Worship Online Podcast (For Worship Leaders)

Your team is becoming whatever your decisions repeatedly produce. Not your best Sundays, your most consistent  choices .   Worship leadership  doesn't  happen when you stand up front. It happens Monday through Saturday , in five decisions  you're  making every week whether you realize it or not.    Keith walks through all five: what winning looks like, who you develo p, what gets celebrated , what...

Somewhere along the way, worship leaders started believing they had to sound exactly like the recording . Matt McCoy lived in that pressure too. He admits there was a season he cared more about the music than his band, hard on volunteers for missing a fill, and he says he burned people out doing it. In this conversation, you'll hear why tracks quietly became a way to replace people instead of free...

Sign up for Lab+ HERE ! You can  play the same song a hundred times and still lose the plot. Or you can play it like it is the first time someone in the room has ever heard it. That shift does not happen by accident. It is a posture . And it is something you can actually build. Daniel Carson spent 24 years as the electric guitarist in Chris Tomlin 's band. In this conversation we talk about what k...

Sign up for Lab+ HERE ! This episode started as a conversation about vocals. It became something every musician on your worship team needs to hear. In this episode of the Worship Online Podcast, Keith sits down with Shelby Rollins, founder of Master Vocal, to talk about what it really means to steward your instrument well. We start with the voice: sleep, diet, Sunday morning prep, and why training...

Kristian Stanfill has been leading worship at Passion Conference for a long time. He's seen God move in ways most worship leaders only read about. And yet, the thing he keeps coming back to isn't the stage. It's the secret place. In this episode, Keith Elgin sits down with Kristian to talk about the new Passion album Just That Good , what it looks like to prepare for something as massive as Passio...

What happens when a worship leader finally stops hiding? That is the question underneath everything Jordan Colle shares in this conversation. He is a worship leader and songwriter with Bethel Music , currently touring with Phil Wickham and carrying a multigenerational ministry legacy that started long before anyone knew his name. But the most honest moment in this episode is not about the tour or...

When you step onto the platform, it is easy to think about the setlist, the key changes, the vocal parts, the transitions, and whether the moment is landing. And of course we focus on Jesus . But what if we miss this very important thing?  Everybody in the room is carrying something . In this episode of the Worship Online Podcast, Holly Brand shares her story of growing up in Mississippi, competin...

Philippa Hanna grew up singing in social clubs across Yorkshire, England, raised in a family where music was everything. She was pursuing a professional music career by her early twenties, but something was missing. Then at 21, she walked into a small church and a fearless, unpolished worship leader named Godfrey Birtle changed everything. Not because he was impressive. Because he was free. In thi...

You might be leading worship for the wrong reason … and not even know it.   Andrew Holt has been leading worship since he was 12 years old. He built his life around it. And then one day he realized he had no idea who he was without it.   In this episode of the Worship Online Podcast, Andrew shares how chasing ministry became a substitute for simply being a son of God. He talks about the season tha...

Most worship leaders know how to lead a room . But what happens when no one's watching? In this episode, worship leader and winner of The Voice Australia, Bella Taylor Smith shares honestly about her personal rhythms with God, the struggle to stay consistent, and how private worship shapes public leadership . From her salvation story at a worship night to navigating platform after winning The Voic...

What if everything you've been told about "excellence" in worship is actually holding your church back ? In this episode, Stephen Brewster shares a perspective that might challenge everything you've built your ministry around: excellence isn't the goal—authenticity is. From leading creative teams at high-impact churches to working with groups like Elevation Worship and SEU Worship , Stephen reveal...

You can lead worship every week… and still feel like  something's  off .   Not the sound.   Not the songs.   Something deeper.   In this honest conversation, Alexander Pappas pulls back the curtain on what many worship leaders quietly wrestle with — identity, pressure and the fear that what we're  doing  isn't   actually changing  anything.   After decades in ministry, he shares:   The transition...

