What it Takes to Be a Good Worship Team Member

Now that you’ve nailed your worship team audition and made it onto the team, there is one big concept you need to grasp.

It’s simple: you’re part of a team. From now on, everything you do affects the team. What you say, how you respond, how you act all contributes to having a healthy team. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Time is Valuable

We all have the same amount of time every day. No matter what goes on in our lives: our jobs, school, we all have the same amount of time.  Being considerate of each other’s time is one of the best ways you can be a team player. Do this by being on time! 

Just one team member being consistently late for practice, rehearsals, and services can really spread to the whole team. Of course, we know that things happen from time to time and inevitably, you might be late. Things happen! But this is for the person who consistently shows up 10, 15, 30 minutes after call time each week. Don’t be the person who walks in 20 minutes late holding a fresh cup of coffee.  

Again, we know things happen from time to time. And when they do, communicate! Shoot a text, or better yet, call your leader. A quick explanation as to why you’re running late can really help.

When you show up early, it shows that you care. You are respecting others’ time and the overall good of the team.

Communication is Key

We have some of the best communication tools at our fingers tips. Between email, text, and app notifications, there’s really no reason why we can’t communicate effectively. It just takes consistency and effort.

If your worship team uses Planning Center to plan and schedule team members, there are some communication habits you can make:

• Block out dates you know you’ll be away. This really helps your leader when they are planning future services.
• Confirm or decline your service invites, don’t just leave on read. This is essential in helping a worship leader know how to plan for specific services. (It also helps keep their blood pressure at bay.)

If your team doesn’t use Planning Center, you can still practice these communication skills. Just ask your worship leader how they’d prefer to get this information. I can guarantee they’ll be pleased with you being proactive!

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Again, emergencies happen. There are times when you will need to cancel at the last minute. Just make sure you communicate with your worship leader and try not to be the person who cancels at the last minute over and over and over again.

Rehearsal vs Run-through

Every worship ministry’s rehearsal patterns are different. Some churches don't meet mid-week to rehearse they just show up on Sunday morning and make it happen. Others can have a midweek rehearsal that will last two-four hours. Whatever your situation is, know that rehearsal and run-through are two different things.

A rehearsal is typically where you take extra time to break things down. There can be a lot of stop-and-go and spending extra time focusing on certain parts of a song. And you’ll probably run a song a number of times to make sure everyone’s got it.

A run-through is literally a run-through of the entire worship set from top to bottom without stopping, or at least very little stopping. It's a time to see how the entire worship set as a whole is going to go. This is not the time to stop and go and is definitely not the time to be woodshedding.

Whichever you’re attending, a run-through or rehearsal, the best way you can serve is to come prepared! You've been given the tools to practice at home (and if you weren’t, ask for them!). 

Pay Attention

They are a lot of moving parts and instruction happening during rehearsals and run-throughs. Stay attentive to everything that’s happening!

If you are fairly new to playing on a team, it may be tempting to show off your new gear or play your favorite riff over and over again, or simply talk to those around you. There's a time and place for all of that (like when you show up 15 min before call time...). But when you’re in the middle of rehearsal, tune in to the entire team and the instruction that the worship leader is giving. Nothing can hamper a rehearsal like an electric guitar player playing their favorite Journey riff while the worship leader is trying to communicate to the entire team. Save that for when the rehearsal is over.

Be Personable

One of the best ways to show that you are a team player is to be personable. Care about the people around you, simply because they are people. Care about them more than what they bring to the table musically. Talk to those on the team, find out what's going on in their lives. Pray for one another, invite each other to lunch, get to know one another–be a team! You will slowly see you flowing with the chemistry of the team. Always remember that we can do more together than we can do apart.