Hi Kathryn!
Lovely to chat with you here at the Women In Worship Network 
I for one, use your song “Hungry” so much when I lead worship! I recorded a version of it on the Spring Harvest live 2010 album, including playing my harmonica on it! So I can definitely say that your songwriting has been a real blessing to me.
Could you tell us how your journey as a worship leader began?
I started leading worship rather badly at Bible College when I was 19.
I was never all that good at the ‘fast songs’ – probably because I play the piano and I hadn’t figured out how to make guitary songs sound good when I was playing them. So I used to co-lead with a friend who was brilliant on guitar and he would lead the first half of the set, leaving me free to finish up quietly.
It wasn’t until I was 22 and married that I jumped into leading more often in church. I still didn’t really know what I was doing, but I got the opportunity to meet Brian Doerksen at that time, and he spent the next two years training about 10 or 11 of us in leading and writing worship songs for congregations. That changed everything. I realised that what I thought was a lack of calling to lead worship was actually a lack of training.
As I grew in confidence, and learned how to take a whole group of people on a journey together during a set, I found out that it was something God had in mind when He thought of me. I love how God dreams over us and then lays out the steps we need to take to uncover it fully in our lives – He is such a good Father!
Did you have female worship leader role models when you were starting out in your ministry?
I didn’t really, but I was so blessed to have amazing guys who ‘held the door open for me’. Brian was very much one of those guys, and my husband Alan has all along the way encouraged and nudged, and made a way for me to just be me.
I’m also deeply grateful to belong to a church movement who really believe in girls getting to be at the core of what’s going on. They all set the scene for me to never have to wonder if being female was putting me at a disadvantage – in fact, they ensured that it was never even on the radar. I still consider that an incredible gift!!!
The longer I’ve been leading worship, the more ladies I’ve encountered along the way who have deeply inspired me, people like Rita Springer and more recently Jenn Johnson. The truth is that if God has put this in you, He didn’t make a mistake, and He loves that you’re a girl. You have something to sing over the world that resonates in heaven.
What advice do you have for girls and women who lead sung worship or sing on worship teams?
Be you! You don’t have to try and be more assertive, or push that bit harder to belong. You already do!!
If you are leading, you can effectively lead your team simply by playing to your strengths, and letting the others in your band back you up in the things you’re not so strong in. When I first started leading in bigger settings I always felt so insecure about what I couldn’t do, and whether or not that would be perceived as weak leadership. After a while I realized how debilitating that position was, and how much it took away from getting on with the job and having fun doing it. I know (in a good way that I’m not the greatest singer or piano player, but I also know the Lord shows up when I lead. That’ll do for me.
So what I do now is ask the others in the band what they think the best arrangements are, how we can achieve what we are after musically, and I just ‘steer the car’ – I say what we are going to do, and what we are not going to do. The band knows that I’m the boss, but they also know I want to hear their ideas. We love playing together, we have outrageous fun, and we lead people into the presence of the King week after week. Whether you lead the whole band, or sing as part of the team, bring who you are – you are perfect fit already.
One last question….What do you do to have fun?
One of my favorite things is to have cups of tea in coffee shops. The only thing that makes it better is when my husband is able to join me!!!! I am a true believer in ‘breathing in’ – making sure that I take moments in the madness to sit down and do something that fills my soul again.
Thanks Kathryn!
(To follow Kathryn’s thoughts and travels, you can visit http://www.hungryworshipper.com and http://twitter.com/kathrynscott)
