How YouTube Helps Our Family Worship

I’ve always struggled with doing consistent family worship.

It seems that we have seasons in which we get so crazy busy that this important discipline gets put to the side for a season. At other times I’ve had such a fire lit under my tukus that we do Superman type devotions for a few weeks–we’re talking hour long times of worship and Bible study. Then we fizzle out and don’t do anything for a month or so.

We’ve been doing much better the past month or so. And there are two things that we’ve done to help us be more consistent. We’ve made reading Scripture and singing a couple songs off YouTube videos a staple.

If we are able to do more extended Bible studies or have my wife pull out the guitar then we do that. But if things are crazy busy, if our kids are particularly squirrely, or we are just plain exhausted we try to at least read a little Scripture and sing one or two songs. I figure that’s much better than vacillating between 110% and 0%.

How YouTube Has Helped

We’re trying to avoid YouTube more and more in our home. It’s just not a safe place for our little kids to be. But we have found great value in using it for Family Worship. Even if you have no musical training or talent you can lead your family in worship through the wonders of YouTube. Here is how:

1. Write down about 20 or 30 songs that you love to sing in church and want to teach to your children. If you don’t really know many talk to your pastor or worship leader at your church.
2. Go to YouTube and find these songs. Look through them first and make sure that they are what you are looking for and you might also want to be certain that they have lyrics on the screen as the song plays.
3. Make a YouTube playlist with these songs.
4. Find a way to get YouTube onto your television. There are several relatively inexpensive devices that you can purchase to do this. If you own a laptop most of them come with an HDMI hookup or an SD-Video hookup. Buy the cable. Plug it in and enjoy.
5. Pick a couple of songs. Crank up the television. And enjoy singing with your family.

Listen, I’m not a good singer. I get embarrassed singing in front of people. Singing in a small group terrifies me. Singing with my family was really difficult at first. So I’ve learned a trick. Crank up the volume on the television, focus on Jesus, and lead my family the best I know how. (My wife’s beautiful voice is a great blessing as well—because that way I know the kids can hear it done correctly).

Even on a busy night you can find 15 minutes to sing a couple songs, pray with your family, and read a chapter of Scripture. It has helped our family considerably and to be more consistent in family worship.

Give it a shot.