Changing Lives around the World through Worship

By Dwayne Moore

This article was commissioned by Philip Sarkar in Bangladesh and first appeared in Stories of Glory, a special edition magazine published by Sacrifice of Inner Church Trust in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

I am privileged to travel in many parts of the world and lead an amazing team at Next Level Worship International. This year alone, we’re on track to train upwards of 8,000 church leaders and believers in 13 countries on 4 continents. In addition, we will share the gospel with between 3,000 and 4,000 children in Africa and in the United States. I am often asked about what we see God doing in other places, and I can joyfully report to you that God is on the move in many parts of the world, and he’s using the message and ministry of Next Level Worship to change lives, families, churches, and even communities.

I want to share a few stories of impact with you, but before I do, you should know what the message is we share. It’s a simple message but profoundly important because it’s a message about true worship. We believe in these last days that God is calling people back to worship in spirit and in truth. That’s the kind of worship the Father seeks.

Our ministry is committed to helping people come back to a heart of worship. We teach that worship begins on the inside by loving God with our whole heart. We call that “inward worship.”

Then it comes up from us through vertical praise–through clapping, dancing, shouting, singing and other ways we can express our praise to God from a heart of worship. That’s “upward worship.” We also believe that worship includes a third direction of “outward worship” which is loving other people by sharing our faith with them and helping those in need.

Our teaching on worship is transformative but not because it comes from our lips. NLW International isn’t built on a personality or style of presentation. Rather, it’s built on the truths of God’s Word that anyone on our team can share. We’re blessed to have hundreds of volunteers in many parts of the world, and they’re all teaching the same message, the same truths. Our ministry is based on two biblical premises: First, we believe if we gaze on God, we will be transformed. That’s based on 2 Corinthians 3:18. We believe if we get people into God’s manifest presence and focused on his Word, it will change them. He will form their hearts to be more like His. And secondly, we believe the truth sets people free. Jesus said we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free. What happens when people don’t know the truth about worship? They’re not free to truly worship Him in spirit and in truth. We believe church leaders have a responsibility to help people understand what the Bible says about true worship. Therefore, our mission at NLWI is to help pastors and churches disciple their people about worship.

We continue to see results from this truth-filled teaching. I recently came back from Eastern Germany where there are few churches and where it’s spiritually dark in many places. There are many atheists in that area of Germany. Our message on worship is sparking life among them. They’ve already invited us to come back and teach them more. We were in Scotland in July. Some of the very churches that were working with us and inviting us to come are now fighting among themselves. We don’t know what’s going to happen there in the future, but we know God is on the move. The enemy hates worship, so we should expect some spiritual battles. Nevertheless, we move forward because there’s a desperate cry among the churches there for true biblical worship, and we’re honored to come and do what we can to help them in that area.

God is also moving in East Africa. We just finished training 670 pastors, worship leaders and children’s workers in Kenya and Ethiopia. We also shared the gospel with thousands of children in villages through our Worship Bible Schools. We taught those children about worship–including many Muslim children. Imagine if a child really grasps how worship starts with loving God and then flows upwardly though praise and outwardly through loving others. Imagine what an impact that could make on them and on their families.

Since 2023, the New England Baptist Convention has hosted our team to lead worship conferences, and they’ve already invited us back. The number of pastors and worship leaders in attendance has tripled over the past 3 years, and they expect it to quadruple next year. Why is this happening? Simply put, churches in New England are desperate for biblical teaching on worship. We see that in many places. Just recently a young lady in Zambia, Africa came up to me at a conference. She wanted to thank me for teaching on worship. She said, “I remember you coming to speak at our church a few years ago. What you and Next Level Worship taught us about worship has changed my life.” We hear words like that often from people.

Lord willing, we’ll be in Pakistan later this year. We’ve had the opportunity to do a weekly satellite television program there for a few years now. However, this will be my first time to physically be in the country.  Recently, we did an online video conference with about 200 pastors in Pakistan. They gathered in a large room and listened as we taught them online over a TV monitor.

A Presbyterian pastor told the organizers afterwards, “I’ve been a pastor for 25 years, but I’ve never heard biblical teaching like this about worship.”

This is what Next Level Worship does, and we continue to be committed to our mission wherever God opens opportunities. I look forward to the opportunity to come to Bangladesh in October for the conference hosted by Sacrifice of Inner Church Trust. We’re thankful for Philip and Aporna Sarkar and their friendship and partnership in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please visit our website at nextlevelworship.com and also pray for us.

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