HOW SHOULD WE AS LEADERS PREPARE our PEOPLE for WEEKEND CELEBRATIONS?
HOW SHOULD LEADERS PREPARE to WORSHIP GOD together with the CHURCH?
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How Do You Prepare for Sunday?
PREPARE NOT to be SPECTATORS, WATCHERS,
but PARTICIPATORS.
PREPARE TO BE WORKERS?
So how should we prepare?
Prepare to Receive
Every time we gather as a church, God will speak to us as his word is preached, sung, read, and studied. Hearing from God is a weighty and glorious thing.
Prepare to Respond
When God reveals himself to us, things happen. Experiencing God leads us to respond (Isaiah 6:8). Rather than being a spectator or a passive participant, our hearts are moved to worship because we have once again seen the beauty, greatness, holiness, mercy, and love of our God.
Prepare for this Sunday by asking that God would help you rightly respond to him.
Prepare to Edify Others
Our worship doesn’t stop when the singing ends, or the preacher says, “Amen.” It continues as we greet, encourage, serve, pray for, exhort, and care for one another.
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Do you come to church expecting that God will use you?
It might be as you serve practically, it might be as you take two minutes to pray for a friend, or greet a new person, or encourage a child. You have a part to play. This Sunday, prepare for gathering with your church family by asking God how he might use you to edify his church.
So how do you prepare to go to church?
This Sunday, come ready to encounter God and respond to him in glad and grateful worship with your heart and life.
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© 2016 Desiring God, DESIRING GOD
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CONTINUE READING below please
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As a member of your church’s worship ministry, you should make every effort to excellently serve the Lord and his church by preparing well for worship team rehearsals.
Preparing for rehearsal is important.
Here are a few practical ways you can prepare
for band rehearsal:
Review Familiar Tunes.
Whether you’re a musician or singer (or both), you need to know the songs that you are leading. You may not think it’s necessary to spend as much time and energy rehearsing old, familiar songs. Don’t give yourself too much credit here. Refresh your mind, muscles and heart by playing and singing through the familiar tunes.
Learn New Songs.
Listen to any new songs you’ll be introducing/leading.
Really listen. You may not have a lot of time to play through the songs, but there’s probably plenty of time to listen to the songs. Most of us have access to music all the time. You may not want to listen to the Sunday worship set for days on end, but this sacrifice will tremendously help you lead any new songs well. As you listen and play through the songs, make notes on your music charts of any transitions that aren’t written into the chart. Don’t just give it a quick listen and run-through; study the song.
Determine Key Changes and Transpose Music.
Lead singers, determine the key in which you’ll need to sing your songs and communicate this to the band and other singers. Band members, if you know of a key change, transpose your music in advance of the rehearsal and service. If you are a support singer, consider any other vocalists who’ll be serving and prepare well by determining which harmony parts you’ll sing on each song.
For All Songs:
Make it easy to remember each song so you don’t have to expend all your mental energy concentrating on lyrics, chord changes and song structure as you’re leading the songs. It’s also good to review any notes you made the last time you led a song. Additionally, consider the members of the band you’ll be serving with and determine in advance how you will sing or play in order to leave room for each instrument and voice. And if you rehearse on a different day from the service, continue to familiarize yourself with the songs after the rehearsal.
Be Ready to Improvise.
Even if the band nails a song arrangement in rehearsal, every member must be ready to improvise during the service. The band leader may feel it appropriate to repeat a chorus or verse at the end of a song, depending on the responsiveness of the congregation. Or it may be good to cut a double chorus that was rehearsed. Or, the band may not end the song together as planned. Or a singer may unexpectedly tag a line at the end of the song. There are numerous scenarios that require flexibility. Be prepared to improvise in order to best serve the Lord and the congregation.
Communicate Clearly and Early.
If you are a worship director and responsible for preparing and distributing the set list and music to your team, strive to have this information available to them several days in advance of the service time. If you plan to lead a song in an arrangement different from the arrangement your team is learning, communicate this to them in advance of your rehearsal. Cast as much clear vision as you can in advance of your rehearsal. This will conserve time and energy, two commodities typically in short supply.
God calls us to serve him heartily and with excellence. As co-laborers with Christ, God expects us to cooperate with his work in and through us. He deserves our best efforts. He gives us all the grace and strength we need to serve him well and bring pleasure to his heart. Preparing well for rehearsal and the worship service also includes fully relying on God’s never-failing grace and strength.
