Q: Faib has been with us from the very beginning. Or rather, he was one of the founders of worshiptrainingresources.com. Why did you start this non-profit organisation?
A: “We’re still in our early stages, but the vision is to create resources for worship teams to strengthen their members in their faith, their skills and their teamwork. The aim is not only to produce and offer our own material, but also to point people towards others who already have brilliant resources (which we don’t need to reinvent). It is intended to be a platform that brings worshippers closer to the heart of God.”
Q: How exactly do you go about bringing worshippers closer to God’s heart?
A: “Our ‘flagship’ is probably our newly published book: ‘The Workbook for Worshippers’ (now available in German, but it is translated into english and waits to be correctet by a professional). This book is specifically designed for worship-team rehearsals. It contains 42 lessons, each lasting around 20–30 minutes, and is best read together with the whole worship-team. – Another resource is our worship blog, which will soon feature articles by other worshippers as well. We’re also planning Bible reading plans with a specific focus on worship in the Bible. And we’d like to support worship-teams in person through coaching, training days and so on.”
Q: What qualifies you to write and teach about worship?
A: “Certainly not my musical training.” (laughs) “Unfortunately, that’s limited to just two years of recorder lessons in primary school. – But I’ve been involved in worship for 20 years, studied theology for four years, and probably my most notable training is that I graduated from the Worship Academy in Switzerland. Apart from that, I can only draw on a wide range of experience that I’ve gathered over the years.”
Q: What sort of experiences are you talking about? Where did it all start?
A: “It all started when, as a twelve-year-old, I was appointed worship leader of our church’s teen band (ETG) on the grounds that I was the only one who could play four guitar chords. Luckily, we had a coach who had the full range of skills! A few years later, that church sadly had to close its doors and I joined ICF Zurich. At the new church, I was accepted into the band and given great support by Luca Aprile. Soon I was playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar and bass there. One of my best friends, Dominique Leppert, was involved in the sound engineering there, and so I learnt to view the band also from his perspective. And so we went through all the age groups together, until I then began studying theology at ISTL Zurich and got a job at FEG Wetzikon.”
Q: How did your degree and the move to the FEG affect your worship?
“On the one hand, I took over the teen band at the FEG and so got to know the role of a coach better. On the other hand, my degree challenged my faith and ultimately strengthened it. I suppose I have to generalise a bit here, as my degree programme focused on theology and leadership rather than worship. Nevertheless, I served also there at ISTL, first as an audio technician and later also as a worship leader, in the ‘Mini-Celebrations’ organised by them at the start of each day. My studies helped enormously in understanding the theology behind the songs, so that I can sing them even more from the heart. – I’d even like to make it a standard requirement that every worship LEADER should have studied theology for at least a year. Worship is sung theology, and this shapes our church. We should understand very clearly and precisely what we’re singing and what kind of words we’re using to influence our brothers and sisters in the faith!”
Q: What was the largest and what was the smallest “audience” you’ve led in worship?
A: “The largest was probably a National Day of Prayer in Switzerland, where I led a song… in French!” (laughs) “Unfortunately, my French isn’t really that good! Apologies to all French speakers here. But yes, there were about 3,000 people there. – The smallest was probably a few times in a small group that I was part of, where somethimes there was only one other person apart from me. So we worshipped together.”
Q: Have you had an experience that has shaped you as a worship leader?
A: “Specifically as a leader, I remember a 100PRO OpenAir event where I played a set with friends, featuring some of my own worship songs and others. We’d reached the most intimate moment and were about to build up the energy again, planning to finish with a few ‘upbeat songs’. And that’s when it happened: a cable on my pedalboard had a loose connection and my guitar cut out. I was so used to leading with my guitar, and that very guitar cut out. – It was almost as if God was saying to me, ‘You don’t need this to worship me.’ – And so I carried on worshipping without my guitar. That was a really good challenge!”
Q: You said that you’ve written songs yourself. Do you still do that?
A: “Yes. I’m actually working on a psalms album, for which I’ve translated the texts of entire psalms into Swiss German and then turned them into songs.”
Q: But you live in Finland now – don’t you write in Finnish?
A: “To be honest, I only tried it once, just a bit. But that was a few years ago. Maybe I should give it another go… I think the reason I’m currently writing songs in Swiss German is because I want to share my personal worship with my son.”
Q: What advice would you give to people who want to start serving in worship?
A: “If I could give just one piece of advice, it would probably be this: ‘Worship more at home than anywhere else.’ The reason is this: in this way, you strengthen your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This then becomes evident when you worship together with others.”