The Second Most Important Day in Your Music Ministry’s Week

You would probably say that the most important day in your music ministry’s week is Sunday. And you’d be right. The people are gathered, the preacher’s got the Word from God, the financial offerings will be received and the visitors are checking it all out. Plus, it’s another chance to take another step towards the dream of your team. It’s a big day.

Therefore, I would also say that the second most important day is worship practice day. You can only serve on the table what you cooked in the kitchen. Even if you add the most awesome side salad with the most amazing balsamic vinagrette and wash it down with the most outstanding glass of your most impressive (non-alcoholic!) drink, a microwave meal is still a microwave meal. Eventually, the church will experience from the platform what you’ve been experiencing in the practice. Yes, a worship practice should be an experience.

So, for a main worship service that’s truly, er… tasty… here are just five of the many elements I think should be part of those precious few hours spent together on practice day:

1. Hospitality

I think it’s great to walk into an atmosphere of prayer, but only if prayer is what’s really happening. If it’s just tired people, in from a hard day at work, grunting quietly in a darkened room, it’s perhaps not the best way to start a practice. I prefer people to walk into a bright room, drinks ready on the table, upbeat worship music playing. They can chat a bit, wind down a bit, have a laugh, make the transition from “out there” to “in here”, and then come together corporately to pray and worship. Hospitality communicates a message: “We’re glad you’re here. Thanks for your time.”

Q. What atmosphere do you set at the beginning of your practices?

2. Punctuality

Starting on time is a two way street. It says to your people “We don’t want to waste your time, so let’s get started” while at the same time teaches your people “We’re serious about what we’re doing so make sure you’re here!” Ending on time also sends a message. It’s not that we’re ruled by the clock. Sometimes it’s beneficial to start a little later than usual. And sometimes we just gotta get the work done and that might mean finishing late. (Or sometimes God’s Spirit just starts moving and you gotta go with it! I love it when that happens!!) But don’t start or end late due to lack of proper planning and preparation. That just tells your people you weren’t ready for them.

Q. Are your start/end times realistic?

3. Preparation.

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s seeing people just sitting there while leaders argue and debate in front of them: “No, that’s not how it goes!” “Yes, it is!” and all that. Boo. When people come we need to have things ready, or have the people involved in the process. It’s great to pull together and work out the harmonies together, or decide which breaks sound the best… just making the music a real team effort. But if that’s what you’re gonna do, plan for it! Don’t turn up with no sheets ready, no clue what you’re doing, winging the practice. The people’s time is worth more than that.

Q. Are you ready for your next practice? Are you sure?

4. Hard Work

When I went to kickboxing classes, I would leave each week feeling battered, bruised, sweaty – and entirely satisfied. If I’d have come out of the class feeling like I’d done nothing, that it was all too easy, that I hadn’t been challenged, I would have asked for my money back. People want to grow! I love it when a practice feels like a labour of love, when everyone’s challenged just beyond what they think they’re capable of. They should leave taking a deep breath, encouraged because they just went to another level. If one person is working like a dog and everyone else is chillin’, it’s time to change tempo. This is not my thing, it’s our thing! It’s the hard work of all of us that’ll make it happen. The team will work hard if the team’s dream is worth working for.

Q. Do you model a good work ethic for your team? Is your team vision-driven?

5. Encounter

If your practice is all about great music, you’ll bring great music to your service. But if all we bring is great music, we’ve turned into entertainers, and we’ve turned our congregation into a subjective audience. Every practice should be an encounter with God. The spirit of the music will be the experience the team had as they worked at it. Sometimes we compartmentalise our pratices too much: First the prayer time. Then the worship time. Then the Bible study time. Then the practice time. Then we go home. Boring. Be open to the move of God. Teach the team to be open to the move of God. I love it when we move on from “worship practising” to “worshiping”. Learning a new song? Then learn it quickly so we can move on to the good stuff: “using” the song to flow with God. Do that in the practice and the team will eventually bring it to the service.

Q. What is the spirit of the music you bring to your services?

They say about 90 per cent of communication is non verbal. The culture and atmosphere of our practices communciate things: they communicate how much we value our people, how much we value their time, how much we value the ministry God has given us, how much we value music, how much we value meeting with God. Your practice should teach the values that help build the service on Sunday morning. And for that reason, practice day is possibly the second most important day of your music ministry’s week.

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