In worship ministry there never seems to be enough time no matter how well we prioritize and manage the time we do have. I’m always looking for ways to accomplish the administrative tasks I need to do in less time so I can focus more on the things that are more central to my passion and calling, and more directly ministry-related.

There are many resources and worship technologies being developed that can help us accomplish that. In this “Great Tooks for Worship” series of blogs we will review some of these resources and technologies so you can consider implementing them into your ministry.

A great resource I recently learned about is PraiseVocals.com. They offer downloadable vocal harmony part rehearsal tracks of today’s most popular praise and worship songs. We minister in 60 - 70 churches each year (from 30 people to 3000), and one of the greatest challenges every church has is teaching worship vocalists their parts for the Sunday worship set and having that aspect of the worship tight. It’s challenging enough to prepare the band and often most of a worship leader’s time and attention is spent in that area.

PraiseVocals.com provides a great solution for this dilemna: downloadable files for your vocal team or choir to learn, memorize and review vocal harmonies. This is so perfect for churches of all sizes. You can download the songs you are doing each week and have the vocals work on their parts in another room during your band rehearsal (possibly joining the band for a final run-through at the end), or schedule a separate rehearsal for them. Email the files to each vocalist or put them on CD so they can listen in their car all week. By Sunday not only will your band be tight, but your vocals will be right on and actually covering all the vocal parts.

Check out PraiseVocals.com for more information and testimonies from churches who have utilized this great resource.

Part II of “Great Worship Tools” will feature one of the most cutting edge (and timesaving) worship tools that has ever been developed - SamePage (visit www.SamePageMusic.com if your curious). SamePage integrates worship database management, digital music display, online planning, onstage personal monitoring and more. SamePage will transform how you plan for and approach worship. (You can contact me directly for more information regarding pricing, fuctionality and purchasing.)

Kristian Walker
www.kristianwalker.com

Recently my pastor asked me to come up with the top 3 things that make my day as a music pastor. The 3 top things that, after a worship service, make me look back and say “man, that was awesome”. The really cool thing was, he gave me the chance to share that list with our Sunday morning congregation as a part of his current message series.
So here’s the list:
1. People of God engaged in worship - passionately (Ps 42:1)
2. People of God expressing worship - freely (2Cor 3:16-18)
3. People of God making the worship experience about Him, not about us. (John 4:23-24)
So now it’s your turn, I would love to hear from you.
Tell us your top 3.

Wow, we’re only a few weeks away from our Worship Leader Roundtable Retreat (Sept. 28 & 29) and our EQUIP Church Leadership Training Conference (Sept. 27 & Oct. 3). There’s a lot of excitement about each of these events and I think they’re going to be a great success. Some have inquired why each of these events is scheduled so close to the other and what the thrust of each one will be. Here’s some brief insight:


The ROUNDTABLE is geared toward full-time worship leaders who desire to connect with other worship leaders like themselves in a casual setting to regroup, grow, get ideas for their ministries, share common challenges and find creative solutions and to be mentored by a seasoned worship leader with a great heart. We’ve limited this event to the FIRST 40 WHO REGISTER because we want it to be intimate and personal. Jeff Deyo will have the chance to be transparent with us and will open the floor Q & A in the last session. There will also be a Late-Night Coffee House where songwriters will have a chance to share one of their favorite worship songs with the group and give it a test run.


The EQUIP Training is an opportunity for lay worship and media team members to get some hands-on and practical training. There will be 12 different workshops offered that will hone in on four key areas of worship ministry: 1) vocalists, 2) instrumentalists, 3) audio technicians and 4) visual media personnel. There’s no better way to invest in your worship ministry team than to get them all in a van and experience a great day of team-building, both on the way there and back AND through the classes they will experience.


Drop an email to Kristian@PennDel.org if you have more questions. Also click on the EVENT tab on the homepage of www.PennDelWorshipCompass.org.

Rehearsing the band can be difficult at times.  Sometimes it can feel like you are not getting much accomplished in the 2+ hours you spend working on your songs.  Check out this link to an interesting article with tips on getting the most out of your rehearsal time.  This site is a pretty good resource for worship training.

Copy this link to your browser.

http://www.musicademy.com/2009/08/24/50-tips-rehearsals/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter0909a

This is going to be an awesome getaway with purpose… We’ll be spending time getting to know everyone a little better, having fun, sharing ideas and growing together. Jeff Deyo is going to be sitting around with us and sharing from his heart in a real casual and intimate setting overlooking the Conodoguinet Creek. PLEASE consider setting aside a couple of half days to join us.

Plan to bring your whole team for a great day of training, fellowship and team-building. This event is geared toward training volunteer leadership in the church and will feature 3 breakout workshops (with 4 different tracks) in additional to a General Session for everyone entitled, “What do we do when…”, that will address common challenges faced in a Sunday morning service.


