FBC Worship Ministry 

Who are we and what is our purpose?

The FBC Praise Team is an auditioned team of servant leaders who are  C.A.L.L.E.D. in purpose to:

1)  Exalt God and lead our congregation into His presence as an extension of the Worship Choir.

2) Edify the Body of Christ by:

• Teaching the Biblical meaning of worship
• Training new generations in praise and worship
• Raising up new praise and worship leaders for future generations

3) Evangelize the lost 

C.A.L.L.E.D.

C       Consistent in their walk with the Lord.  Daily prayer

and quiet time with our Lord is essential.  We must be

able to lead where we have been.  If personal, intimate time is not spent with the One we are leading to…how do we know where we are going?  Our worship on Monday morning should be just as important as our worship on Sunday morning.

Psalms 86:11   Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your

                truth.  Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.

A    Attitude of Humility, Flexibility, & Adaptability

Humility:  Worship is completely about God.  God

doesn’t need us; We need Him.  When we need Him, we will have an attitude of humility.

Philippians 2:3   Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Flexibility & Adaptability:  We must hold onto our gifts and positions loosely, putting everything in God’s hands and trusting Him with how they are used.

Mark 9:35   Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.

L     Leader —We must walk upright with integrity, pointing others to Jesus through our servant leadership; maintaining good interpersonal relationships and practicing kindness to all.  The authority we have to lead others to the Throne Room is directly proportional to our daily walk, quiet time, and personal worship.

Malachi 2:6   True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips.  He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.

L          Learner —a teachable spirit is a must…both in our

spiritual walk and in our musical abilities and techniques.

Proverbs 19:20    Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. 

E       Excellence —We are committed to doing our best,

nothing less for our Lord.

Psalm 33:3    Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of

                joy.

D       Devotion —We are faithful to our role in ministry.  The

Praise Team ministry can be time intensive.  After our personal time with God and our family, is there enough time left for both availability and promptness?  This includes rehearsing on your own outside of rehearsal at the church.

I Chronicles 28:9    And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.  If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

Qualifications

 1)  A professed and practicing follower of Christ -  You must be a faithful participant in the life of this congregation as demonstrated by your attendance and involvement, regularly attending worship services, life group, and other church events.

 2)  A choir member -Vocalists must be a member of First Baptist Church Worship Choir and maintain a minimum 75% attendance.  New choir members must attend choir for three months and a 75% attendance record is required to be considered for audition.

 3)  A spiritually mature Christian -You must have the ability to cooperate with others, to serve for the good of the ministry, to be sensitive to the will of God, and be supportive of the worship pastor’s leadership and vision.  This means a willingness to hold this ministry with an “open hand”, leaving up to the Lord and the Worship Pastor all decisions regarding the scope of your involvement.

 4)  A skilled musician –A worship team member needs to be skilled enough to follow a service which is led by the Spirit of God.  Vocalists must be able to perform and blend well with others, demonstrate suitable range and accurate pitch, and distinguish and sing different musical styles.

 Expectations

 1)  Time Commitment – Attendance at weekly choir rehearsals is a must, and cannot drop below 75%.  Attendance at Sunday worship services as well as a Life Group is encouraged (even when it is not your Sunday to sing).  Promptness is important and affects each member of the team.  If circumstances make it impossible for you to be prompt for rehearsals or to attend services, please prayerfully consider if this ministry is right for you at this time in your life.

 The Worship Pastor reserves the right to make exceptions or temporary special arrangements with an individual.

 2)  Modest Dress – A Praise Team uniform will be worn upon the Worship Pastor’s discretion.  Please dress modestly.  This is non-negotiable, as we are above the eye level of the congregation. If anything you wear brings attention to you and not to God, it is inappropriate.  Ladies, this means no low cut blouses or dresses, no skirts or dresses above the knee, and no tight clothing.

 3) Attendance – 75% attendance required at choir rehearsals and assigned worship services.  100% is best!  In the event that an individual does not meet the 75% requirement, he or she will be notified by the Worship Pastor.

 Ongoing Expectations

 As mentioned before, this is a leadership ministry.  Our lives are examples for others.  Everyone in this ministry serves an important part in leading worship and is accountable for their actions.

 I Corinthians 4:2    Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

 1)  Spiritual Preparation and Growth

  Carefully prepare your heart for worship through prayer and

Bible study.  Only after worship is developed in the heart of a believer can it be expressed outwardly.  We must know and

hunger for God’s presence in our daily lives.  Our spiritual preparation has a direct effect on our leadership as a worship and music ministry team.  It cannot be emphasized enough that worship, not music, is our first priority.

 2)  Musical and Technical Excellence

 We recognize that God isn’t looking for perfection, but excellence.  Our Praise Team will pursue God’s best through excellence in everything we do.  We will strive to honor Him through a “whatever it takes” work ethic as in 1^st Corinthians 9:24-27, “…run in such a way as to get the prize…”.  Offering our best will help us be more effective and avoid obstacles and stumbling blocks in our worship and fellowship.

