Blog
Jun 3, 2025
The Call to Worship — An Introduction
We must conclude that the Christian needs to hear but one call to worship and offer only one response. These come exactly coincident with new birth and, despite our wanderings and returns to the contrary, they suffice for all our living, dying, and eternal outpouring. We do not go to church to worship. But as continuing worshipers, we gather ourselves together to continue our worship, but now in the company of brothers and sisters.
—Harold Best, Unceasing Worship, p.47.
Introduction
I want you to step back in time to when you weren’t leading worship, but to a time, whether as an adult or a child, where you arrived a few minutes early to church. Maybe you began to pray for God to help you focus on the Bible. Maybe you asked God to prepare your heart to hear the gospel in a fresh way. In the background, some music was playing, but eventually it stopped, and one of the church leaders approached the lectern. They invited you to stand and to behold God’s Word, brought together in scripture:
Leader: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
People: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
Leader: Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord:
People: Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.Author: Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois
From this moment, the church is ushered into a hymn of praise reminding the congregation of the goodness of their God and God’s worthiness to be praised. The feelings of stress and insecurity with which you entered worship have been replaced by the awe and gratitude as you are lifted into God’s presence with singing, joining the congregation.
That is, at least, in part, why thousands of churches begin their worship services each Sunday with a Call to Worship. But what exactly is a “Call to Worship” and why is it so essential to many orders of worship?
In this blog post, we’ll explore:
what we mean when we speak of a Call to Worship,
some theological considerations about them,
their biblical foundations, and
some practical benefits of using a Call to Worship at the beginning of Christian worship services,
some challenges and best practices for using calls to worship.
Called to What? Defining Worship
But before we go any further, why not take a second to define what we mean by “worship”? After all, it matter what we are being called to in a service.
There are many definitions of worship, but two that I like most are these, first by the biblical scholar N. T. Wright:
Worship means, literally, acknowledging the worth of something or someone. It means recognizing and saying that someone or something is worthy of praise. It means celebrating the worth of someone or something far superior to oneself. (Simply Christian)
And a second from Harold Best,
Worship is
the continuous outpouring of
all that I am,
all that I do, and
all that I can ever become
in light of a chosen or choosing god. (Unceasing Worship)
And while that outpouring happens in our daily life, there is also a specific call to worship together in community, with other followers of Jesus on the Lord’s Day (typically Sundays, the first day of the week).
We worship God because, unlike all created things, God is worthy, and he invites us into worship.
God Calls us into Worship
One of the many important theological underpinnings of the call to worship is this: we don’t call on God to join us in worship, but rather, God calls us to worship him. This belief is significant because it reminds us that it is God who calls, and we are those who answer. If it were the other way around, we would be creating God in our image–summoning the God of the universe to do our bidding, rather than responding to God’s call in our life. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he says, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” (NLT). That holiness, that set-apartness includes worshipping God by proclaiming the truth of who God is, and who we are as God’s children.
In the Call to Worship, we are reminded that God invites us into worship, into a reality that goes beyond the material world. As Eugene H. Peterson once said, “Every call to worship is a call into the real world.” (Eat This Book, Eerdmans, 2009). That real world is defined by a different set of rules than the one this world offers, that world we live in for most of our earthly lives. In this other world, the kingdom of God, a different set of rules mark the community. In this other world, it is the poor in spirit who are blessed and those who mourn will be healed (see Matt. 5).
Biblical Foundations of the Call to Worship
The concept of a Call to Worship is deeply rooted in Scripture. In the Old Testament, worship was often initiated with a call or invitation to praise God. Psalm 95:1-2 declares, "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." Similarly, Psalm 100 begins with, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs."
By beginning the worship service with a word of praise, we correctly place God first–not us. We become the focus later in the service, but we start with God and the many works He has already accomplished and will continue to do for us.
It should also be said that the verses spoken as a call to worship are not meant to be merely poetic expressions: they are a summons to gather and worship the Lord. They are a reminder that Christian worship, properly conceived, is always participatory. We do not merely sit back and watch as a worship service is performed. No! We participate, often by reciting the call to worship responsively. That is, a leader will read a sentence of scripture and then the congregation responds with the next line.
They also highlight the communal nature of our worship, that we do not merely worship God by ourselves, but rather, we are brought together to profess our faith in community. In the New Testament, although structured liturgy is less detailed, the early Christian gatherings (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 14:26) suggest a rhythm of communal participation, teaching, and praise, all of which imply some form of intentional beginning. The Call to Worship stands in continuity with this biblical pattern of inviting God’s people to turn their attention toward Him.
