PraiseTeam Handbook

We’re excited that you’re interested in being a part of the worship team at
BHBC! It is a fun, challenging, and rewarding ministry. If God has gifted you with
musical or technical talent, we want you to be able to use it for His glory! For your
advantage, and that of the worship ministry as a whole, there is a short process to
become a regularly scheduled member of the worship team. Here are the first few
steps…
● Prayerfully consider your involvement.
● Please read the following information in its entirety (There is a lot of important
information that you will need to know).

A Theology of Christian Music

Three millennia ago, King David was a “warrior-poet” who was prolific in
writing music,seventy-three of the Psalms being attributed to him.

More recently, musicians were first & foremost theologians... The Wesley’s,
Luther, John Newton, Watts, Spafford, Crosby, etc.

Significantly, the musicians of the Bible and throughout history were serious
students of the scriptures. And this is precisely what gave power to their music.

Always remember, at its root, faith in Christ never comes from melodies,
harmonies, or contrapuntal lines of music, regardless of how beautifully written.
“Faith comes from hearing, hearing the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) As one
scholar said, “Good doxology requires sound theology”

Further, Jesus was crystal clear when describing our distinguishing

characteristic: “By this all will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.” (Jn. 13:35) So, although musical talent is extremely important, it’s not of
utmost importance. So, if you are genuinely interested in leading worship through
music, carefully consider the following:
 1. Be a student of the scriptures: Do your best to present yourself to God as one
approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the
word of truth. –2 Tim. 2:15; Rom. 10:17

2. Lead with Christian love: For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one
command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Gal. 5:14; 1 Jn. 3:11; 1 Jn. 4:7-12, 19; Jn.
13:34-35

3. Humility: There are many musicians with great talent. But, humility is in
short supply. John wrote of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” – Jn. 3:30.
There’s one Bridegroom – and it’s not us. Ps. 34:3; Matt. 23:12; James 4:10.

4. Our walk must match our talk (song): it’s critical that the “us” we are in the
marketplace, social media, etc., matches the “us” they see when we stand on a
platform and point people to Christ. People can smell hypocrisy a mile away. Jesus
pulled no punches when he exposed those who gave him mere lip-service: “These
people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Matt. 15:8)

Team commitment and expectations:

We want worship to be simple. Accessible. Singing to God with a sincere heart

does not have or need to be complex. With that said there is a certain level of
preparation, planning, and practice that goes into making each and every worship
service simple. Because of this, there is a certain level of commitment that is required
from the worship team that exceeds other ministries. This commitment can take on
many forms. Here are a few practical areas where the level of commitment is most
evident:
SPIRITUAL

While we emphasize and require musical excellence, spiritual preparedness is

our FIRST priority. How can we lead where we’ve not gone ourselves? What does this
look like? Take the song list and worship with it! Worship at home on your instrument.
Pray for the team, the worship gathering, the pastor, and all that God has planned.
Let’s come together with our hearts in sync with His and a readiness to be used by God
to change lives!

PLANNING CENTER

BHBC uses Planning Center Online (PCO) to schedule musicians and make the
MP3s, charts, videos, and lyrics available to you in a timely fashion. Please promptly
accept or decline any requests sent to you. Also, as soon as possible, block off any
dates that you know you are not available. If you have any questions on how to use
PCO, please contact us.

PUNCTUALITY

Arriving early is always a great idea. We are very serious about being punctual.
Being on time is a respect issue. Being tardy tells us you don’t respect your peers, the
BHBC leadership, or the mission entrusted to us.

DRESS

Every person who sets foot on the platform automatically becomes a

representation of BHBC. Keeping this in mind, we want to ensure our appearance is
consistent with our church culture and never distracting.

NO • Shorts, short skirts, or revealing attire. The bottom line is, clothing
that is too form-fitting or too low-cut is distracting in a worship
service. Don't be afraid to ask someone you trust if what
you're wearing might be viewed as a distraction on the platform.
No hats and no sunglasses on your head.

YES • Anything that does not distract people from the real reason they are
there.
REHEARSALS

DO
• Come early enough to set up, tune, and be ready to go by the down beat.
• Keep your ears open. It’s important that we are not only confident in our individual
parts, but are also listening to the band as a whole. Listen to what each player is
playing. Is it blending well with the rest of the team? Think “big picture” during
rehearsal.
• Rehearse with energy and passion! Don’t “save up for the weekend.” The energy and
excitement you bring to rehearsal is just as important as your musical preparedness!
• Tidy up! Make sure water bottles, coffee cups, personal items etc. are off the stage
after rehearsal on Thursday night and after run-through on Sunday morning.

DO NOT
• No noodling! If someone is speaking with a team member or a sound engineer, keep
instruments and voices quiet.
• No complaining. If there are technical, musical or miscellaneous complications, keep
attitudes positive and morale high. You are the one responsible for the atmosphere
created at a rehearsal. If you notice another member being negative or complaining,
don’t feed into it. Instead, speak positively and redirect the negative attitude.
Constantly push yourself to be the best musician you can be.

Process

Once you make your desire known to serve, the Worship Pastor will contact you
to arrange an audition. He will communicate with you about the song or songs for
your audition. Usually we ask that you learn one or two songs from a setlist to submit.