 3)  Individual Preparation

 We must be dedicated, prepared, orderly, and skilled students of our ministry, continually striving to improve (Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…”).  This can mean a great deal of individual practice in addition to choir rehearsal (includes listening to music on the worship ministry website).

 4)  Rehearsal Discipline

 Exhibit a positive, faith-filled, expectant attitude.

• Be on time and ready to start.
• Concentrate on all activities, not just those involving you.  Please keep talking and personal conversations to a minimum during rehearsal.
• Only positive comments are appropriate.  Problems may be discussed with the Worship Pastor privately.
• Please notify the Worship Pastor of any schedule conflict as soon as you become aware of it.

 5)  What Not to Bring with You

 In spite of how powerful and meaningful team ministry can be, the task of working together as a team can be difficult.  Satan will try to sow disunity and will do everything in his power to disrupt or discredit.  Here are four things that will kill a team:

 Selfishness & “me first” Thinking —This has no place on a worship team, but is very common among musicians.  The first step is to recognize the heart attitude, confess it and ask God to start a new work in your heart.

• Grumbling and Complaining (Phil. 2:14) — If there is a problem or a complaint…pray and think it over. If it still concerns you, contact the Worship Pastor. Always avoid creating disunity.
• A Competitive Spirit —Every member of the team has distinct talents and abilities that God uses in different ways.  No one should ever compare themselves to anyone but Jesus.
• Unresolved Relational Conflict—Harboring bitterness is addressed clearly in scripture.  If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven and our prayers will not be heard.

 Mark 11:25    When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

  Audition Requirements

 Accurate Pitch – To sing the accurate notes at the appropriate times.  It means listening to oneself, the other singers, and the instruments, and self-correcting any sharp or flat tendencies in a particular song.  It also speaks to one’s use of vibrato, which itself is a variation of pitch.

Rhythmic Precision –To sing phrases correctly as they are rhythmically intended.  Are you dragging?  Are you cutting off too early or holding on too long?  Is your use of vibrato preventing you from doing so?

Appropriate Tone –To blend one’s vocal tone in which one sings in particular sections of songs.  Is it appropriate for the song?  Should it be strong?  Should it be tender?  Should it be loose?  Should it be precise?

Blend –To blend one’s voice with the other singers.  Are you listening to the other singers?  Does your voice stick out?  Is it too loud?  Are you singing too softly?

Encouraging Presentation –To connect with the congregation through eye contact and facial expression.  Do you encourage clapping or other outward forms of worship, or do you have a stoic expression with your eyes glued to the monitor?

Vocal Style – To understand and have the experience to do different musical styles, especially today’s praise and worship genre.  Do you have the ability to express that style with your voice?

Ear –To hear and respond to vocal strengths and weaknesses.  Can you self-correct?  Are you able to ad lib or sing in harmony?  Can you tell when you are succeeding or failing in the areas mentioned previously?

How Do I Become a Member of the FBC Praise Team?

 1.  Prayerfully consider if this is what God is calling you to do.  Do you feel that you can commit to the time involvement?  Do you have your family’s support?

2.  Complete the Pre-Audition Form (available from the FBC Worship Ministry Office) and let the Worship Pastor know of your intention to audition for the Praise Team.

3.  Audition

Prepare one song to sing a capella or with a CD accompaniment track

• Be prepared to sight-read a simple new song
• Be prepared to demonstrate your vocal range
• Answer questions from the audition panel

4.  You will be notified of your audition results via email (or through other means if you do not have an email account).

  Final Thoughts..

Those who lead the worship of God need much more than the ability to sing well.  If people are going to lead others in worship, they must be spiritually mature.  They must be people who have tasted God’s goodness, who have taken risks to be faithful and have seen God deliver them, who have felt great needs and experienced God meeting them.  In short, to be spiritually mature, they must truly know God and know themselves.

This spiritual maturity is also required because of the amount of attention worship team members will receive from their congregation.  Admiration and acclaim, if not tempered with the wisdom of spiritual maturity, can cause worship leaders to idolize their position.  Our sense of importance must come from God, and we must lead people to reflect on God’s importance in worship, not our own.

 Key Sources in Creating This Handbook

 Arborlawn United Methodist Church – Fort Worth, TX

     InSearch Praise Team Audition Packet

 Champion Forest Baptist Church – Houston, TX

     Worship Team Ministry

 Kim Noblitt – Fayetteville, AR

     G3 Worship Music Publishing

 New Hope First Baptist Church – Cedar Park, TX

     Praise Team Handbook

 Parkway Baptist Church – Bardstown, KY

     Music and Worship Ministry Handbook