Helpful Small Church Policies #1 - Worship Team Policies
Ps 95:1-2 NASU
O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
Whether a church is large or small the following audio may cause you or members of your worship team to push the "Re-set" button on their approach to leading worship. The recording is Bob Sorge speaking at the 2011 Remnant Conference at the Bethany World Outreach Center in Baton Rouge, La. (There is about a 30 second pause before the audio begins. It is worth waiting for)
The second audio is from the same conference and features Jonathan Stockstill who was at that time the worship leader of Bethany World Outreach. Since that time Pastor Jonathan has become the senior pastor. He has not only practical nuts and bolts teaching on worship teams, but also concludes with instruction on song writing.
Real Life in the "Small Church".
If you have pastored a small church you have no doubt had some very unusual experiences related to praise and worship. The following are some real life happenings. You no doubt could add some even more unusual. I do hope that you have learned to laugh at yours.
1. An individual from the congregation who had only attended for a short time felt moved to walk up and take a place on the platform to help lead worship.
2. An individual brought a tambourine to play during worship without the ability to keep time with the music.
3. A leader begins a song off-key and never catches on for the duration of the song.
4. Musicians wish to play on Sunday morning after playing in a bar or similar setting on Saturday night.
5. The CD recording of a worship session is found to contain not the worship music, but a video game that was being played by the sound tech while running the sound board.
Obviously most of these situations must be handled discretely by the pastor or worship leader on an individual basis. A set of policies can never cover all the situations you can and will experience. However, having policies, written and communicated in advance can prevent a lot of disruption.
The following policies have been proven useful in a small church setting.
A. General Principles and Procedures
Those who lead worship (singing or playing an instrument) are leading God’s people into His presence. The following are expectations for those serving on a worship team. Worship team leaders, members and musicians are to be pre-approved by the pastor to function in one of these capacities.
1. More than musical talent, the primary expectation of anyone serving on a praise team is that the individual lives a godly life, serving as an example to those who are being led in the worship experience. In other words, those who serve on a worship team are there to show others how to worship God. This must extend beyond formal worship services into daily life.
The practical application of this point affects every area of life. Jesus says the Father seeks worshipers who worship in spirit and in truth. Truth requires we live consistently without hypocrisy. For example: imagine being an enthusiastic worshiper with music and not generously worshiping God with a tithe of our finances. Jesus calls leaders to a higher standard.
2. At least moderate musical talent is needed, along with a willingness to practice at the regularly scheduled sessions in order to continuously improve and to learn new songs.
3. While placed in a visible role, persons serving on a worship team should not, by their manner of dress or actions, call attention to themselves during the praise and worship. The desired approach is to blend with the others on the team in appearance, actions and voice. The focus is on the One we are worshiping. This means that a team member would avoid becoming lost in their own praise (for example, becoming loud or over exuberant) to the extent that it would distract others from their worship. At all times, team members are to be sensitive and responsive to the team leader who is responsible for the service.
B. Some Practical Applications:
1. Dress – no shorts, teens may wear nice jeans. Men and women need to be covered especially when raising hands in worship, no sleeveless, no exposed midriff. (Clearly acceptable dress will vary from situation to situation. The last I knew, T.D. Jakes still wore a suit each Sunday, while Rick Warren wore no socks. The key is to determine a standard, know why you have it, communicate it and maintain it.)
2. Extra motions or extra musical additions should be only with the approval of the leader. (ie unplanned echoes, hallelujahs, signing, or interpretive hand motions or dance).
Note: There is actually more liberty on this point given to those who are in the congregation. One of the sacrifices that worship team members make is that in their prominent role in leading they should not become “lost in their worship” to an extent that might actually be acceptable in the congregation.
3. Worship team members do not necessarily have to be members of the church at the time that they join the team, but are expected to become church members as soon as possible after they begin to serve on a team. Team members and leaders are expected to continue to live in a manner that is consistent with the requirements for church membership. We are very pleased to have some team members who are not yet old enough to become official church members. In their case, we make an exception to this policy.
4. If situations arise in the lives of individuals which in the view of the pastor are not consistent with continued service in praise and worship, those individuals will be asked to discontinue their service until they are again approved by the pastor. Such situations may even include cases where an individual is undergoing a difficult time in their personal life which would distract them and possibly others from praise and worship.
5. Worship team members are expected to be people who seldom miss the regularly scheduled church services even if they are not singing or playing.
6. Worship team members are expected to arrive early for pre-service practice whenever scheduled in advance by the person responsible for leading the team at the worship service.
7. As the number of individuals involved in leading worship grows, team members should expect that a rotation schedule will be set up so that some or all members will not sing every service. If it is necessary for you to miss a scheduled service, please make sure to notify the worship leader so that a replacement can be scheduled. When possible, this should take place before the practices session for that week, so that your replacement can practice the songs. It is better for the worship leader to make the substitutions than for you to get your own replacement.
8. Arrival on time for services can be an important factor in leading worship. If an individual cannot be on time they should sit out that worship service rather than to walk up to the platform late during the service.
9. Valuing the ministry of the Word is important to setting the example for worshipers. When a person serves in a visible role on a worship team but does not stay for the rest of the service including the preaching of the Word, it may send a wrong message to the congregation. If it is necessary for you to excuse yourself after the singing portion of the worship service, please let the pastor know in advance. As a general rule it will be better not to serve during that song service.
10. Those who are responsible for small children (parents, grandparents, or those with young visitors) will need to make provision for the children to be cared for by someone in the congregation or nursery to avoid children becoming a distraction while you are serving on the worship team.
11. Periodically teaching will be offered for those who are on a worship team and those who would like to consider joining a team. Team members are expected to attend.