Are YOU Ready for Rehearsal?
“Are YOU ready for Rehearsal?”
That’s a question that I recently posed to a worship leader who was having trouble with his team being prepared and passionate about rehearsal.
His response confirmed my sneaking suspicion . . .
He wasn’t ready and here’s how I could tell:
- He had picked songs, but had not spent time deciding the arrangement of each song.
- He had sent the music to the team, but had not included individual notes to help his team maximize their personal practice time
- He knew what songs they would play at rehearsal, but he hadn’t established a plan for how to work through those songs
- He had a co-worship leader singing with him, but hadn’t spoken to her to communicate her role in rehearsal or discussed what parts she would sing.
- He had 5 songs to sing, but no “Transformational Moments” like a poignant scripture, or powerful transition (more on this next week).
I could keep going, but you get the picture.
On the surface, everything looked ok. Songs selected, team chosen, music sent to team, allotted time on the worship order filled.
But there was a BIG PIECE missing . . . the LEADERSHIP to take those pieces and create something great . . . God-honoring . . . life-transforming . . . memorable
And not just for the stage, but for the worship team as well.
Something powerful happens in those 2-hour rehearsals each week. You and I have the opportunity to not just lead songs, but lead our teams.
And if we don’t do our job leading the team before rehearsal even begins by creating a plan and communicating it to the team you can bet they won’t be prepared when they walk into the room.
Great Worship Services start with Great Worship Rehearsals.
And Great Worship Rehearsals are determined long before anyone walks into the rehearsal room.
So, are YOU ready for rehearsal this week?
Here’s a checklist to help you know:
- I have a weekly deadline to select music and meet it. It’s at least one week BEFORE rehearsal (see below to learn a system to make it 2-3 weeks before!).
- I communicate with my team not just the songs, but individual notes AT LEAST ONE WEEK before rehearsal.
- I pray about, practice and plan ALL aspects of the worship set BEFORE rehearsal.
- I arrive early, knowing the music, confident in my leadership and humbled by the opportunity to serve my God, my team and my church.
Remember the old saying . . . If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.
Your partner in ministry,
PS – I know I just threw a lot at you there, but we’ve honestly just barely scratched the surface!
Rehearsal takes more than just “showing up”. We both know it takes leadership.
Discover the secrets to leading rehearsal with confidence and authority that will not only TRANSFORM your rehearsals, but your Worship Services too in the LEADING WITH AUTHORITY IN REHEARSAL seminar.
In the Leading with Authority in Rehearsal seminar, I walk you through how to develop systems on your team to:
- Remove the fear of how the worship set will go this Sunday
- Bring the best out of the musicians on your team
- Create a culture of excellence
- Develop your plan for the worship set and inspire your team to embrace it
- Create a REAL accountability through a simple 4-Step process that will ensure everyone understands and lives up to your ministry expectations
- Create your Music Plan for maximum impact each week
- Help you invest personally into the lives of your Worship Team members at rehearsal and the weekend service
- And much more!
In addition, ONLY IN THIS RESOURCE will you learn . . .
- The Journey’s Nine Core Values for Music Planning and how to begin writing your own
- How to lead a music planning meeting, and get a month ahead in music planning.
- The Five Questions you need to be asking every week to get ready for rehearsal!
- How to build momentum, remove distractions and lead your church into powerful worship this Sunday!
- How to cut your rehearsal time in half and creating more time for personal investment and vision casting
- How to turn “difficult” team members into your biggest allies
- The one rehearsal principle that will dramatically reduce your stress on Sunday (Hint: it’s not what you think!)
- How to guarantee that every team member arrives on-time, prepared and knowing their parts
- Plus much more!
You know, there are two ways to learn in life . . . through your own mistakes and successes, or through the mistakes and successes of others.
I’ve always found the latter to be faster and less painful. I hope you will allow me the opportunity to share these leadership principles with you.
And if you aren’t absolutely satisfied with this resource (or any of my resources for that matter) simply return your product within 365 days for a prompt and courteous refund.
Immediately download the complete mp3 audio files and full resources and SAVE $30.00!
OR
Have you implemented the strategies found in the “Leading with Authority in Rehearsal” resource?
Then, share your learning here:
TUESDAY MORNING INSIGHTS is Jason Hatley’s free weekly training resource specifically designed to provide you as a worship leader with proven principles, tips and practices to help you lead a healthy and thriving Worship Arts Team.
About Jason Hatley and Worship Leader Insights
In 2002, Jason Hatley helped launch The Journey Church in New York City, directing the programming of their worship services. He serves as the Pastor of Worship Arts and built from scratch The Journey’s worship arts team, a group of over 200 artists and technicians who develop and implement the creative and technical elements at weekly Sunday services. The Journey has been recognized as one of Outreach Magazines fastest growing and most creative churches.
Jason has been a worship leader since 1996. He invests in Worship Pastors around the country through interactive coaching networks and worship planning resources. He has been a featured break-out speaker at the Willow Creek Arts Conference, The Purpose Drive Worship Conference, as well as seminars around the country. He has a B.M. in Sacred Music Performance from Appalachian State University.
Jason and his family currently live in Boca Raton, FL where he serves as the Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey’s newest campus in South Florida.