WORSHIP AND MEDIA WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS


GENERAL SESSION (for the whole worship & media team) - Taught by our District Music Team
“What to do when…” Things that go wrong in church & how to respond & address the problems technically


INSTRUMENTALISTS AND VOCALISTS – Amy Foster, Joe Drovich, Paul Boisvert, Dave Longstreth
Workshop 1 – You can’t lead someone where you haven’t gone first. The heart of the worshiper and foundational principles of worship and team-leading.

Worskshop 2 – Team dynamics. How to work well together as a team, the role of the worship leader and team member, utilizing dynamics musically,

Workshop 3 – Using your unique gift in worship. (Vocal & Instrumental separate)
Vocals: Blending, harmonizing, platform etiquette & stage presence, using the mic
Instrumentalists: Using your unique gift in worship and complementing the other members of the band, instrumental technique tips


AUDIO BREAKOUT WORKSHIPS – Steve Giunta, Bill Jenkins & Kristian Walker
Workshop 1 - Soundcheck & rehearsal. How to effectively communicate with the worship leader and team

Worskshop 2 - Got mix? Learning what to listen for and how to attain a good mix

Workshop 3 - Audio 101. Mic placement, Gain Stages, EQ’ing,Signal Path, Troubleshooting


VISUAL MEDIA BREAKOUT WORKSHOPS – Craig Miller, Brady Treat, Chad Zollo
Workshop 1 - Video 101 Basic elements of visual media discussed: Choosing the projector, presentation software, do’s & don’ts

Worskshop 2 – Operating and utilizing video in the live environment. Techniques, ideas, tricks, integrating video clips into the service effectively, etc.

Workshop 3 – Big Media on a Small Budget. Podcasting, streaming video to web, producing video illustrations, using your media effectively with the web.

This has certainly been a difficult week. One of my faithful Worship Team members went home to be with the Lord after a very brief battle with cancer. I have been working with worship teams for nearly 25 years now and this is my first experience with this kind of heartache. Kathy played the violin and was an extremely talented musician and very godly woman. Our first rehearsal without her was very difficult. We had to live what we sing and declare to our congregation every week, to worship in spite of our current situation knowing that God is in control and that He loves us and will always be faithful. The songs we sing every week carry these truths but for some of us that reality and struggle doesn’t always hit that close to home.

The Lord used the song “Unfailing God” to comfort us and bring peace to our hearts. The congregation immediately embraced this song as well and the glory of the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit quickly filled the auditorium. Leading our congregations in cooperate worship is more about the living and less about the singing.

Years ago, when I first started leading worship, I typically went into each weekend rather unprepared.  I guess my thinking was that flying by the seat of your pants was somehow more spiritual than planning a set list.  I had the misunderstanding that flow in a worship set means no structure.  I have come to learn that my thinking was way off.  I have found that the better prepared and rehearsed we are, the more freedom we have to be creative.  When we feel ready and confident, we simply play better.  Think about it, what is more spiritual, having no set list and waiting until the last minute to hear from God or taking the time to pray ahead of time and hear from God.  God can and will give you wisdom in advance of the weekend service.  My day for putting together a set list is Wednesday.  That gives me the time to think through background graphics, send the set list to the musicians scheduled and make sure they have the sheets in advance of rehearsal.  You also can check with the lead Pastor or whoever is speaking that week to see what songs will help reinforce the message.  The bottom line is that good flow in a worship service doesn’t just happen.  Good flow is a product of being well prepared and well rehearsed.

Something that we do quite often when learning a new song for our worship repertoire is first getting a copy of the new song in audio format (mp3, CD, etc) to the instrumentalists and vocalists on the worship teams.  Then they have the chance to be prepared to play the song including specific beats/rhythms, riffs, runs, etc.

We also many times will introduce the song to the congregation in the same way that it is played on the CD including those beats, riffs, runs and such.  We try to do the song very closely to what it sounds like on recording (at least for the first time) rather than putting our own spin on it.  Then after we’ve taught it one or two times to our congregation we can start putting our own arrangements together for it.

I find that doing this helps our musicians and vocalists grow by giving them more techniques to use in their own toolbox, helps them to be in sync with the team and learn what that feels like, and helps us as a team learn how to arrange the whole (rather than them seeing only their part).

One additional thing we do with new songs is playing them two weeks in a row or twice in the same month at the least.  The first time someone hears something they are learning, by the second time you do the song- they can start worshipping with it because its starting to become familiar.

Its not rocket science, but it works. What do your teams do to introduce new songs?

Welcome to our Worship Compass BLOG & webpage. Click on this link to connect to the LIVE GodTV webstream of the “Angel Mission Benefit Concert” and the “I Love America” celebration from James River Assembly in Springfield, MO. Go to: “www.5dollarwater.com” for more details about the event, a schedule of the concerts and for information about Angel Mission.


Have a happy 4th of July as you celebrate the freedom we have as Americans and reflect on what Jesus accomplished on our behalf to give us the ULTIMATE FREEDOM!

(LIVE WEBSTREAM LINK WILL ACTIVE at 5 PM ON FRIDAY, JULY 3.)

LINK TO GodTV WEBSTREAM:
god.tv/angelmission