FROM CHURCH LEADERS dot COM
Effective Choir Rehearsals 101
By Jermaine Manor
Have you ever had a choir rehearsal that didn’t go well?
You had your music prepared and the musicians were ready, but the people didn’t connect with you.
Well, this is not uncommon. It’s not easy leading a group of people with different personalities,
attitudes, and sometimes varying church experiences. To avoid your being constantly frustrated,
I want to walk you through a few steps that can greatly increase the likelihood that your choir
rehearsals will be effective.
1. Know Your Choir
It is very important that you know the people you lead.
Not only are you building relationships, but you are also learning the skill level of your choir.
Take the time to meet with each choir member to cast your vision for the music department.
These meetings do not have to be long or formal, but you should be prepared when you decide to meet with a choir member. It is helpful to have at least a sheet of paper or card that states your vision for the choir. A personal touch can go a long way. Also be prepared to listen to each choir member’s wishes or concerns relative to the choir.
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
2. Prepare Yourself
Make sure that you are prepared musically. Having a good ear is great but taking the study time
to learn the songs thoroughly that you want a choir to sing is priceless. There is nothing more
frustrating than sitting in rehearsal while the director fumbles through parts either by rote or
sheet music. If you give out CDs or sheet music to your choir, you need to sit and learn the music
as a choir member first. Why? Because there may be A LOT of questions during rehearsal
concerning the music versus what you are teaching. Ultimately the choir will follow your lead,
but they will do so with ease if you present yourself as an authority on the
music that they will sing.
3. Make Proper Song Selections
Every new song or song most played on the radio isn’t for your choir. Choosing the correct
music is very important. You should always select music with the following in mind:
+ Is it scripturally valid?
+ Does it go against any teachings of the pastor?
+ Does it draw attention to God or to the choir?
+ Do you and the choir have the skill level to do the song?
+ Is this song diverse enough, meaning does it have the components to be a good song
(verse, chorus, bridge, vamp, pre chorus, etc.)?
Make sure that it’s not redundant with no
celebratory ending.
There are other things to consider as you select songs but these five are very important.
If you have a mixture of older and younger members, you should always incorporate a song that
speaks to each generation. You don’t have to use a hymn and anthem every week as your special
selection. However, you MUST have them in your repertoire. Challenge your younger members
to learn sacred music. Challenge your older members to learn new styles of music.
Sometimes I open my rehearsal with a hymn or anthem. I also use that opening time of worship
to teach hymn singing. Challenging the choir to “make parts” (meaning sing a harmonizing part
against the melody, or said simply, it is to make 3- to 4-part harmony). It’s common for singers
to find a matching part if the melody is too high. Encourage that. During the actual song, you can
tweak the parts. This method gets your choir going.
You will be surprised at the ear level you have in your choir.
4. Always Affirm
There is nothing wrong with fussing a little in rehearsal. Sometimes it’s needed.
On the flip side, affirming your choir will prepare them to handle those times when you need to correct improper behavior. It’s very important to have a solid relationship with your choir before you begin giving them correction. Use phrases such as: “sounding good,” “come on tenors get on that note, you can do it,” “you guys are singing tonight,” etc. These are great ways to encourage your group. You can also approach rehearsal with a sense of humor yet maintain a serious environment.
Have fun. Encourage your choir with the word of God too; know the word and quote it
sometimes as appropriate. It’s also always good to remind the choir of their purpose. Remember
this: Where purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.
Never lose sight of why you do what you do.
5. Rehearse Outside Sometimes
This may be a little out the box but it will pay off. This can only be done during daylight savings
time, of course (unless you rehearse on Saturday mornings/afternoons). If the weather is nice and
there is enough daylight, take your rehearsal outside. Encourage your choir to bring lawn chairs
or you can provide chairs. This will help your choir relax and allow them to get fresh air. This
will also serve as an evangelism tool. Once the community hears the voices of your choir ringing
out, they will come and listen. You will not have the luxury of a band or live instrumentation
unless you prepare for it. However, I used a pitch pipe on some songs. I even had our guitarist
play an acoustic guitar at times to keep us in pitch.
Once you conclude the rehearsal, you can serve fruit or other healthy light refreshments.
Your choir will appreciate it.
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