Worship Rehearsals (10-28-15)

Well-planned rehearsals bring excellence to the worship service. More and more congregations have adopted the plan of gathering the worship team and key participants on Friday evening for a worship rehearsal. If there is a choir and/or instrumental group, they will rehearse at the same time. The agenda usually includes the following elements:

1. A devotional time (7-10 minutes). Worshipping as a group keeps everyone on track. A worship team is not about seeking praise from others, but giving praise to God. Anyone in the congregation, new believer or unbeliever, can sense the heart focus of the worship team. It is important to spend time getting spiritual priorities straight.

2. Cast the vision (5-7 minutes). The team leader reminds the group again and again of their identity. A brief teaching, open discussion, reports of answered prayer all may fit within this time. As a leader, raise the vision, mentor others, and keep the focus on Jesus.

3. Evaluate the previous worship service (10-12 minutes). Think about what went well and what did not. The worship leader gives their own observations and everyone is invited to do the same. Someone takes notes. This can be a time of tension, so it is important to have a few ground rules about sharing. Members must evaluate themselves honestly before commenting on others. Do not allow any putting down another person, no matter how poorly they did. Comments should be helpful and encouraging. The group should be steered away from highly personal discussions that need to happen outside the group.  Wrap up with a short “to do” list.

4. Work on specifics (one hour). What does the group need to focus on? Most commonly it will be rehearsing the music, focusing on vocal technique. It may also be working on transitions, coordination, skits, etc., depending on the size and complexity of your team. Developing voice excellence takes time, practice, and good technique. It may be worth investing in resources or local personnel to give helpful hints and guidance. Focus on pitch. Try to do it well and right the first time.

What about a small church? There is a point at which a congregation is too small to need to go through regular worship rehearsals or even do elaborate planning. Clearly those congregations where the typical attendance is about 150 or more need to carefully consider having a worship team or teams, planning and rehearsals. Those with a typical attendance of 25 or less do not need to do so; they should function more informally. Those with more than 25 but less than 150 in attendance need to make a decision as to whether a worship team, planning and rehearsals will help their church grow or not. Small churches that want to be larger need to begin to operate as if they will be larger or growth is stunted.