THE WHY

Hey, my name is Laurel Balos and I am a worship leader/singer-songwriter based out of central Virginia. I have been given the gift of serving in worship ministry in some way, shape, or form for the last 13 years of my life. The Lord has placed a passion for words, music, and people in my heart since I was very young, and I am overwhelmingly grateful to have had opportunities to pour out into all of those passions, in different spaces over those 13 years.

 Leading in ministry as a very young person, much of my early years were focused on the development of my craft. Of course I had people who guided me in my walk with Jesus, and I am so thankful for what I learned from those who were more seasoned believers than I was. Looking back now, I see the gap in my theology where worship was concerned. The worship leaders in the church I served at in grade school did not steward their roles and giftings well, and therefore did not value discipleship. I do believe this was for the best. But I spent much of my early college years forming what I believed about my calling. My gifting was clear, but I have always been someone that needs a “why”. I deeply desire a purpose in everything I set out to do, and I had to seek out the “why” behind what God has asked me to do.

After serving in churches, and faith based non-profits across the United States, I have come to see a great deficit in the understanding of what worship is in general, and why we participate in corporate worship in the Church. The results of this, show in the attitudes and postures of our congregations. While people are absolutely responsible for their own worship, what they believe about it is integral to their participation. Worship is woven into everything we do, and therefore of course our pastors impress the importance of it. However, we are uniquely equipped to teach our congregations in a practical way what a posture of worship requires, and why that is what our God asks of us. It is very much our responsibility to understand, and teach worship to the people we serve. While this looks different in different contexts, the primary responsibility is the same.

My hope for this blog is that my passions for words, music, and people, can intersect in a way that can encourage other leaders in worship. I feel led to discuss the inner workings of what makes musical worship excellent, how to approach specific challenges that we face in worship ministry, and provide resources to make worship leadership entirely intentional, all while focusing on loving and serving the Lord, and therefore loving and serving His people.