“We need more singers and musicians!” This is the cry heard from my department daily. Granted, we are a large church but we also have 6 different worship teams to put together every week. I need quality players and singers in volume. For example, our weekly needs look like this:
FIVEVILLE (4 weekly services for our 4 & 5 year olds)
3 singers
3 dancers
KIDS ON THE MOVE (4 weekly services for 6 yr olds – 5th grade)
5 singers
15 dancers
5 band (1 drummer, 1 keys, 2 elec gtr, 1 bass)
180 JV SERVICE (1 Wed. night service for 6th-10th graders)
2 singers
5 band (1 drummer, 1 keys, 2 elec gtr, 1 bass)
VARSITY SERVICE (1 Wed. night service for HS juniors – 22 yrs old)
1 singer
4 band (1 drummer, 1 keys, 1 elec gtr, 1 bass)
WEDNESDAY MAIN (1 main stage adult service)
4 singers
6 band (1 drummer, 2 keys, 2 elec gtr, 1 bass)
WEEKEND MAIN (3 main stage adult services)
6 singers
6 band (1 drummer, 2 keys, 2 elec gtr, 1 bass)
So as you can see we have a lot of positions to fill. Now let’s go ahead and admit it – as worship pastors we can get comfortable with the teams we have in place. We know their strengths, their work schedules and we develop a rapport with the people we rehearse with and lead services with week in and week out. And thank God for that! It takes a lot of diligence and patience to come up with effective lineups that we can count on to pull off service after service. But the trap is that we can lean too heavily on volunteers whose lives are transitioning, whose jobs are changing, who are getting married and moving across the country, who, honestly, may not be a part of our church six months from now. In that light we are constantly on the lookout for more talent. Here’s how we continually develop musicians and singers at Church On The Move:
WE START THEM YOUNG
We get kids and teens involved as early as we can. We’ll start them singing and dancing in Fiveville and Kids On The Move. The first thing they’ll learn is how to be energetic and engaging. We’ll also tutor our younger singers and players so that in a few years many of them will easily make the jump to the next level.
WE KEEP THEM ENGAGED
We make sure the music they are singing and leading is age appropriate for them, music that they are genuinely interested in. It’s difficult to get a 16 year old excited about singing a worship song that was popular 10 years ago. Conversely, a 40 year old won’t relate to music that seems too young for them. Musicians need music they can relate to – therefore it’s a necessity to match singers and players with music that motivates them and keeps them wanting to come back and serve each week.
WE SET THEM UP TO SUCCEED
Nothing’s more frustrating than being asked to do something you have no gifting for. We carefully match up singers and players with music they can easily wrap their heads around. If someone’s not ready to lead a song vocally, they sing back-up vocals. The same goes for musicians (ever ask a young drummer to play a shuffle?). We find what their strengths and weaknesses are and make sure they are given songs that they can easily nail. Once they have confidence that they can successfully do what we ask them to do, then we let them branch out from there.
WE CREATE A COMMUNITY
The only distinct difference in our 6 different worship teams is the ages of the worshippers we lead each week. Otherwise, all of our teams operate with the same principles of character, preparation and devotion to the church. Our team members understand that it’s just as important to give your all whether your leading 5 year olds in worship or leading songs on the main adult stage. My most accomplished musicians and singers who regularly sing on the main adult stage realize that I could send them to Kids on the Move or any other service at any time so that they don’t lose sight of what our church is all about. And in that we create community – all of us giving our time and talents for a common purpose: to make great music, to become better musicians and to serve the people of Church on the Move.
We believe that purpose breeds enthusiasm, and enthusiasm attracts more people to want to be a part of what we’re doing.
Comments
11 comments
Andrea
July 24, 2010
11:55 pm
Hi Andy,
I was wondering if you have written arrangements for your vocalists or if the parts are mainly taught & rehearsed by ear, or a bit of both, or something else… Your thoughts? Thanks for these posts - they are extremely helpful! God bless.
Andrea
Andy Chrisman
July 25, 2010
10:10 am
Hey Andrea! Most of our vocal arrangements are head charts. Very rarely do we write out those parts. I’ve found that helping our singers hear the parts in the music (rather than reading it) connects them more to the feel and spirit of the song.
