Practical Music Ministry

Serving God Through Sight, Sound, and Song

Tag: team building

Striving to Grow: Overcoming Obstacles in Music Ministry (part 2 – Mindset)

In keeping with our series on Striving to Grow, we’re looking at ways to overcome obstacles that hinder our ministry’s growth and effectiveness.  In our last post, we discussed dealing with stagnant musicianship.  Today, we’re going to deal with the mindset of our team’s members.

In ministry, everyone has a role and a function.  Different departments or teams, while they each have their own individual functions, all come together for a common purpose.  In other words, they act as one machine.  The Bible says that, although we all act individually, we all act as one body (1 Corinthians 12).  A hand has a different purpose than a foot, an eye serves a different purpose than an ear, and so on.  If one person or department doesn’t serve its function, then the entire machine is made less effective.  So, we have to facilitate a common mindset amongst our team’s members.

The church often talks about repentance as it pertains to salvation.  While it does mean turning from your old ways, the literal translation means “to change one’s mind”.  On our ministry teams, must ensure that all of our members have a similar mindset when it comes to excellence, humility, servitude, and self betterment.  I was speaking recently with a worship pastor friend about some ways to improve the quality and functionality of his team.  After explaining my philosophy on building a ministry team (and the biblical principles behind them), he replied, “but not everyone on the team has the same mindset as you do.”  While I’m neither asserting that I have all the answers, nor that my opinion is the Gospel, a team whose members do not share the same vision will not succeed.  It’s not even a team.  Such division turns a band into a stage full of soloists.

The word says in Romans 12:2,

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We must be like-minded when it comes to certain questions about our ministry:

  • How does God expect us to nourish our gifts and talents?  (Matthew 25:14-30)
  • Does God expect my best when it comes to my gift, talent, or service?  (Genesis 4:2-5)
  • Does God expect us to sacrifice our will and wants for the good of His Kingdom?  (Mark 1:16-20)
  • How committed to our calling does God expect us to be?  (Luke 9:62)
  • How committed do we need to be to each member of the group? (1 Thessalonians 5:11-15)
  • What areas of our life do we need to eliminate to fully serve our calling? (1 Timothy 2:22)

If we can all say that we are in agreement with all those principles, then our mindset is appropriate.  If problems arise as mindsets wander, that’s when ministries tend to pull apart.  The Word is also very clear as to what our response should be to dissension within a ministry, as in Titus 3:10.

“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.”

These divisions must be dealt with swiftly and firmly for the good of the ministry as a whole.  While it’s hard to make those sorts of decisions, we as a ministry can’t afford to not be unified in our mindset, goals, and direction.  It’s much easier to define these principles early on than it is to realign (or remove) members that have been a part of the group for any significant length of time.

How do you ensure your team members are like-minded?  Comment and share your thoughts.

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

  1. Stagnant Musicianship
  2. Mindset
  3. Autopilot
  4. Breaking Assumptions
  5. Time Wasters
  6. Distractions
  7. Listening
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No Comments by claybutlermusic on February 9, 2010
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Your Music Ministry: A Real-World Business Model

Many churches prefer not to think about it, but, like it or not, a church’s music and multimedia ministry is a part of the music and entertainment industry.  If music and multimedia is a commodity for day-to-day operations, you are indeed a part of the music biz.

Anyone who is in business will tell you that you must study and analyze your competition in order to survive.  In music ministry, we are in competition with the secular entertainment market.  In order to draw people in and engage them, our “product” (in this case, the worship experience) must offer a viable substitute to what congregants can get anywhere else.  A growth-focused contemporary church’s music, video, multimedia, and visual experience must rival what people find on the radio or at a concert–relevant and “in the now”.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that worship is a concert or performance, but let’s face the facts:  those things get people through your doors.  Now that you’ve drawn them in, it’s the substance that’s combined with the experience that creates true relevance.

So, how can we build a vibrant and relevant music ministry? Let’s take a cue from a real-world business model, by adapting what works in the secular markets, and putting it to work to help further the Kingdom of God.

  • Sales and Marketing. In music ministry you’re engaged in sales and marketing.  You’re basically getting someone else to “buy in” to a ministry opportunity with their time and talents.  You must publicize available positions, special events, etc.  If no one knows, then no one will volunteer or participate.
  • Human Resources. You’re also responsible for seeking the right person for the “job”.  You’re saddled with the task of conducting auditions and interviews.  This task is a weighty responsibility for any ministry team, because desperation to fill a given position most often results in a poor decision.
  • Public Relations. Your team must portray the image of your parent company, in this case, the church.  This image must be exuded both inside and outside the church’s walls.
  • Employee Evaluation. A ministry’s responsibility is to constantly asses the work ethic, attendance, and attitude of each “employee”.  Furthermore, you must assess each team member’s competency in his/her job.  Are they growing and learning their instrument?  Are they progressing with their musical knowledge?  Can they pull their weight?  Are they growing spiritually?
  • Legal Department. Churches all over the world break the law every week, and they don’t even know it.  It’s the ministry’s moral obligation to understand intellectual property rights and the church’s legal responsibilities as it pertains to those rights.  You also often deal with member contracts once players are recruited.
  • Maintenance and Quality Control. The ministry must supply a quality product (i.e. worship experience) each week.  So, the ministry must seek out and address areas of weakness and constantly look for ways to improve.
  • Research and Development. Again, to compete and survive, you must analyze and learn from the competition.  A ministry must learn from the most current trends and seek out ways to push forward.  You must research and implement new ways to improve and become more productive.  You must test ways to make your product become a viable substitute to what’s on the radio and in other entertainment.

While this is just a basic overview, there are many other parallels and lessons to draw from the business world when it comes to building a vibrant ministry team.  See www.butlerproductionsmultimedia.com/seminars to bring this and similar information to your church.

Comment and tell your ministry’s Startup Story!

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No Comments by claybutlermusic on February 6, 2010
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