Pool of Musicians and Singers

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Permalink Reply by Justin Kirkendall on December 4, 2008 at 4:42am

hmmm...this is a task.
depends on the size of your congregation really.
and then the spiritual maturity of those you are going to be putting up there.

Be careful not to put people on the team that are just "good" at what they do. It's always nice to have someone who can vocally bring down the house- or play that guitar rift just like Lincoln Brewster- but if they're attitude and heart aren't in worshipping the Lord- you're looking at major trouble down the road.

just a quick tip.
more later.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Cauley on December 4, 2008 at 7:15pm

Hey Justin,
Yep......there are some pitfalls to be mindful of and you mentioned a couple I've already considered. We would of course use this platform to teach and encourage the responsible use of this ministry privilege to its fullest potential. We run approx. 160 on Sunday.

Thanks for your input,
Dennis

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Permalink Reply by Bennie Kendrick on December 5, 2008 at 8:46am

We work from a rotation; I have 2-4 people on each part and rotate them in 3 week increments. I attempt to keep each group of musicians on the same schedule so that they can develop some chemistry with each other. Most of our musicians enjoy the "time off"; it allows them to engage in the services without the added responsibilities when they aren't playing, and gives them time to rejuvenate.

We have more guitarists than anything, and I think they would like to play more often. I have also had to turn away some people that would like to play because we had so many on that rotation already.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Cauley on December 5, 2008 at 6:11pm

Hi Bennie,
Thanks for your input; do you have any advice or pointers on the rotation system?
Such as:
1) How do you distribute the music?
2) Work in practices
3) Do you regularly meet as a whole group; encourage relationships etc.

Any details you want to add will be helpful.

Thanks again,
Dennis

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Permalink Reply by Bennie Kendrick on December 5, 2008 at 9:57pm

Dennis,

As far as music distribution, we had a password protected web portal developed where the musicians can download the songs for the week (mp3s, chord charts, guitar tab*, key parts* - *if I've written out specific parts for those songs). Each musician is expected to print the charts out, listen to the songs, and make notes on what they need to play on their own music. I chart out the songs from start to finish and include transitions/instrumentals so there are no questions on how we are doing the song. I also offer anyone who is interested one-on-one practice time if they need help picking out their parts.

We have a 2 hour practice mid-week each week to prepare for Sunday morning worship. As I mentioned, each musician is expected to learn the song on their own, for the most part, and be prepared for a run through. I listen to the parts during the first run through and make corrections/changes as needed. We do the songs 1-3 times during the first run through. The final run through is basically a "dress rehearsal" for Sunday morning. We also have a run through on Sunday morning beginning an hour before the service (to help everyone warm up, and refresh their memory).

We don't meet as a whole group, but our church is relatively small, and we meet outside of our worship services so often that it's unnecessary. I've never served in a place where the people lived life together so intimately; it's very refreshing. I am constantly having lunch or dinner with people in the church, going out for coffee, going to the movies or concerts, playing disc golf, etc. Our church also splits into small fellowship groups (informal dinner at a host home) one Sunday evening a month, and these groups rotate every three months to help everyone in the church get to know each other.

BTW, for those interested: My mom developed our web database portal (she does a lot of low cost websites for non-profits). Our portal is completely customized to our needs and has made my life so much easier. She's not a graphic arts person, she's a programmer, although she has developed some pretty good looking basic sites. I design/manage our church's main site, but the web database is completely her.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Cauley on December 10, 2008 at 11:56pm

Thanks Bennie,

Anyone ever been involved in starting a youth band? We're also considering a youth worship band to jump start our youth participation and energize them with an activity they can mature with.


Thanks,
Dennis

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Permalink Reply by Carl R. Foltz, Jr. on March 1, 2009 at 9:36pm

Dennis:
By all means, encourage as many people as you can to take part on the worship team. Of course, you let yourself open to a little chaos when doing this. You do have to insist on some small amount of ability when auditioning singser and musicians. We would have them practice with the team for a couple of weeks, with no assurance of being added to the team. But if they could be faithful in this, they generally had some ability, and they were enthusiastic. We would add them to the rotation, and they would get a turn at least once a month. So many folks would bloom and blossom after becoming a part of the team, that it would bless my socks off. Imagine getting half of the congregation on the worship team! Imagine the difference that makes, even when those folks are not up front, but in the seats with other folks around them. Ideally, this would result in pockets of worship scattered all through the congregation.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Cauley on March 2, 2009 at 11:53pm

Hello there Carl,
Thank you for your response, I agree totally. Were we not all created to worship FIRST and express our affections towards our Savior? ! And as you have said, what better way to grow the depth of the entire congregation than for people to have an opportunity to participate, be encouraged and discipled for corporate worship, That's gotta spill over into all other areas of their lives. Sure, it may not be for everyone but if the avenues were made available I think you might have a line forming. And yes, you do open door to a host of potential issues, but, if proper planning and discipleship is in place WOW.

I've been working on a little something you might enjoy reading and/or critiquing, Check out the attachment if you will. It's a draft version of how I might develop a Worship Team Pool. Please give me your honest thoughts.

Blessings,
Dennis

Attachments:

• OBPC Worship Team Pool.docx, 17 KB

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