opportunity for teams to watch the videos and then facilitate discussions on topics such as leading worship, releasing creativity, asking why worship is central, how we build effective teams plus other subjects. We have been so encouraged by the response and the feedback about how this has really strengthened teams and encouraged a much greater level of ownership. For us a big part of 2014 will be releasing this course.

Find out more at worshipcentral.org