Josh Ferris
July 27, 2010
10:37 pm
Hey Andy, thanks so much for putting time into this blog; very helpful!
It sounds like you guys run melody and one primary harmony with both parts being doubled/tripled. If that’s correct, can you explain your philosophy behind that? Do you have people that really only sing melody and can’t hear parts, or do all your vocalists need to hear/sing parts as a minimum? Thanks again.
Andy Chrisman
July 28, 2010
05:23 pm
Josh - right now (and this could change at any time) I really like hearing most of our singers on the melody. It really helps to beef up the sound and it simplifies the vocal approach.
All of my singers are capable of singing harmonies. They wouldn’t have made it to this level if they couldn’t. The problem with putting multiple singers on harmony is they it tends to sound “sweet” or “choral”. In choir situations I want that, but not in most BGV settings. One harmony part seeping through the wall of sound seems to work well.
Jamison
November 21, 2010
08:32 pm
Andy,
What are the requirements to be apart of the music ministry? Do you have auditions? Do you have any spiritual requirements?
Thanks!
Andy Chrisman
November 23, 2010
03:39 pm
Jamison - we require everyone interested in serving on our worship teams to audition, which is a great way not only to test their musical aptitude but also to do a face to face interview. I ask each person who desires to be on our team about their background, motives and lifestyle. We also require those who audition to be finished with or going through the process of partnership. We want talented musicians, but even more so we want those who desire to see this church grow and be effective.
Suzy
January 05, 2011
02:02 pm
Hi Andy!
First of all your blogs have me so much, thank you!! I was wondering how do you come up with your set list for the week or month?? Does this process include prior meetings with Pastor George or other worship staff members or do you mainly do it on your own?
Thanks so much!
Andy Chrisman
January 07, 2011
09:43 am
Hey Suzy,
As a creative team we don’t normally meet with our senior pastor about service panning. However, we do know each week what his theme will be and if there are any specific ideas he wants to get across. It’s up to us as a team to come up with a feel for the service and to choose the elements that will best enhance our Pastor’s message.
A group of 6 to 10 of us in our Performing Arts dept typically meet for the majority of the day on Wednesday and hash out the services for the next couple of weeks. Thursdays and Fridays are reserved for programming and tweaking.
Matt Skinner
January 11, 2011
07:43 am
Hi Andy -
I’m a worship leader for a small congregation (abt 150) in Nor Calif. Most of my team members (including band, sound & multimedia) don’t have the luxury of specializing in one ministry at this stage in our development as a church; they serve in multiple ministries. Consequently, I feel like the quality of our music & services can suffer from time to time as I don’t get as much time to rehearse with them and build into them as I’d like. Do you have any advice on how I can make the most of our time together, how I can encourage excellence, how I can inspire them to bring their A-game, etc?
Thanks, and live “4 Him!”
Matt
Andy Chrisman
January 11, 2011
10:24 am
Hey Matt,
I experienced the same issues when I was a worship pastor at a small church in Florida, and to some extent here at COTM. When you desire excellence in any area your biggest enemy is TIME. The best advice I can give is to be as prepared as you can for each rehearsal and run-thru. It’s a drain on your team when you don’t have a clear vision for your worship set. Take the time during the week to make sure you have the right players and singers in your lineup that you feel can pull off what you want to do. When you start rehearsals walk on stage with a confidence that conveys a sense of ownership: “This is what we are doing and this is why”.
No matter what level of talent you may have in your church you can maximize what you have by being prepared. Don’t give your team more than they can handle - set them up to win! Even the easiest worship sets done well will have a quality you can build on.
Hope this helps!
Andy
Jeanette DeRubeis
March 06, 2011
02:43 pm
Hi Andy,!
First off let me start by saying I could not think higher of a worship team. The anointed spirit that the team conveys on Sundays is so tangible. Not often can a worship team walk the fine line between a performance and a time a actual spiritual time of worship. In my opinion you guys have nailed it on the head. It is awesome to see God’s work pave out before me on a Sunday morning service. I’ve never been so excited about church in my whole life, and worship is a HUGE part of that.
Anyways.. (:
My question is this. I am 18 and my heart is one of worship. I led for a few years in my youth group back home and now I’m here in Tulsa for college at ORU. How does someone like me set up an audition or an appointment at least to get involved in some way with the music department at COTM?