General Information
What practice materials will I need?
What else will be expected of me as a Worship Team member?
Can I be involved in other campus leadership roles?
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Worship Team Requirements
Orientation Week
The entire Worship Team is required to attend a week-long orientation during the week before school begins. No exceptions. If you are an RA, you are not eligible for worship team since RA orientation happens during the same week. It is extremely important that the entire team be present for all of orientation week, and being an RA will directly conflict with orientation week.
Monday Night Practice
Practices will be in the Kerr Student Center. All worship team members are expected to arrive on time. No worship team member will be allowed to schedule a class during this time.
Vocal Rehearsal: 6:45pm to 7:45pm
Full Band Rehearsal: 7:45pm – 9:15pm
Worship Team Meetings
All worship team members will attend a mandatory monthly meeting to pray, worship and fellowship together. These meetings will be off-campus and will last the entire evening. Locations and times will change from month to month.
Year-Long Commitment
All worship team members are expected to serve for an entire year (two semesters). Since there are no mid-year tryouts, I cannot afford to lose worship team members midway through the year. If you decide to withdraw from Worship Team, it must be after the year is completed.
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Practice Materials
Rehearsal materials in the form of CD’s, Chord Charts and Lead Sheets will be distributed to all worship team members. All songs must be learned during the Summer before Orientation Week. Here are some details:
- Vocalists are responsible for memorizing all your parts exactly as they are on the CD. Once you master your parts, you are free to embellish and create.
- Bassists are responsible for learning all bass lines, all fills, etc.
- All drummers are required to buy a metronome and headphones at the start of the Summer. No exceptions. Drummers must be able to play all songs to a metronome.
- All acoustic guitarists are responsible for learning all acoustic lines in all songs, whether strummed or fingerpicked, without the use of a capo.
- Electric guitarists are responsible for learning all electric parts in all songs, mimicking feel and sound of original recording whenever possible. Once you master your parts, you may embellish and create.
- Percussionists on the worship team will learn all percussion patterns as they occur on the Rehearsal CD’s. If songs on rehearsal CD’s don’t have percussion parts, it is your responsibility to come up with a simple, tasteful and appropriate part.
- Keyboardists must be able to play piano and must be willing to try other sounds such as B3 Organ and Rhoads to create atmosphere, mood, etc. If songs on rehearsal CD’s don’t have keyboard lines, it is your responsibility to come up with a simple, tasteful and appropriate part.
- All other instruments, please see Joel Patterson for details.
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Additional Expectations - The Nuts and Bolts of Ministry
Before he went to the cross, Jesus prayed that the Church would dwell together in unity. Worship team should be a place where we learn how to do just that!
Fellowship
Work isn’t work if it’s done among friends! Thus, I expect everyone on the worship team to reach out to each other in friendship. I’m not asking that you make worship team your only group of friends—but the team should be a high priority. Respect, love and time with each other… these make a strong community.
Prayer
We believe that nothing good comes without prayer. In other words, no amount of planning, musical excellence, money, personnel or resources will do any good in God’s Kingdom unless we pray continuously. Thus, we will have regular scheduled times of prayer as a team.
Fun
Having fun is serious business. Since we’ll be spending a lot of time working long, hard hours together, it’s only natural that we spend time goofing off. Night games, movies, dinners, Frisbee games, etc… these things are essential to keeping a good perspective. If you want to serve on this team, expect to have fun.
Musical Excellence
I expect a very high degree of musical excellence from all musicians on this team. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned musician, expect to be stretched and challenged.
Academic Excellence
Since Worship Team members are in a leadership role, I expect all members to be in good academic standing. If you cannot keep your grades up, I will ask you to step down from leadership until you remedy the situation.
Taking the High Road
As campus leaders, I also expect all members to steer clear of any inappropriate behavior, including (but not limited to) underage drinking, partying, premarital sex, dishonesty and foul language. Any of these things could be grounds for dismissal from the team.
Servanthood
Expect to serve! Praying for one another, staying after chapel to help tear down, coming up with fun surprises for others, etc—I expect these things from every team member.
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Cramming it all in
Busyness is an epidemic problem at Westmont! Stacking campus involvements on top of an already full life can result in spiritual and physical fatigue.
If you want to serve on Worship Team you must make it your #1 priority.
Organizations like:
- Gospel Choir
- Vespers
- Spring Sing
- WSM
- Potter’s Clay
…or any other extra-curricular activities must be secondary to Worship team. If a practice conflicts, you are obligated to go to Worship Team practice. If a meeting conflicts, you are obligated to go to the Worship Team meeting. Why? I believe that committing to one activity is a way of safeguarding yourself against overwork and fatigue.
Don’t get me wrong—I think Gospel Choir, Vespers, WSM, etc. are wonderful things! But I would rather have you choose one of these and do it with all your heart than suffer from ministry overload.
Please prayerfully consider these expectations. Can you make the commitment?
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