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More Than a Song: Worship, Calling, and Culture with Kimmie Simon
July 6, 2026 · 29 min
Hosted by GEB America's GM, Dave Groves, this episode welcomes Kimmie Simon of ORU Worship for an inspiring conversation about the heart of worship, discovering your calling, and creating a culture that draws people closer to God. Introduction 0:09:24 Kimmie's Journey to ORU 0:36:12 Importance of Prayer Sets 4:34:19 Spirit Empowered Worship 10:03:14 Preparing for Chapel 14:13:29 Worship Highlights 19:54:15 Conclusion 24:32:25 https://www.oruworshipcenter.com https://linktr.ee/oruworship ----------------------------------- The ORU Experience It Podcast is a production of Golden Eagle Media, Tulsa OK For more information on Oral Roberts University visit www.ORU.edu
Series ORU Experience It Podcast
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July 6, 2026 · 29 min · ORU Experience It Podcast
Hosted by GEB America's GM, Dave Groves, this episode welcomes Kimmie Simon of ORU Worship for an inspiring conversation about the heart of worship, discovering your calling, and creating a culture that draws people closer to God. Introduction 0:09:24 Kimmie's Journey to ORU 0:36:12 Importance of Prayer Sets 4:34:19 Spirit Empowered Worship 10:03:14 Preparing for Chapel 14:13:29 Worship Highlights 19:54:15 Conclusion 24:32:25 https://www.oruworshipcenter.com https://linktr.ee/oruworship ----------------------------------- The ORU Experience It Podcast is a production of Golden Eagle Media, Tulsa OK For more information on Oral Roberts University visit www.ORU.edu ...more Show the full description Show less Hosted by GEB America's GM, Dave Groves, this episode welcomes Kimmie Simon of ORU Worship for an inspiring conversation about the heart of worship, discovering your calling, and creating a culture that draws people closer to God. Introduction 0:09:24 Kimmie's Journey to ORU 0:36:12 Importance of Prayer Sets 4:34:19 Spirit Empowered Worship 10:03:14 Preparing for Chapel 14:13:29 Worship Highlights 19:54:15 Conclusion 24:32:25 https://www.oruworshipcenter.com https://linktr.ee/oruworship ----------------------------------- The ORU Experience It Podcast is a production of Golden Eagle Media, Tulsa OK For more information on Oral Roberts University visit www.ORU.edu
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In this video 0:00 Prioritizing Pure Hearts and Prayer in Worship6:00 Spirit-Empowered Mentoring and Training12:00 Building Culture, Managing Teams, and Revival Moments18:00 Wrap-Up, Favorites, and Calls to Connect
Prioritizing Pure Hearts and Prayer in Worship 0:01 Welcome to the Oral Roberts University Chapel podcast recorded live at ORU in Tulsa, Oklahoma.0:10 Well, hey, everyone. Welcome to the podcast. We wanna welcome everybody who's watching and listening around the world. We're so glad to have you with us today. And today, we have a really special guest. Kimmy Simon joins0:19 us. She is the director of ORU Worship Center. Thank you for coming on the podcast.0:24 Yeah. Thank you for having me.0:26 So let's talk a little bit about worship. That's what you do. That's I mean, your whole life revolves around.0:33 Yeah.0:33 It's in the title. What what kind of got you here to ORU? What what brought you to lead worship at ORU? Were you is this something you did back in I know you're from Alabama. Is this something you did then? Or did you0:44 just, you know, pick up a guitar and head west?0:48 Yeah. So I grew up in a ministry household. My parents pastor in my home state in Alabama. And so worship was very early on integral into my childhood and and how I0:59 became who I am.1:01 Yeah.1:01 And my parents knew before I did that I was called to worship ministry. And so they they put me in music lessons at 2 years old, and I fought it. And they were like, you're called to this, and I wanted to quit. And
1:12 they're like, you're not gonna quit. And I'm obviously extremely thankful
1:15 Yeah.
