The best motivator that you can have is Jesus. As the director of the praise dance ministry, your responsibility will include teaching your ministry. You don't mention what age group you are working with, but even at an early age it is important to teach your young people who they are ministering to and for. Making sure they know the importance of what they are doing is essential.
Because dance is a ministry, it is also important to know that our role is very different from a performer. Our role as dance minister is to assist in carrying out God's orders through dance and lead others into praise and worship. Performers entertain and most often are concerned about approval from whom they are entertaining. As dance ministers we should be seeking approval from God and He alone can measure our sincerity. Work on getting them to minister to God by thanking Him for everything that He has done for them. When they begin to focus on His goodness, the facial expressions will come. You also ask how to get them to reciprocate the hard work that you have put into establishing the dances. Why not include them in establishing the dance. After they have listened to the song they are ministering to over and over and over again and they truly understand what they are ministering to, ask them to help. You will be surprised what they have to offer and they will begin to understand more of what they are doing. I hope this helps.
God Bless,
Deirdre, Flint, MI
: I am a praise dance director at my church located in Morton, Mississippi. It seems that I have a hard time getting the girls motivated to do their very best. I try to teach dances in an exciting way, including facial expressions, but they sometimes do not seem interested. I've given them scripture that supports my ideas about Giving God your best, but they only seem motivated for a moment. Often I feel that the performance will be watered down because they don't see my vision or what God has given me for the performance. And most performances are boring to me because they don't emphasize like they should. It always looks awesome in my head, but I just feel discouraged in getting them to perform to a their potential. How can I motivate the young ladies to always do their best? How can I get them to reciprocate the hard work that I put into establishing the dances?