Planning a worship service is a big deal. I probably don\u2019t have to convince you about the importance of planning ahead for every worship service. Even if you\u2019re of the \u201clet-the-Spirit-lead\u201d persuasion, you know that planning is crucial. Pardon the clich\u00e9, but a failure to plan is a plan to fail, even for worship services.<\/p>\n
You’ve got to plan, you’ve got to plan well, and you\u2019ve got to plan well in advance. So, who should be involved in laying these plans for the worship service? What\u2019s their role? How does it all come together?<\/p>\n
In the article that follows, I\u2019ve sketched out the two main divisions of planning labor \u2014 the core planning team, and the ancillary planning team. Within each division, I\u2019ve discussed the role of each team member. No plans are perfect, but the more streamlined your system for creating worship service plans, the better your planning will be.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Core Planning Team<\/strong> <\/p>\n 1. The pastor or teacher.<\/em> <\/p>\n 2. The elders, deacons, or church leadership team.<\/em> <\/p>\n 3. The worship leader.<\/em> Worship service planning demands coordination across a lot of levels, as you\u2019re well aware. The worship leader is the core of a smooth operation. It is your responsibility to delineate the schedule and make sure everyone knows and follows that schedule. We recommend printing a handheld schedule for each person involved in the worship service. Make sure that everyone follows this schedule when it\u2019s go time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Ancillary Planning Team<\/strong> <\/p>\n 1. The musicians.<\/em> <\/p>\n 2. Stage managers and stage hands.<\/em> <\/p>\n 3. The sound person.<\/em> <\/p>\n 4. The lights person.<\/em> <\/p>\n 5. The person preparing the worship presentation.<\/em> <\/p>\n 6. The people preparing the worship guide or church bulletin.<\/em> <\/p>\n What is the exact role of these team members? Do they have an active part in suggesting songs, when to pause for prayer, or when the announcements should be placed in the order of service? To an extent, yes. For example, you may have planned a set of two songs followed by a mini drama. However, your stage manager reminds you that he needs at least three minutes to clear the stage of cords and amps, which means that you need to add a two-minute buffer before the drama starts. Thus, your stage manager has some valuable input in the planning process.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bringing It All Together<\/strong> Think of these two groups of planners as the aerial perspective and the ground perspective. The core planning team is aerial, allowing you to see the lay of the land \u2014 major mountains, rivers, and valleys. In other words, this is the substance of the service \u2014 song selection, who speaks, any special announcements, etc. To get a ground perspective, however, your ancillary planning team comes in. They help you plan all the critical details.<\/p>\n By its very definition, \u201cplanning\u201d doesn\u2019t happen five minutes before the service. Review and rehearse these plans at least a week in advance so everyone is aware how things are going to work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And Finally<\/strong> Planning to worship isn\u2019t some sterile activity divorced from worship itself. It is part of the worship! Planning helps others to engage in worship, and it does not detract from the essence and soulful internalization of true worship.<\/p>\n As you plan, worship. As you pick songs, worship. As you remind the lights guy to turn on the first bank of whites, worship. As you add an extra stanza of \u201cMighty to Save,\u201d worship. As you close your eyes and enjoy God, worship.<\/p>\n Worship is a glorious and life-consuming reality.\u00a0Now, let\u2019s do some planning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Planning a worship service is a big deal. I probably don\u2019t have to convince you about the importance of planning ahead for every worship service. Even if you\u2019re of the \u201clet-the-Spirit-lead\u201d persuasion, you know that planning is crucial. Pardon the clich\u00e9, but a failure to plan is a plan to fail, even for worship services. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4138,4144,4153],"tags":[1386,1866,1846],"class_list":{"0":"post-10862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-worship-leadership","8":"category-worship-ministry","9":"category-worship-resources","10":"tag-planning-church-services","11":"tag-worship-leader-tip","12":"tag-worship-tip"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogrouting.sharefaith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/11.13.13_WhoPlansWorship-480.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nPlanning begins with leaders. The core planning team includes the people who lead, teach speak, or preach in the worship service.<\/p>\n
\nIn contemporary church parlance the term \u201cworship leader\u201d refers to the guy who carries a guitar and sings. However, it\u2019s helpful to think of the pastor as the worship leader, too. Worship isn\u2019t just singing. We worship when listen to the teaching of the word. We worship when we walk in the door. We worship during the entire service. Worship is a way of life, not just the songs before the preaching. The preaching and teaching portion of the service is just as much worship as is the singing. For that reason, it\u2019s important to involve the pastor or teacher in the planning process.
\nHow to be involved: Assist the planning process by suggesting songs, media, and music that match the topic or theme of your message. Share your burden, and remind the team of your goals and objectives for the congregation.<\/p>\n
\nIt takes a lot of people to lead a church, and it\u2019s important to get everyone involved. Each leader \u2014 from the Sunday School superintendent to the head deacon \u2014 has a critical role to play in planning. Although you should have a hierarchy of planning, the input of this group is critical.
\nHow to be involved: Offer suggestions, pray, support, discuss, and provide input as needed.<\/p>\n
\nThe key person for worship service planning is the worship leader. It goes without saying that the person in front is the person who needs to be doing the majority of the planning.
\nHow to be involved: Your most obvious tasks are selecting worship songs, and determining the order of service. This can be more complex than you\u2019d expect at first blush. We\u2019ve discussed some tips on selecting worship songs before. There are also the details such as when to close the doors, which lights to turn on or off, who gets which microphones, and how it all comes together.<\/p>\n
\nThe second group of individuals involved in planning is what I\u2019ve called \u201cancillary planning team,\u201d for lack of a better term. These people form an important part of most church worship services, and their involvement in planning is critical.<\/p>\n
\nMusicians need to know what they\u2019re going to play and how they\u2019re going to play it. Most of these talented individuals need sheet music and a practice session or two. Simply put, they need to know the plan. It\u2019s also helpful to gain their input in the planning process. \u201cCan we play this?\u201d is a good question to ask your band as you plan a worship service.<\/p>\n
\nSome churches have large stages, lots of props, and a lot of movement. A successfully-planned worship service will be one where as few people as possible trip over wires, knock over guitar stands, and fall off the risers. Your stage personnel need to be involved in choreographing the what, how, and when of stage movement. Allow them to help you determine if any props need to be put into place, instruments removed, pulpit placed onstage, etc.<\/p>\n
\nThe person who wields the wizardry of the soundboard needs to be involved. Gain the expertise of your sound engineer as you move into the detailed stages of planning.<\/p>\n
\nLike sound, lights are important, too. The bigger your stage setup, the more important this individual is.<\/p>\n
\nThe worship service gains its coherence when people can read the lyrics on the screen and thereby follow along. Your planning session will be enhanced when \u201cthe PowerPoint guy\u201d or media guru joins in. We recommend Sharefaith Presenter for the best approach to worship presentation.<\/p>\n
\nIf your church uses printed medium to guide the services, the people involved in creating the bulletin should be considered as you prepare and plan for a service.<\/p>\n
\nSo, what does the planning process look like?
\nFirst, sketch a preliminary plan with the core planning team.
\nSecond, share these flexible plans with the ancillary team. This can be done informally, such as in an email or verbally in a meeting.
\nFinally, work through a rehearsal of the service. In this dry run primarily consisting of your ancillary team you\u2019ll have refined approach at the granular level of planning.<\/p>\n
\nNot to get off-topic, but this last bit of advice is important. As you dive into the details of scheduling, planning, emailing, assigning, and chasing deadlines, don\u2019t lose sight of what you\u2019re doing \u2014 you\u2019re worshipping.<\/p>\n