1:16 That, that I stuck with it. And so started leading worship, by myself on acoustic at 10 years old. Every morning before school, our class or our school would have a time of prayer and worship. Mhmm. And
1:28 that's where I learned how to lead worship. So when I came to ORU, getting plugged in to the worship center was very natural.
1:35 Yeah.
1:35 They had the prayer movement, prayer and worship sets. They had trap teams. They had so many great atmospheres and environments. I could continue growing and learning. And so when the opportunity came after I graduate
1:47 to stay at ORU in the very department that impacted me, it was an easy decision.
1:53 Now you have been then a part of it for how long?
1:57 Since 20 14. Since as a student. So 20 14, 20 18 as a student, and then I stepped in this role in 20 19.
2:03 So talk a little bit about what specifically, like, goes into the the whole overview worship experience. I mean, obviously, you it's student band members, student singers. I know there's, you know,
2:15 your your staff, but you're an alumnus. Like, how how does that whole thing come together?
2:19 Yeah. So our department, our mission and vision is to raise up spirit empowered worshipers, and we have 5 core values that everything we do flows out of. So our trainings, our teachings, our rehearsals,
2:31 even our set lists fall under our 5 core values, which is to be pure hearted, spirit filled, physically sound, leadership ready, and creatively skilled. So we're passionate about that student development in those 5
2:43 areas. And so when a student comes to ORU and they have a heart for worship and they have a heart for the Lord, we wanna get them plugged in immediately, and we intentionally focus on pure hearted 1st. You know, very
2:55 often in worship circles, we understand, I feel like, as a global church, that worship is a lifestyle, that worship is more than music. But when rubber meets the road, we typically hold an audition and
3:06 then begin to utilize them in a in a worship context. And so we kinda flip the script and we're like, hey. Creatively skilled is important. It's a part of 5 core values. Mhmm. But it's the least important. And so we
3:17 focus on their pure heart. Do they have a genuine relationship with the Lord? And focus on that relational connection with Jesus 1st. Yeah. And then as our part of the department, of
3:29 course, they, you know, grow in their musical ability and leadership skills and and all the other core values. But, we wanna make sure before they step on stage, before they sing in a microphone Mhmm. Before they're in a
3:41 position of influence, that they know who their father is and they operate out of that identity so that worship actually, is directed correctly and vividly.
3:51 Do you think that helps maybe kind of weed out those that they just wanna be on stage? They Oh,
3:56 hundred percent.
3:57 Have an extroverted, I wanna be on, you know, America's Got Talent.
4:01 Yes. Yeah. A beautiful problem in Tulsa is there is a multitude of stages. And so if you want to be on ORU stage, but you're not willing to go through the process, there's a lot of other
4:13 stages that, can be found. Mhmm. And but what we have found is when the Lord kind of places that inkling in someone's heart, and someone submits to that process of discipleship, the life
4:25 transformation on the other side is extremely fruitful. And 1 way that kinda helps, as you said, you know, we weed out that in the process, all of our worship team is required to be a part of our prayer room,
4:37 Mhmm.
4:37 Before they even are part of the team. And then once they're on the team, they have to stay involved. And so that really kinda keeps our feet grounded because the prayer room, it's not videoed. It's
4:49 not televised. There's not thousands of students partnering. It's it's a smaller room focused on hosting the Lord's presence. Yeah. And it keeps that heart pure.
5:00 So, you know, prayer has always been the center, literally, the word prayer tower and all that. So much of that goes on within those groups, and then it kind of expands out where we'll see, you know, okay. In
5:11 the in the men's dorm, they're having, you know, prayer and worship time. And a lot of times, that's some of your your students.
5:18 Yes. Yeah. Prayer is very central to campus, as you said, even literally, you know, physically with the building. But, yeah, our prayer sets go beyond just the even the prayer movement auditorium. You know,
5:30 our sets, we've now even are growing this next year, but, almost 500 students are involved just with those prayer sets. But that continues to grow and continue to spark
5:39 500.
