Practicalites
There are loads of different expressions of street worship emerging around the UK and the world, which means there will be different things to think through depending on your context. Below are some general guidelines which may be helpful to think through
1. Prayer is central – Make sure you pray before, during and after and ask others to pray for you if you’re going out alone. Whilst Jesus clearly told His disciples to go and preach about His Kingdom but He first told them to “wait until the Holy Spirit came on them” (Luke 24:29) before they went.
2. Check to see if you need a license to play music outside – your council’s website will most likely have details about whether or not you need a license to play music outside and also whereabouts in your town you are allowed to play.
3. Be mindful of other musicians, charity workers and Big Issue sellers nearby – look around and be mindful of other people’s space. Having too much noise or people trying to get members of the public’s attention can be frustrating for everyone, so look for places where there’s not much distraction or competition for people’s attention.
4. Money – we have wrestled with this one for a long time as I find it hard to mix money and ministry. In general we have found people want to give whether because they like what you’re doing, think you’re a busker or think you’re collecting for a charity. At first we didn’t receive any money but following some helpful feedback from passers by, we now take any money that people want to give us.
5. Remember Jesus’ example – If people don’t like what you’re doing (remember even David’s wife didn’t appreciate it when he worshipped on the streets! 2 Samuel 6:16) smile and bless them anyway.
6. Don’t be afraid to start small – it can be quite scary going out the first few times. Take small steps along the way – play for one hour before you decide to play for three! Play in a quiet place if it’s too much to play in the middle of a busy place. Go with friends first if you plan on doing it alone later. Too much too soon may mean you feel overwhelmed or discouraged and put an end to you doing this regularly.
7. Get feedback – we are learning that it’s quite helpful to get feedback from people who you meet on the streets. For example, although I love singing hymns in church, I never used them on the streets as originally I didn’t think they would work so well as contemporary worship songs. However, it becvame apparent when we kept on getting requests for certain hymns like Amazing Grace, that people wanted hymns! We now use several hymns when we go out (Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, How Marvellous and Swing Low Sweet Chariot), and find lots of people stop to listen or even sing along.