Female-Led Worship

By Emily Hamilton, worship leader, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter with For All Seasons

We had just finished a concert on the 5th night of a ten day run, when a young girl approached me at the merch table. She began to tell me how encouraged she had felt during our set that night. On top of her personal time of worship, she found herself inspired by the fact that there was another girl on stage. And that I wasn’t just an additional vocalist, but was leading the charge (with a band full of boys!). This girl had felt the call to lead worship, but her mind had been filled with doubts of whether it would be “realistic” because of her gender. I was floored. I’m still floored as I continue to meet women, young and old, who are being built up and stirred to use their gifts in worship as a result of our ministry. It’s moments like those where God reminds me that what I am currently part of in For All Seasons goes so much farther than I could imagine. I am humbled by the fact that he would use my story to not only encourage people to worship, but to encourage women to lead worship as well.

I’ve desired for the Lord to use our music to build up his church, to stir in hearts a genuine passion for his glory. Stories like this remind me that when we offer our gifts to the Lord, he uses them for his purposes; in ways we would never expect and ways we will probably never know. The thought of that ripple effect when serving the kingdom of God is so exciting to me.

It’s with this realization that we decided to create the Live Sessions series, beginning with this recent release: Vol. 1. As a band, we don’t leave any song off limits when it comes to choosing a set list. Whether the song is originally led by a guy or girl, we push through and make new arrangements. And, honestly, I didn’t really have other women in mind during the process. I just knew we were doing what worked for us. But, as I met more and more women who latched on to our arrangements, I knew that releases like this one could be an encouragement to a large portion of the church in a really unique way. It’s our hope that by rearranging popular songs, as well as releasing live versions of our originals, that we will make congregational worship music even more accessible to the female worship community out there, as well as motivate those women who may feel inadequate or discouraged from leading. I’ve been there before. I battled my own insecurities in this area for years. I fought hard against the idea of leading this band and/or doing this full-time. But, the Lord accomplishes the plans He has in store for us. In light of that, I want to tell you… “You can do it!” If God has gifted you and placed in you a passion for leading his people through song, do not neglect it.

We are excited to announce that we will be releasing chord charts and tabs for our new song ‘Eternal King’, as well as tutorial videos for every song on the EP over the course of the next six weeks. But, whether people choose to implement these arrangements in their own church or not, our biggest hope is that the church as a whole would be encouraged and built up as they listen and worship with us.

– Emily

Editor’s Note:  This is the first in a series of exclusive blog posts written by the band members of For All Seasons.  Over the next several weeks, we will have the opportunity to share their thoughts, feelings and words with you as we dive into their latest album, ‘Live Sessions.’  I’m so excited to be partner with For All Seasons in this adventure, and I sincerely hope that they are able to impact you and your ministry in a most positive way.  It’s going to be a great July.  -Fox