5:40 Yeah. Continue to spark even more prayer worship outside of that space. And so we're we're very thankful for the hunger that God has birthed.
5:46 So let's talk about you guys do projects of your own?
5:49 We do.
5:49 You've released some albums. You just released a brand new live album.
5:53 Yes. Purify live.
5:54 Okay. And then those are if anybody that's listening, you can literally, if you're on Spotify or whatever, just pop over. Yep.
5:59 Apple Music.
Spirit-Empowered Mentoring and Training
6:00 No quick search.
6:00 Amazon, iTunes.
6:02 It's right there.
6:02 All thanks.
6:03 And we do wanna remind you to subscribe to the OER You Worship YouTube page.
6:07 Yes. OER
6:08 You That's where you guys have lots of things. You update, you have videos, and behind the scenes, and all kinds of fun stuff.
6:13 Yes. So
6:13 that's a great way to stay connected. And what we have found that, obviously, YouTube is a huge search engine, especially for Gen z, is that's often where they look 1st. Let me find out about the, you know, the the
6:23 culture, the formula that is over you, and they're curious. Right. And so that's a great way to start. So you you have students that come from all over the world Mhmm. And come from all different denominations.
6:34 Mhmm.
6:35 How is it that you, I think, build that worship experience when you're dealing with such you know, you got somebody maybe grew up in a in a more conservative church, and then you have somebody maybe grew up in a more,
6:45 you know, maybe a little more charismatic church. How how do you kind of work the blend when you have different players?
6:50 It's a great question. I think 1 thing that really helps us as a university, is we're constantly teaching. We're constantly giving context. So even in a in a moment of a chapel service where maybe doctor
7:02 Wilson is is flowing in a prophetic moment, a lot of times he'll be like, hey, this is what the Lord is saying in this moment, and he gives a context for it. But even as a department, when we are meeting with our team,
7:14 or even training our prayer movement sets, we very much go into depth and detail teaching them, yes, culture, yes, expectations, you know, all those guidelines. But we also teach them, what does the Bible
7:26 say about the gifts of spirit? What does the Bible say about worship? What does the Bible say? Why do we worship corporately with music? You know, answering some of those questions. And what we have found is in our
7:38 university context, people are already predisposed to learn. And that gives us a wonderful opportunity to speak into all these questions that they may
7:50 have with the truth of God's word, and give context for how we do things at ORU.
7:54 So this kinda leads right into this question that I had about spiritual mentoring, because you've kinda been hitting on a little bit. You've got the importance of, musicianship, lyrically, you know, obviously, tone, all
8:06 the things that go with being a good worship leader or a good performer of any kind. But what is it like to mentor, you know, an 18, 19, 20 year old college student that is, like you said,
8:18 it's it's a spiritual pure walk 1st?
8:22 Yeah. I think it's the best thing in the world personally. It's the the best thing and the worst thing of what we do at ORU is we get them for such a short amount of time. Yeah. Because they come in
8:34 so hungry. They come in wanting to learn. They come in wanting to grow. And I feel extremely spoiled by that because I feel in a lot of ministry context, you're with people that may have been in that position or doing
8:46 that 1 thing for decades.
8:49 Yeah.
8:49 And so their, willingness to wanna change how things are done may not be as flexible as an 18 year old who is like, well, that looks cool. I wanna learn how to do that. Yeah. And that gives us a really great
9:01 opportunity to maximize growth and learning in all areas of worship leadership. But then of course, it's extremely sad when we pour in, we train them up, they become a strong
9:13 leader, and then And then
9:14 they leave.
9:15 They leave in in all of that. But what we have found now is, you know, I've been now in this role. This is my 8th year. It's been so rewarding to see the students on the other side being worship
9:26 pastors. Yeah. Being pastors. And even our last, travel trip, we were in a church with 1 of our worship team alumni in Iowa, and their worship pastoring there, they started a prayer room there. Everything that, you know,
9:38 we've seen at ORU, they're taking directly to their church. And then getting to partner with them again as they are in their context, it's extremely rewarding to see. So mentorship with
9:50 the students really is very individualistic based on what each student needs. But all students in our department, we focus on those 5 core values.
