Practical Music Ministry

Serving God Through Sight, Sound, and Song

Tag: volunteers

The Hazards of Volunteers in Music Ministry

In music ministry, we’re all looking for volunteers to fill voids, be they players, sound techs, lighting, and so on. Volunteers can be a double-edged sword, not so much from the volunteers themselves, but how we as leadership approach the situation.

I’m sure we’ve all been in similar situations to the following:

The praise team is in desperate need of a staple musician, let’s say, for example, a drummer. Another member of the praise team suggests someone (who just so happens to be their BFF, brother-in-law, momma, or what have you). Needless to say, they’re pretty close. The team leader, being so happy that there’s now a drummer, offers the position sight-unseen.

In a perfect world, the first volunteer is the perfect person for the job, but here’s the likeliest of twists. The drummer arrives and can’t hold a steady tempo, even if you hold a gun-shaped metronome to his head. He stinks. Yet, he thinks he’s got the gig, because the team leader has already offered the position. The leader reluctantly decides to “give it a Sunday”. The team falls apart before the congregation’s eyes. The guitarist angrily stomps on his pedal board in disgust. The bassist would hang himself with his extra strings (if he ever changed them). Meanwhile, the team leader looks for the closest pew to crawl under.

Ok. Maybe it didn’t happen exactly like that.

The new member may in fact be a great musician and an excellent asset to the team, but what if he’s not? What’s the leader to do at this point? The position has been offered, and the drummer is practically a fellow team member’s next of kin! If he fires the new addition, he runs the risk of losing the drummer and the other team member. So, what do we do? The answer is simple. Don’t let it happen in the first place!

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. As I stress in my music ministry team-building seminars, don’t get so desperate as to offer a position too soon. It’s much harder to remove someone than to find the right person for the job in the first place. Auditioning and finding the right person might take longer, but the results will be far more rewarding.

Here’s a brief checklist of what to look for in your audition candidates:

Can he/she easily adapt and “flow” within the worship setting, or does the music have to be “like what’s on the CD”? (Yes, the latter is a bad thing.)
Is he/she a solid enough musician to roll with minimal rehearsals?
Does he/she “pick up” on new material quickly?
Does he/she have enough understanding of music (theory) to be able to communicate with the rest of the band?
Does he/she follow direction well from the leader?
Does he/she listen to what other musicians are doing? (Does he/she play like a band member or just like a soloist?)

Don’t be afraid to require the best from your team. Equally as important, don’t be afraid to look for the best members for your team. We as worship leaders have an awesome responsibility to God and to our congregations. While God will work with what we have, he also expects our best!