How to Operate Worship Teams (10-20-15)

If you have worked through parts one and two on worship teams, you are ready to pull together a team and begin its work. How many people do you need? What will they do? What about rehearsals? How do you keep the team going? How often will you meet? This session will focus on a variety of suggestions gleaned from the experiences of worship teams both in Adventist churches and other Protestant congregations. Think about how these ideas apply to your situation and customize them to fit your church.

Perhaps the first item to think about is simply this: Does your local church need a single worship team or several teams? This depends very much on the specific role of your team or teams. If the worship team is to be primarily a planning group, then only one team is necessary in all except the very largest congregations. If your team(s) is to play a key role in actually leading worship each Sabbath, then it would be a good idea to have two, three or four teams, so that each team only needs to be on duty one or two services a month.

Characteristics of a Healthy Worship Team

How does a worship team function when it is healthy and effective? There are five fundamental traits of healthy teams to consider:

1. Everyone on a healthy worship team is committed to the same vision. They agree to focus on reaching for the vision and mission of the local church. This shared focus helps hold the team together. It keeps them on track. An effective leader casts the vision again and again in every team meeting and rehearsal. The leader regularly reminds each person why the team exists.

2. A healthy worship team desires mutual results. Together the team functions, knowing they can go much further as a group than they ever could alone. Another term to describe this interdependent facet of team life is synergy. That is, the output is greater than the sum of the individual parts. A worship team recognizes that there are and never will be a “star of the show” in leading worship. The only star is Jesus.

3. Healthy teams play together and pray together. A worship team that spends time building relationships outside of planning meetings and rehearsals will foster nurturing relationships that will last and help carry the team through difficult times. Teams that spend time worshipping the Lord and praying for one another will outlast groups which piece music together to put on a performance.

4. Healthy worship teams foster new leaders. A worship leader should consider part of his or her responsibility to find and mentor new leaders. As the worship team develops and grows, a leader will strengthen the ministry by raising up new leaders. That means nurturing talent, but also simply caring for the spiritual development of those in the team.

5. A healthy team is clear about the difference between leading worship and performing. It may seem like a subtle difference, but it is tempting to become self-focused when leading worship instead of God-focused. A person can lead a flawless worship service totally void of the Spirit.