Guest Post: Forming A Worship Team With A Heart For Excellence
Welcome to another week of the Songregate Blog!
Today we are picking up where we left off on the introductory post called "The 3 Isnt's of Worship" and I basically outlined a few things.
I don't know everything about worship and it's always a learning process.
I do know what worship is not.
Worship is not selfish
Worship is not perfection
Worship is not "have to"
Rather than go right into the last of the three, I decided to throw in a guest post and have an incredible friend of mine go a bit deeper into the Excellence of Worship. You can consider this a Part 2 of last weeks blog, if you will.
Our guest writer is creative/worship director Kris Carey of Christ's Chapel Assembly of God in Northern Kentucky. Kris and his wife, Kirsten, attended and graduated the Hillsong College and helped build one of the most Spirit invaded places of worship in the greater Cincinnati area. When they started at Christ's Chapel, they were specifically brought on staff for an alternative young adult service called Church 922. It started around 100 people and is now a faithful staple week in and week out for the church as a whole that has shown thousands of people to a closer relationship with Jesus. He knows what he's talking about, I promise. Bust out your notes. Write down these bullet points.
Are you ready?
Let go.
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The Worship (Singing) component of our church service is a critical layer of the overall experience you are creating for folks. In a lot of ways it sets the tone for the ‘flow’ of the service. The music component of worship can trigger all sorts of emotional responses of the congregation. This is why it is important that worship services are being led by the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Samuel 16:14-23 we read the story of Saul who is being tormented by an evil spirit. The bible says that when David would play his lyre, the spirit would leave Saul alone. David had learned how to usher the presence of the Lord into a room with his instrument. My prayer is that all of us would have those kind of moments in our worship services… the kind where people that are being torment find peace in God’s presence.
With that in mind, here are Ten Essential Keys To Building A Great Worship Team.
Our worship has to be authentic. Regardless of what your team looks or sounds like, they have to be genuine worshippers.
Don’t be afraid to start small. There’s nothing wrong with not having a full band or choir. Build slowly with quality over quantity.
Keep it all about Jesus. It is imperative that our worship leaders have the ability to take us past themselves and into the presence of Jesus. Our worship services are not about entertaining people. Our worship services are about ministering to the Lord and people encountering Him.
Develop a process for receiving new folks onto your worship team/choir. Communicate what your expectations are clearly before inviting them to join the team. Auditions are a great way to gage someone’s abilities and humility.
Don’t be an exclusive team. Always look for ways to pull in new musicians and singers… even the players that still need some work.
Have rehearsals on a consistent basis. This will facilitate the opportunity to build great relationships among your team members and it will cause your team to play together better during services.
Play songs that will engage your congregation in a genuine moment of worship. There’s no style that is wrong or can’t be utilized to lead people into God’s.
Have a time for prayer and extensive training. Our team utilizes the “WorshipU” videos from Bethel Church in Redding California. We play a video before starting our rehearsals and then have a time of prayer. https://www.worshipu.com
Raise up the next generation of worship leaders and musicians and don’t be afraid to let them lead. This will bring LIFE to your worship team.
Plan ahead. If you want excellent musicians and singers, you have to give them adequate time to rehearse and prepare for your worship services. Winging it is sometimes fun, but you can’t build a solid foundation on that.
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Kris Carey serves as the primary worship pastor at Christ's Chapel alongside his wife, Kirsten Carey. In addition, Kris oversees the 'Serve' component of church life at Christ's Chapel and Kirsten also serves as the Women's Pastor. Kris & Kirsten have four children: Jaimen, Judah, MIa, and Lyla (ages 9-1).
You can connect with Kris on Twitter @KrisCarey