Worship Teambuilding

I often hear about individual church ministries like small groups desiring to start their own worship gatherings.  I think this is a great idea.  We typically associate a worship team or gathering with the team that stands on stage Sunday morning.  The reality is that the “main worship service” is only a part of a church family’s worship experience.  Children have their own services.  Youth groups meet during the week.  Small groups meet at all different times.  These groups might miss out on worship time Sunday morning and leaders often are at a loss as to how to put a worship band together for these types of gatherings.  What if the main worship team became a teambuilding worship team?  What if the priority of the main worship team became more than just what happened Sunday morning?  What if the role of the main worship team became a role of training others to lead ministries?  The possibility of starting small group, youth group, and children’s ministry worship gatherings becomes more possible.  Here are some steps that would allow an existing worship ministry to transition into a teambuilding worship team:

1. Make a commitment as a worship team that helping build and grow ministry is a priority.  This is important to do at the beginning.  If people are not behind this philosophy you will have difficulties demonstrating effective teamwork to the new people.  If any existing team members are unwilling to commit you may need to consider asking them to find another ministry to serve in.

2. Make training and mentoring a regular part of your ministry.  Make sure that you are continually mentoring your team members.  Spend time with your team.  Ask them to help you lead.

3. Open the door to mentor “unqualified” team members.  This is a scary thing for leaders, but this is a priority if growing ministry is the goal.  Look for the right attitude and motivation over talent level.

4. Give leadership opportunities to your existing team members to lead and mentor those who desire to start worship gatherings.  Ask your current sound man to take a couple of people under his wing.  Ask your program director to teach 2 people to do what he does.  This grows both the trainer and the trainee.  It also prepares the trainee to take the lead in a new worship gathering.

5. Test the waters by trying putting together some of the trainees and allowing them to put together a service for a youth group meeting.  Have a few of the main worship team members help out.  See how it goes.

6. Evaluate.  How did it go?  What did not work?  Retool and retry!

7. Evaluate your team.  Over the course of trying these types of things, you will be able to feel out when individuals are ready to starting working in other ministries.

8. Discuss things with your team.  Once you feel people are ready to launch a new worship gathering, discuss it with your entire team.  Allow them to hear about the vision for the new worship gathering.  Allow them to give you feedback.  Allow them to volunteer to help start the new worship gathering.

9. Be willing to let go of some of your existing team.  During the process of mentoring and growing together, people in your existing team may discover that they would like to help in a different area of worship or in a new worship gathering.  This is part of the process of growing people and letting go.

10. Be supportive of one another as new worship gatherings are started.  Everyone is still on the same team, but it can feel very different moving forward with people now serving in different areas.