Practical Music Ministry

Serving God Through Sight, Sound, and Song

Striving to Grow: Overcoming Obstacles in Music Ministry (part 1 – Stagnant Musicianship)

Is your church’s music ministry team struggling to grow?

Hitting the proverbial wall is possibly one of the most disheartening aspects of trying to run a successful music ministry. Things go great for a time, and then it seems like progress comes to a grinding halt–or worse, starts moving backwards. Small factors combine into a detriment that can seriously cripple a music team. Over this series, we’re going to look at several of the factors involved, and how we can possibly overcome them by referencing God’s word.

Stagnant Musicianship

The old saying, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” is applicable here. Your music ministry is only as strong as its weakest member. If your players don’t grow in their gift, they will get left behind. What’s worse is that they begin to drag the entire team down in terms of time management and overall quality. As other team members spend time honing their musical craft, or as newer, better members enter the group, stagnant musicians find it increasingly harder to keep up with the pace of the ministry. It is vital that each member is committed to personal growth first, so that the ministry as a whole can grow.

Nowhere is this message clearer than the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30 NIV).

14″Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19″After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

21″His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22″The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

23″His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24″Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26″His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28″ ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

While Jesus references money for his parable, the concept itself is applicable to not only money, but also the work we each do for the Kingdom of God. We are each entrusted with certain gifts and talents for service. Clearly, we are expected to grow those gifts and talents so that they will do the work of God with increasing efficacy.

If we as musicians don’t foster, nurture, and grow our musicianship on a continual basis, then we are just like the lazy servant. We use our talent during the worship service, yet after the service, we dig a hole and bury it until the following week. Then we dig it up again, re-use, and bury. Where’s the growth? God charges us to be good stewards of the gifts, talents, and blessings we’re given. Our music ministry is no different.

Each team member should be committed to growing in his/her instrument, be that a musical instrument, sound console, lighting controller, camera, etc. We are to know our instrument inside and out, so that we can lead others in worship, while ourselves worshiping, without thinking. We should also increase our understanding of the theory behind what we’re doing, for instance music theory for musicians, acoustics for sound techs, camera techniques for video crew, and so on.

As you try to grow your team, constantly ask yourself this question:

Are we growing our gift and talent during the week, or are we simply digging up what God has entrusted us to nurture, and then burying it when we’re finished?

We’d love to hear your input! Comment, and let us know how you’ve addressed growing musically as a ministry team.

See other posts in the series Striving to Grow: Overcoming Obstacles in Music Ministry