Creating a Foundation for TEAM Development

One of the most rewarding endeavors we strive for is to see people engage the glory of God and become changed because of the experience of worship! Because of that joy, all the work and potential difficulty that we may experience are all worth it! In fact, serving Jesus is worth anything we go through to bring him glory. So let’s get out our building blocks and build something great!

Attempting to motivate people is often an arduous process – especially if you are attempting to build a team and lead people in worship. As audiences become larger, and our use of technology raises the bar for the media we use, sometimes our worship experience ends up being not so great. We work hard to put programs together, to utilize audio/visual equipment, encourage ideas as well as people. Now that the consumer church member mentality is demanding more and more, we include additional technical gadgetry, all the while trying to move everyone in step toward the goal at hand: worship God and see His glory!

All of these initiatives require more people. We are now faced with the need for building a media ministry. The logistics of getting everything working at the same time has become a whole new ministry area. We have as such had to redevelop the concept of the worship minister, media minister, and worship technology minister. On top that, there is potentially a worship arts minister, an audio minister, a visual content minister, an IT director, and a planning team… on and on it goes.

Most of you are not working in mega churches; you are trying to serve a church or ministry with 200-450 attendees. Still, it takes people. You may need a sound tech, a lighting tech, a projection team, camerapeople, a director, ushers, worship leader(s), praise team members, bands and musicians, graphic artists, video editors, etc. The fact is, you need other Christians on a team, and you all need to be moving in unison.

So let’s talk about T.E.A.M. Do you have one? I would recommend sitting down and discussing this with your pastor or minister. They will need to be on the team to help you place people and encourage the process. They will be valuable to the concepts you are trying to promote. The congregation will also need to be educated about your new ministry.

T is for: Teach about the Glory of God. The pastor, preacher, minister, or “mouthpiece” must teach about God’s nature, His attributes. This will help people respond to God’s glory. Whenever we see who God is, it is like a mirror for our soul. It reveals who we are in the midst of his love. Great worship is a response to Grace! The value of worship on the back end is directly proportionate to the investment on the front end. People need to see God, so that they can worship Him!

E is for: Evaluate people with correct core values. In most team ministry situations, people are often placed on the ministry team because of technical ability. This can be a big red flag and could end up a mess!

For example, you might have a dude that has a degree in electrical engineering. He knows his stuff, but he’s very rigid. Because he knows so much, he cannot take any direction or correction. On top of that, he may not know a thing about music, worship, or the glory of God, but because he is an electrical engineer, he ends up being your sound guy! Now if you try to create a tasteful nuance with sound, it is always a fight to get this person to do what is asked. Sound familiar?

Here is my suggestion: Hire for attitude, train for aptitude! You can train people in the technical. You cannot train attitudes, usually. Try to find someone who has humility, who is a deep worshiper. Find that person who has a willingness to learn, who has kindness and graciousness. If you find the quiet spirit who wants to serve then you can teach about all the buttons to push and things to learn. A spirit-led, humble soul will always make the best team member. If they love to worship, then they will probably “get it”, as in they may instinctively know when to change slides, and how much volume to apply to blending voice and instrumentation, etc.

A is for: Ask the appropriate Questions. Brainstorm with your pastor, deep worshipers, and visionaries about what questions to visit. “Who needs to be on the team?” “What roles need to be filled?” What types of experiences fit our church in a typical worship event?” “Are there new wines we are attempting to put in old wineskins? Why are we adding this? What are our distractions in worship? Are we mastering this ministry or is it our master? Can every person see well, hear clearly, and participate from every seat? How long will it take to master this medium? Why is it necessary to have dry run-throughs? Why is it necessary to protect the equipment? It is too hard for lay volunteers to work the set up? Can we utilize a mentoring program to train more workers? Do we do things excellently? Is good enough really good enough for the King of Glory?

M is for: Make your progress in steps. Start with a closely knit group who loves one another. Start with small successes. Don’t do all the new stuff at once. Get proficient in one area and then move to new media ideas. For example, you may decide to add an LCD projector. You may want to use fixed slides and the same songs that the church is accustomed to, at first. Then later you could move into video and add new things. New is not better, nor is old better.

Also, if you will make your equipment bulletproof, it will help your progress. If you are adding equipment, make the ramp-up as simple as turning on one computer strip. Label well and use common jargon. Insist that the team know the vocabulary. Train in procedures that everyone can follow. Have some training/eating meetings to bring your team along in steps.

Oh, and protect the computer- back up often. Use software for lyric projection that can be used at home and by all the volunteers as well.
By moving in steps, perhaps the first step is to insist that team meetings occur for the planning of the worship event. The preacher must be on board or else they will drown. These planning meetings will ensure that you can all work fluently towards which steps will be next.

Your relationship with your team must be comfortable, loving and trusting. If this is not you, go back and start your building process again.

The glory is not about us, or the neat event “we” just pulled off. It is about people finding and experiencing the glory of God! Build your team, all to His glory!