We hope and pray that our churches and areas of ministry grow. We desire for growth to not just be represented numerically, but in deep, life-long discipleship. One of the ways we can see evidence of growth and discipleship is when people begin to give their time and talents and invest in areas of ministry within the life of the church.
So when people express interest in serving musically on the worship team, how do we onboard and integrate people in a way that allows for discipleship? In a word, auditions.
When people think of auditions, usually the first thing that comes to mind is American Idol. Don’t auditions make it seem too much about performance, and not very Christian? If your audition is focused exclusively, or primarily on someone’s musical ability, that could be an easy pitfall. But I believe there is a way to set up auditions that are kind, gracious, welcoming, and discipleship-oriented. I like to break my auditions into two parts - musical, and personal.
Musical.
A musical audition is not so much about finding the best musicians as it is gauging an individual’s musical ability and where they will best fit within the team. Helping provide the best opportunity for those new team members to thrive, grow, and offer their gifts to the team and the congregation. I think one of the best ways to gauge someone’s musical ability for a team is to have them prepare two or three songs that are already in use in your team. Some questions to considering during a musical audition:
Can you sing harmony by ear?
Can you transpose on the fly?
Have you served in a team before?
Where do you see your instrument/style fitting best among the team?
Personal.
Anytime someone stands on the platform, we are communicating trust in their abilities, and their lives. Serving on the worship team is not just about assembling the best musicians, but assembling the people who will model and shepherd the community of faith on and off the platform. So when you break an audition into two parts, it gives you the time to ask people about themselves, their relationship with the Lord, and their desire to serve on the team. Some questions to consider during this part of an audition:
What does your relationship with the Lord look like these days?
How would you define worship?
Why do you desire to serve on the team?
Are you a member of the church?
Are you participating in other ways (small group, giving, regular attendance, other areas of ministry, etc)?
Finally, the last piece of auditions is clearly communicating expectations and next steps. Before moving immediately into scheduling a new team member, it is always a good idea to follow up with pastors, elders, or small group leaders - someone who has more awareness of the life and walk of the potential new team member - to see if the individuals involvement on the team gives them pause . If everyone feels confident, then let the new team member know what comes next. Do you want them to attend several rehearsals before serving during a weekend? When can they expect music in hand? Do they need to memorize music? Will you provide lyrics and chord charts for rehearsal, or do they need to bring them along? How frequently will they be scheduled? What is the dress code for a weekend? How can they expect communication to be handled?
Auditions do not have to be an ugly word, or a performance-based interaction. Auditions enable you as a worship leader to continue to shepherd your team well, and see an individual rather than a musical gift.