Music &
Worship
From where I am seated most Sundays, I get the privilege of seeing our whole church join in worship of our God. But worship is far more than just the music we sing, it is the lives we live in service of Him.
That’s why I am so proud of how our team increasingly encourages and challenges one another, prepares thoughtfully with the Word of God, carries one another’s burdens, and celebrates with one another’s joys. Together, we hope and pray that we are equipping the disciples in our congregation to receive God’s Word in the Gathering and to respond to it in the lives they lead beyond each Sunday Gathering.
Our purpose is to be disciples and equip disciples.
Our teams of musicians and singers are disciples before anything else, and together we aim to interact as the family of God ought. We are so intentional to pray together before rehearsals and Gatherings, but to pray for one another’s requests and needs. We practice hospitality, welcoming new participants in our area and strengthening our discipleship muscles of generosity and forming deeper relationships. The team is so diverse, with different denominational backgrounds, stages of life, and spiritual journeys represented, but the team is also so full of life and care for one another. We encourage, sharpen, and challenge one another to follow Jesus and serve our congregation.
Scripturally Rooted.
Relationally Committed.
Sacrificially Minded.
Missionally Driven.
While our team is thriving in being Relationally Committed, as you may have noticed in the previous section, I want to highlight how our team also exemplifies being Sacrificially Minded.
Our team is not a show up and volunteer team. It is easily 10 or more hours between rehearsals, gatherings, and the extras. It requires a lot of time and effort to learn songs (and new songs), practice in different keys, adapt to different arrangements, work out various parts in and after rehearsal. Our people commit to this and do it willingly and joyfully.
Over the year, we have strengthened our value of being Missionally Driven, seeing our role as not just a Sunday morning role. We serve on Sunday’s in each Gathering, but our interactions matter and what we do throughout the week matters. Discipleship is a 24/7 commitment carried out in everyday living, so whether through GC’s or other teams, we express that and talk often about how we are expressing that in our neighborhoods, families, and workplaces.
Next year, we will aim to strengthen our value of being Scripturally Rooted, evaluating the songs we sing and want to add, thinking liturgically about how we arrange songs, and tying our sets to what is preached and studied as a church. We want to root ourselves in faithfulness to God’s Word, not faithfulness to a program.
Life Change:
the result of being disciples and equipping disciples together
We have all been so encouraged by the growth and change happening in each relationship and each person in our team. There are three team members in particular who have newly engaged in our team, or re-engaged in our team, out of a desire to ramp up their commitment to the Lord in their personal lives and in community. It’s been such a gift to watch their spark, intentionality, and joy in service of the Lord, His body, and our team.
While there are so many people who engage as more than a spectator, I will name one who has faithfully served on the team for a while but is increasingly moving in to actively engage others, offer input, and try out different roles. The stretch and challenge of taking on speaking, leading songs, and collaborating on arrangements has been fantastic. But it’s also his genuine care and intentionality toward the people on our team that is remarkable.
What does engagement look like?
Think about how many Gatherings our music teams are serving you before and after the messages, and think too how many hours are spent unseen to prepare for those! To keep that sustainable, we generally keep our team on a monthly rhythm so that folks feel rejuvenated before, during, and after their volunteering.
We have also added 7 new members to the team, which is tremendous growth and further support for a team that requires such dedication, craft, and willingness to serve.
We treasure the unique opportunities to engage, like the summer worship nights. These were really impactful, and it was beautiful to see and hear stories after of people in our church who showed up hopeless, desperate, tired, whatever was their state that night...and they encountered God, worshipped Him unhindered, and felt like He met them right where they were — the greatest gift.