Practical Benefits of the Call to Worship
Orienting the Congregation: A Call to Worship helps the people of God to refocus their hearts and minds. Most congregants enter the worship space carrying the weight of their daily lives—anxieties, distractions, joys, and sorrows. The Call to Worship helps them set those aside and fix their gaze on God. It acts as a recalibration of our spiritual compasses.
Creating Sacred Space: While God is present everywhere, the Call to Worship sets apart the worship service as a distinct, sacred time. It reminds us that we are taking part in something different-Itis not a concert, or a lecture, or a social gathering. This is holy ground, a time to encounter the living God.
Establishing Liturgical Rhythm: The structure of the liturgy provides order and meaning to worship. The Call to Worship acts as the first note in what will become a symphony of praise. It signals the start of a journey—from gathering to confession, from Word to Table, from benediction to being sent into the world. Like the opening curtain of a play, it invites everyone to enter into the story.
Scriptural Immersion: Most Calls to Worship are drawn directly from scripture, setting a tone for the entire service. Liturgists, those who put together the worship service, can choose either one scripture, or a few different texts to articulate a main theme. When drawn from scripture, we have the opportunity to invite hearers to enter into God’s Word in a profound way.
Emotional and Spiritual Preparation: The Call to Worship prepares our minds and hearts for the message that is to come.
Types and Forms of Call to Worship
Calls to Worship can vary widely in form and tone depending on the liturgical tradition, season of the church year, or theme of the service. They may be:
Scriptural Readings: Often from Psalms or prophetic books.
Responsive Readings: Leader and congregation alternate lines.
Spoken Invitations: A pastoral welcome that includes theological reflection.
Each form brings its own richness, but the goal remains the same: to gather God’s people and direct their attention toward Him.
The Call to Worship Across Church Traditions
An important note to make is how different Christian traditions utilize, or don’t utilize, a call to worship in their services. Each Christian tradition or denomination is likely to employ the call to worship differently based on their theological convictions. For example, Reformed churches are perhaps more likely than others to utilize a call to worship because of their conviction that worship is rooted in the Word of God.
Many other traditions, including Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists and more also utilize a Call to Worship at the beginning of their services. Even in less liturgical communities, such as Non-Denominational churches, many leaders are beginning to see the value of returning to this powerful liturgical elements.
Regardless of style, what matters is intentionality. A Call to Worship should not be a routine filler but a meaningful invitation into participation with the Triune God in worship.
Challenges and Best Practices with using a Call to Worship
Like any liturgical element, the Call to Worship can become rote or neglected. To guard against this, worship leaders and pastors should:
Choose Wisely
There are a number of considerations to make when choosing a particular call to worship for a service. One question you might ask is, “what message do I want to convey with this passage?” What sort of experiences are your congregants going through right now? Is it a season of joy or a season of lament? Is it a special season (Advent, Lent) when your congregation will expect the service to be centered around that theme? What types of emotions do I want to stir within the congregation?”
These are all significant questions that can help you choose a call to worship, but, as with many other elements of the worship service, the main way to choose a call to worship is to first decide the main theme of your sermon and service, and then work backwards to each of the liturgical elements. This will enable you to offer a coherent message throughout the entire worship service, which will ultimately help you convey your message more effectively.
Use Varied Voices
Consider Involving different members of the congregation to promote inclusivity. If your worship leaders do not represent the overall population of the church, how can you intentionally invite others to take part in worship leadership? If you do invite those who haven’t received speech training, it would be wise to offer some training opportunities on how to best lead worship, including teaching speech dynamics like varying tone, volume, and speed.
Conclusion
In a world of ever-increasing noise, distraction, and fragmentation, the Call to Worship offers clarity, focus, and unity. It reminds the Church that worship is not about personal preference or performance, but about meeting with a holy, gracious, and loving God—A God who has made himself known in holy scripture. It is a theological anchor and a spiritual threshold into the sacred space of public worship.
Used wisely, the Call to Worship can elevate a congregation’s understanding of what it means to gather in the name of Christ. It is not merely an introduction; it is an invocation, a proclamation, and a sacred summons. In calling the people of God to worship, we echo the voice of God who first called us to Himself. And in that holy calling, we are drawn into the heart of worship—the glory of God and the joy of His people.