The heart of street worship is to share God’s love for people through music, and make worshipping God more accessible to people who might never enter a church. Part of how we do that is going above-and-beyond in how we are on the streets and the way we treat people.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Always showrespect and gentleness to passers-by - talki to those who ant to, give space to others who just want to listen, and beeg kind even to those who are adversarial. Time and again we have seen that when we are gentle and open to the Holy Spirit, God works in ways we never could have expected or brought about by our own efforts.
5. 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.