Worship Team Application & Commitment Form

Please share your testimony with us.

How many years have you played or sung? What types of bands, choirs, genres, training, degrees, etc., do you have experience working with?

These expectations are designed to help you lead others in worship with integrity and purity. The following should impact all aspects of your life including your personal walk with God, and your role as an ambassador for Christ. Our desire is that you would take these very seriously as they directly impact our team’s image and effectiveness. Moreover, the spiritual expectations are the foundation for all the commitments following.

• Commit yourself to the glory of God through prayer, studying the Word, being involved in the Church, etc., (1 Tim 4:7b–10; 2 Tim 2:15; 1 Cor 12:27; Col 3:17). Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27).
• Strive to live a life holy and pleasing to God while submitting to the church leaders that God has established at CCFW (Heb 13:17, Rom 12:1-2). This also means living your life “above reproach”, where no one could accuse you of sin or talk poorly of your character (1 Tim 5:7, Titus 1:6-9, 1 Peter 2:12; 3:16).
• Develop a heart for worship that manifests itself not just on stage, but in every area of your life (John 4:24; Rom 12:1–2).
• Strive for purity in your relationships and personal life (1 Pet 1:16). This includes a pure and humble heart before God that recognizes that you have nothing that isn’t a gift from God. Family and friends should be able to advocate for you as a worship leader and feel comfortable being led by you.
• Demonstrate humility, having an attitude of continually putting yourself aside and pointing others to Christ (Phil 2:3–11).
• Demonstrate an attitude of service to others, both on the team and in the world (Gal 5:13).
• Fight for unity on the team by resolving conflict and avoiding gossip (Eph 4:1–3; Matt 5:23–24). Speak highly of one another and encourage each other to grow in skill and knowledge as well as in Christ. Honor God with your speech, conduct, and thoughts. Avoid saying or posting anything online that would hurt your testimony, defame the name of the church, and/or distract people from Christ (Eph 4:29; 1 Tim 4:12).
• Many more points could be listed here. We require a high bar for our worship teams as you are highly visible as representatives of both Christ and CCFW to the world.

Practical expectations are in place to ensure mutual accountability and commitment to every team member. Our communication, timeliness, attitude, etc., are important for the success of our Worship Arts ministry.

PLANNING CENTER (PC)
• PC is the central place for our communication within the team; it is how we schedule sets, share notes, and provide helpful resources. You will receive an invite for a service at least two weeks in advance (if not sooner). This will give you access to chord charts, keys, and a rough service order. We will also communicate via the email system within PC, which functions independently in the app and web portal, as well as forward messages to your email inbox. In an effort to create consistency for you as well as the worship leaders, we expect you to commit to the following:
• Accept/Decline invites within a reasonable amount of time.
• Check service orders for resources including music, keys, arrangements, service order, and other set-specific details
• Use the “Blockout feature” to block out dates that you will not be able to serve in the future so that the worship leader will not waste time in scheduling.

PREPARATION
• In addition to doing your part on PC, you are also expected to begin preparation prior to rehearsal. Using the resources available, you are expected to come to practice having completed the following:
• Check into PC and read the set.
• Have an idea of keys and arrangements.
• Listen to the songs and know your instrument’s specific parts.
• Prepare your heart and mind to lead worship (i.e., confess sin, mend relationships if any are broken, etc.).

CHURCH EXPECTATIONS
• Whether at rehearsal or on Sunday mornings, we are committed to modeling Christlikeness to those around us. With this, we are also committing to our leadership and our fellow team members to do the following:
• You are responsible for setting up your own equipment once you arrive at the church and be prepared to START at the Rehearsal time (not arrive at the rehearsal time).
• Treat all gear with respect (whether or not it is your own).
• Attend at least one full service on Sunday mornings. Do not cause disruption or distraction to the attendees of the service that you are not attending by waiting backstage or in the choir room.
• Tear down your gear and seek to help tear down the stage until we are all done. Note: Often the Worship leader will need to do other things after the service or practice, so this is primarily the band/singers’ job.
• Follow CCFW Dress code policy (See “Worship Team dress code policy”).

Musical expectations are probably the most visible part of what we do. This is what makes us sound/look like “one team” instead of a bunch of solo artists on stage together. We want to strive for having “one sound” and being connected on stage. We want to avoid standing out unnecessarily while trying to highlight one another at different times. We will grow more as a team the longer we play together and get to know one another.

PRACTICE AND PROFICIENCY
• Practice your instrument and be familiar with songs we play on a regular basis. You will be expected to know the parts for your instrument for every song on the set at rehearsal.
• For singers, there should be notes on PC showing which song you are expected to lead vocally. Be prepared to sing that song in the key provided, or message the leader to adjust the key ASAP before rehearsal.
• We expect all our musicians and vocalists to progress and improve with their instruments and vocal abilities. This will happen naturally as you play/sing more, but we highly encourage lessons, practicing, playing with other bands, etc. to become more proficient in your abilities.

LEADING WORSHIP
• Follow the worship leader’s direction. Sometimes this is hard to do, especially if we think we know better. But we are called to submit to whoever is leading the team that week, whether it is a younger worship leader or not. Feel free to give suggestions and advice, but be humble and willing to do whatever they decide.
• Express yourself in a manner of praise and worship to God. We want our worship team to model worship to our congregation. This is not something that should be faked or forced. But as worship leaders, our job is to lead in song, music, expression, joy, style, etc. The Psalms speak often of physical and musical expression unto God. We want to obey and foster that within one another as we lead our people in song. Simultaneously, we do NOT want to distract or detract from the service and humbly seek wisdom from one another and our leadership to do this well.

By signing your name below, you are agreeing and committing to the Spiritual, Practical, and Musical Expectations listed above.