- Shadowing – All new volunteers shadow – even on the worship
team. They make tryouts. They then come to several practices. Then
they’ll come to a pre-service setup and practice – all before playing
one note on a Sunday. This allows them to get comfortable and for us
to take some time and teach. Each band has a different style, way of
working together, and drive. This way we can ‘show them the ropes.’
- Leadership Structure – Having Matt
as my Music Director is the best thing that has happened to our team.
He is able to give much more attention to the group than I would ever
be able to (I am really the Service Programming Manager: Host Team,
Media, Worship Band and Vocals, Marketing). So spreading the
leadership load is essential.
- Intentional Holes – This one sounds the strangest, but I
think it is the most important. A good friend of mine and very wise
worship leader told me that my ministry was effectively dysfunctional.
I had the same 3 musicians (guitar, drums, bass) EVERY Sunday. Why
would anybody think that we needed their help? He told me to create
holes on purpose. I thought he was nuts. We started scheduling people
off once a month – mandatory. Now we’ve added a keyboard player,
drummer, 2 guitar players, 2 vocalists, and more inquiries into the
ministry.
- Consistency – The worse thing you can do, and boy do I know this from experience, is change up stuff all of the time. Don’t create a schizophrenic ministry.
Keep practice the same. Keep your rules consistent. Always send your
schedule and line-up well in advance. Give them time to prepare and be
successful. I’m not saying don’t be flexible. You have to be
adaptable! Our music style has changed considerably in just a 2
years. But stick to your guns. And stick to the vision of the Pastor.
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