I don't typically talk about myself too much here on Leading Worship Well. You may know me from the Instagram stories that I post but allow me to introduce myself if we haven't met. My name is Spencer Cormany and I'm a full-time Worship Pastor at Merge Community Church.
Recently I've been getting a lot of questions from people about how to become a full-time worship pastor. And before I give some practical tips about the process (those will come later this week), I thought I'd share my story of how I became a full-time worship pastor. Hopefully you can glean some insight from my experience.
Here's how I became a full-time worship pastor:
It all started when I was 13 years old. My family had just started a contemporary worship service at my church. My mom played keyboard, my dad and twin sister sang, and my brother played bass. I didn't know how to play any instruments which meant, while the worship team rehearsed, I would sit and watch from the empty rows of chairs that the congregation would soon fill on Sunday morning.
That was my story until one day - for no apparent reason - a box with the letters S I L V E R T O N E written on it arrived at my house. My dad pulled it through the front door, opened it up, and handed me what was inside. It was a guitar. But it wasn't just ANY guitar. It was a black guitar with Paul Stanley from the band KISS on it. That's right! My first guitar had a picture on it of a man in full makeup who went by the name Star Child. That guitar soon became my best friend and I spent literally hours every night strumming it in my room.
Eventually, I got to a place where I was proficient enough to start joining my family on stage for worship rehearsal. I would sit beside the other guitar player in the band and try to keep up as best I could.
Fast forward a few years to when I was 16 - I had been playing with the worship team on Sundays for a few years at this point. Then, I was thrust into a position that I was most certainly not ready for. The current worship team leader decided to step down from his position and it wasn't long before our pastor came to me and asked if I would be willing to take his place. As a 16 year old who had only been playing in a worship band for a few years, I cautiously said yes.
At the the age of 16, I became the "worship team coordinator" of a team of 10 people - most of whom were twice as old as me. This was my first paid job working at a church. Every week I would get a small stipend that I saved until I graduated from high school. The week of my graduation I used that stipend money to buy a Taylor 214ce (the guitar that I still use to lead worship today) as a graduation gift for myself and headed off to college.
I spent a year at Millersville University majoring in Music Business and Technology. While I was there, I got heavily involved with the campus ministry and started leading worship on a regular basis. Eventually, I decided that the Music Business and Technology major wasn't for me and ultimately decided to move back home to commute to Shippensburg University and major in Geography.
When I moved back home for my sophomore year of college, I was asked by some friends to start leading worship at a new church plant in my hometown - Merge Community Church. I agreed and started co-leading with another worship leader every Sunday in a small warehouse space that we would soon outgrow.
After 6 months of commuting to Shippensburg University and leading worship, I decided to set my sights on becoming a full-time worship pastor. I transferred from Shippensburg University to Liberty University online and changed my major to Religion with a minor in Biblical Studies. I continued to lead worship at Merge, got a job as a part-time IT guy at a Christian school where I led worship for chapel every week, and finished up my degree from Liberty.
At the end of my senior year, I approached my pastor and told him that I was going to be graduating soon and would be looking for a job as a worship leader. I told him that I would love for that job to be at Merge. He said he'd run some numbers and see what he could do. A few days later, he called me into his office and offered me a job as part-time worship leader. I quickly accepted and became a part-time worship leader while continuing to work full-time at the Christian school I was currently at.
I pulled double-duty for a couple years while aggressively paying off my student loans. Eventually, I became debt-free and with that release of financial burden coupled with pay raises from my church over time, I was able to quit my job at the Christian school and become a full-time worship leader.
As you can see, I didn't become a full-time worship pastor overnight. It took 10 years of consistently and diligently serving where I was. When I barely knew how to play guitar - I led worship. When I went to college - I led worship. When I came back home - I led worship. When I was working at a Christian school - I led worship.
In the end, if you want to become a full-time worship leader, my simple advice is to be faithful to the season God has put you in and allow him to lead you in the plan that he has for your life.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
5 Tips to Instantly Improve Your Worship Leading
FREE AUDIO TRAINING: Discover 5 simple tips that will instantly improve your worship leading.