10:00 So So what are some areas that if you're a student and you're listening would be student or your parent, what are some things that are specific that a student that comes here versus somewhere else that they're gonna get?
10:10 And I mean, like, hey. We're we're gonna have moments of songwriting. We're gonna learn about, you know, hearing the voice of God and and the meaning into that. What are what are some key things that you try to make sure
10:21 is a part of kinda like your core teaching?
10:23 Oh, I could say so many things. We we teach them how to pray, how to pray the bible, how to hear God's voice, how to operate in all the gifts of the spirit, both is in an individual context, in a
10:35 corporate context. And 1 thing I think that really differentiates, ORU specifically in this worship area is we spend a lot of time training our students on spirit
10:46 empowered worship, meaning, like, Psalms, hymns, and spirit songs. The spontaneous Mhmm. Singing scripture, proclaiming the word of God, and and Psalms, but really teaching our
10:58 students how to step into church environments and do those flow moments or those spontaneous spirit filled, whatever it may be. Because it's not just something that
11:10 if you're leading a band of 12 people, you can just up and do. You have to train that team. Yeah. And so creating rep, yeah, helping them create those environments when they step in to lead
11:21 those 12 people that can do it. If you've ever and it's and you guys do a great job at this, but I've, you know, been in church services where the pastor will be like, do this or do that, and they they can't shift gears.
11:31 Right.
11:32 Like, sing that song again, and they don't have everybody on stage.
11:35 Right. Right.
11:36 You know? Or, hey. There's that 1 song, you know, we sang it 3 weeks ago, good this way. Sing it. You gotta be ready to go. Right? Yep. You know? And so, hopefully, you're like, okay. I know the court.
11:45 Exactly. Yep.
11:46 So I will say this, though. This is a really cool thing that I've seen happen. There's at least 1 time, maybe it was last year, that doctor Wilson had a message, and he commented something along the lines. Like, there
11:58 was a song you did that went along with his message so well, and he hadn't even Right. Said to you, hey. Here's what I'm preaching on. Mhmm. It was more of, like, you know, holy spirit led. Right.
Building Culture, Managing Teams, and Revival Moments
12:06 You know?
12:07 And that and that, of course, is part of that, you know, understanding and hearing and flowing. It's so important. And that's very cool. And I will say for those of you that ever watch the livestream of chapel,
12:16 obviously, you can see every Wednesday and Friday morning at 11 AM central. But immediately following chapel, you have after chapel worship
12:23 Correct. Yep.
12:24 And we continue to stream that Mhmm. For an hour, hour and 0.5, maybe 5. Who knows? But it's a great way to see what you just were talking about. Exactly. That kind of that flow, that spirit songs, that's so amazing.
12:35 Yeah. And, really, that's the bread and butter of our campus. Because, you know, chapel, we we plan, we prepare, we wanna facilitate and steward that time. And, of course, we still flow in that time and Right. And are
12:46 obedient to the holy spirit. But as soon as noon hits and after chapel starts, there is no plan. It is all in the moment. Okay, holy spirit. What do you want us to do now? Right.
12:58 And that has become our favorite time, both as a worship team, but even in serving students. They there was 1 specific chapel last semester that we couldn't do after chapel because there was a a building,
13:10 ceremony or something. There there's some other event that we
13:13 We were cutting a ribbon before that.
13:14 Yeah. Yeah. We We had to we had to close right at noon, and I'm not exaggerating. They booed us off the stage.
13:22 They booed you.
13:23 They booed us off the stage.
13:25 And z or booers.
13:26 They were like, after travel. They're like, we're sorry. We can't today.
13:30 Come to the ribbon cutting. It'll be great. We'll sing.