Most worship leaders think their problem is skill, confidence or pressure. It's not. In this episode, Alexandra Osteen from Lakewood Music  reveals the deeper issue most leaders never address: identity . Because when you don't fully know who God created you to be, everything else feels harder —leading, preparing, even showing up on Sundays. Alexandra shares how her journey—from growing up in the c...

Most people think worship is about their personal connection with God . But what if that's only part of the picture? In this conversation, Trip Lee joins Keith Elgin to break down a biblical vision of worship that many churches have lost—one where we are not just singing to God, but shaping each other. You'll learn: Why singing together is part of discipleship How modern worship culture drifted to...

What if you've been thinking about worship leadership all wrong? In this episode, Brandon Coker, drummer, songwriter (Death Was Arrested), and longtime member of North Point Worship, shares what it looks like to lead worship without ever holding a mic. This conversation goes beyond platform and spotlight. It's about: Serving the song instead of showcasing skill Staying rooted in the local church L...

Most worship leaders focus on building better teams by improving skill, tightening transitions, and raising the level of excellence. But what if the real issue isn't what you see? In this episode, we uncover the hidden problem that quietly weakens worship teams—even the talented ones—and why it has nothing to do with ability. If your team feels healthy on the surface… but something still isn't cli...

What happens when obedience to God costs you the dream you spent years building?   In this episode of the Worship Online Podcast, Keith sits down with worship leader, songwriter, and author  Brooke Nicholls  to talk about the unexpected reality of following God when it leads somewhere you  didn't  plan.   Brooke shares the deeply personal story of leaving a thriving career, moving across Canada to...

What does it actually look like to build a new sound in worship ministry? In this episode, Keith sits down with Josh Holiday to talk about the creative journey behind Elevation Rhythm , the story behind songs like " Goodbye Yesterday " and the challenge of building something fresh inside an already established ministry. But this conversation goes deeper than music. Josh shares why community has to...

What happens when your platform grows faster than your character can hold it… and the thing you dreamed of starts costing you what matters most?   In this episode, Keith chats with Andy Cherry , a seasoned worship leader, songwriter, and current touring musician for Brandon Lake, for a raw conversation on identity, shame and calling. Andy shares his whirlwind early career— signing a record deal in...

Michael Bethany was leading worship, building wells in Sri Lanka, writing songs, and serving the church—but something was missing. Then in 2017, he watched a Francis Chan YouTube video about Isaiah 6. And everything changed. That night, he felt guilty praying from his bed . He got on his knees, humbled himself, and started waking up 1.5 hours earlier for a daily prayer closet—even though he "didn'...

David Leonard co-wrote one of the most-sung worship songs in the world—" Great Are You Lord ." But last year, he almost walked away from music entirely. After doing an entire tour where the promoter never paid (yes, a completely free tour he didn't know about until the end), David had to ask himself a brutal question: "Would you do this again for nothing?" His answer will challenge the way you thi...

Ever feel frustrated with your worship team—even when nothing's technically wrong? In this solo episode, 22 year Worship Pastor and new host Keith Elgin shares a hard lesson that changed everything: Unspoken expectations lead to premeditated resentment. Keith tells the story of a 7:00 AM call time that completely backfired—and the humbling conversation that reshaped how he leads.  You'll learn why...

You sound great on Sunday, but is your team actually healthy? You've probably felt it before. Sunday afternoon hits and instead of feeling energized, you're frustrated. Something didn't go the way you planned. Someone didn't show up prepared. A transition fell apart. And now you can't stop replaying it. Sunday bleeds into Monday. Monday into Tuesday. One rough service and your whole week feels off...

What if your team actually showed up excited, prepared, and ready to bring their best every single service?   Colony House has built one of the most legendary team cultures in the music industry, where crew, band members, and opening acts all feel like  they're part of something special. What they've learned directly applies to worship teams, too.   In this episode, their guitarist, Scott Mills, s...

Many worship leaders quit within a few years because they never learn the systems that create sustainable ministry.   Joey and Kelly Thompson know this all too well ! In this conversation, they share the game-changing systems that transformed their ministry from survival mode to sustainable impact.   Imagine walking into Sunday morning calm and confident, with prepared teams and organized systems...