13:33 It's such a wonderful environment to be in. Yeah. You get booed off the stage for not
13:38 having worship. Not having worship. I love that.
13:41 And so we we love that. I love
13:42 that story. That is hilarious. You're like, wow. I was there. I lived it.
13:47 Right.
13:47 It was so amazing. Talk about preparation for Mhmm. And I say this all the time to people. They'll be like, oh, because I talk to obviously people on the media side, and they'll be like, hey. Do you have any programs?
13:56 And, hey. I'd like to have a or you worship program and put it on our channel or our network or our platform, you name it. And they always will, like, okay. Well, what can you give me some context of what it is? You
14:05 know? Do you have speakers? I said, yeah. It's a megachurch service twice a week. Literally. I'm handing you a here you go. So talk about the preparation of that. Mhmm. You're you're literally training students, and you
14:16 yourself are involved in basically 2 major performance production church services twice a week with a day in between.
14:25 Yes. Yeah. I think probably the best way to explain the preparation for chapels isn't on a week to week basis, but on a yearly basis. And, really, you you could say semester,
14:37 but everything we do for chapels, it's centered around the students, both in the room and also on the team. Up now, of course, it's centered on the Lord, but I'm talking about, you know, worship team wise.
14:48 Right.
14:49 It's students, which means in order to have a successful Wednesday morning chapel, that student team needs to be primed in the word of God. They need to have so
15:01 much time in the Lord's presence. They need to have time to prepare and to practice, to gel as a music, band and team, vocals to prepare parts. You know? It's it's not just a, okay. We have
15:13 showed up and the lights were cool and the mix was good and we're good to go. Right. We pour into these students way before chapel even starts. We have team retreats where we go off campus at a cabin
15:25 before semester starts. So it's it's I think preparation 1st focuses on the discipleship of the student. Right. Then once we get to okay. The students are
15:37 trained. They, you know, they they have this foundation laid, and we're in the week by week, kinda rhythms. We have weekly rehearsals where, we'll play through a set, and maybe we'll okay.
15:49 Let's try that part again. That was a little messy. Let's fine tune that. You know? Mhmm. Natural music time. But we also do bible study as a team. We also have times of worship as a team. And what we have found
16:00 is the rehearsals where we either just connect with each other personally or spend time in God's presence actually set us up way better than when we're like, okay. Let's script every single
16:12 solo and part and which those times are needed, especially, like, in if we're doing something very intricate, like, you know, we we wanna steward and and we wanna do that well. But really the preparation on a week to
16:24 week basis, it looks like having times of worship. And what we have found is actually those after chapel worship times are best form of preparation, because oftentimes, oh, we're doing this song
16:36 tomorrow in chapel last minute, but no worries because we flowed into it 2 weeks ago in after chapel.
16:40 Yeah.
16:41 And so it gives us a lot of repetition with our teams that I think is really unique. But, of course, with preparation, we have a song bank. So they have about 200 songs that our team can play on a
16:52 dime that gives us
16:54 Only 200.
16:55 Right. Only 200. But it gives us extreme flexibility. So when it's, oh, green room prayer and, the Lord lays a song on speaker's heart
17:03 Mhmm.
17:03 If it's in that song bank, we got it. Yeah. And that gives us, I think, a greater level of flexibility that I'm extremely thankful for.
17:12 So you you talk about those retreats and the different things you do, really building culture. How do you manage the personalities of musicians, performers? I mean, you know, obviously, that's that's
17:24 gotta be that's not very spiritual, you know, when you're dealing with personalities. How how do you how do you best Yeah. You know, kinda navigate that? I know you got some great leaders and and that work with you, but
17:35 what's that what's that like?
17:36 Yeah. So I was a communication undergrad. So all the leadership assessment, personality tests, all of those things, I am a nerd at those. I love those things. So we have all of our
17:48 worship team and student leaders take Myers Briggs, Enneagram, Strength Finders. Like, we we do it all. And I love to look at those, and obviously, that's not the person in and of itself, you know,Show more
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