Auditions are, by nature, a little intimidating. We will try to make the process as
relaxed as possible, you can simply complete the process on your own schedule - by
recording and submitting a simple video of you playing or singing along to a song
from a current set list on your cell phone. We will not be looking for perfection in your
audition so don’t worry about re-recording or editing your video until you get
something perfect - But, do practice the song and prepare it like you would prepare
for a Sunday morning service - learning the appropriate part for your instrument or
voice.
 All chord charts, lyrics, and resources you need to learn the song will be
provided. Remember, we all have strengths and weaknesses and our skills can always
be improved over time with direction and practice. If you do not have access to
Youtube to play the original videos, let us know and we can make you a CD/Tape to
play along to.

In some cases, it may be evident that an applicant’s skills have not developed
enough to serve on a regularly scheduled basis yet. Should this be the case, those
conducting the audition will give some advice on how the applicant can improve. After
some time and practice another audition may be scheduled.

ADDITIONAL STEPS
Before you begin serving on the weekend, we ask that you come and hang out with the
worship team during rehearsals for a few weeks. There are a few reasons for this.

● Rehearsals cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Being a spectator

will allow you to see first-hand how rehearsals flow.
● When you know what to expect at rehearsal, it will allow you to be better
prepared when it is your turn.
● It may help you to be more relaxed. Playing or singing with a new group of
people can cause some to be nervous. Having multiple chances to meet those
you will be serving alongside should calm your nerves.

An additional step once you are invited to join us will be to have the staff set up
an account for you on www.planningcenteronline.com. This is an online service
planning website where band members, songs and service flow are scheduled and
posted. It allows worship team members to access chord charts and lyric sheets as well
as mp3’s of songs we will be using in worship. There is an App available for most
models of cell phones that will come in handy if you can download it.
 After your account is set up and you have access to the resources you need,
you’re ready to go. The Worship Pastor is in charge of scheduling vocalists and
instrumentalists.

SCHEDULING

Let the worship pastor know, at the beginning of your term, how often you are
willing to serve. If you would prefer to only serve once or twice a month, or if you
would be willing to serve every week, if given the opportunity. But, on the weeks you
are scheduled, there are certain time commitments that will be expected of you - and
we trust that you will be “all in” for that week. If at any time your availability or desire
changes, communicate that to the worship leader, and we will work together to
accommodate changes.

In order to participate on Sunday morning, the expectation is that you will

attend both rehearsals in their entirety. Rare exceptions may be made by the worship
leader on a case by case basis, in the event of emergencies.

New prospective praise team members will have a 90 day “probationary

period” before becoming regular participants.

Weekly Schedule
Take a moment to review the schedule below. This is the normal weekly schedule and
commitment expectations for those leading in worship on Sunday.

Monday – Wednesday (1 hr)

● Listen,and practice the music for Thursday rehearsal on your own time

Thursday Night (1.75 hrs)

● Arrival and setup (6:15-6:30pm)
● Rehearsal (6:30pm–8:00pm)

Friday – Saturday (1 hr)

● Sharpen anything that’s questionable on your own time

Sunday (3.5 hrs)

● Final run-through and prayer (8:15am - 8:45am)
● Break
 ● Worship Service (Arrive @ 10:30am for contemporary service)

Overall Objectives

BHBC Worship exists to guide people into an encounter with God. We strive to
produce quality music and creative elements to enhance and never distract from
people’s worship experience. Here are a few things that we encourage.

Spiritual Growth
Let’s not get so wrapped up in doing God’s work that God can’t do His work in
us! Sit in the congregation during the message, and bring a Bible and notebook to take
notes. We are very fortunate to have such great teaching pastors BHBC. Don’t miss out
on what God could be saying to you.

Integrity
Integrity is a major pillar of our team culture. It is important that we live in a
way that displays Christ, not only on Sundays, but also throughout the week. Our
personal lives off the stage will either lift up or tear down the vision of the church, as
well as our personal reputations. You represent Christ and BHBC everywhere you go.
All team members are held accountable in the following areas: relational purity,
healthy communication, and spiritual maturity.

Leadership
We recognize that the leaders of BHBC have been positioned to direct, lead,
challenge and nurture the church as a whole, as well as their respective team
members. Just as our leaders embrace and strive to serve the vision of our pastor, and
ultimately God’s plan, so do we submit to the leadership over us. If there is any
disagreement or conflict, handle it directly with the appropriate people involved and
at the appropriate time.

Team
Respect among peers is just as crucial. We support each other in our
conversations, actions, and preparation. If someone arrives unprepared or late, don’t
throw them under the bus or disrespect them. Your leader knows about it and will
personally attend to the situation at the right time. DO feel free to challenge each
other to consistently raise the standard, individually. Remember the Proverbs 27:17
model ("iron sharpens iron").

The Body
You are held accountable for your loyalty to the vision and staff of BHBC.
Always protect unity! Reject slander and uphold the reputations of those in leadership
and those with whom you serve.

Intentionality
People are people, not just instruments or things we use to fill a spot. Create a
culture on and off the stage that is both encouraging and connecting for the people
with whom you serve. Our off stage relationships with other church members strongly
influence how our on stage leadership is received. Often, a worship team is only seen
getting on and off the stage. Let’s strive to be leaders off the stage through
intentionally meeting people between services, engaging new people, following up
with new acquaintances, etc. Your influence on the stage will be magnified by your
relationships off the stage.

Musical Goals
Our teams should always strive for excellence! (not perfection)

We look forward to serving with you,

BHBC Music Ministry Leadership -

Contemporary Worship Leader - Zach Walker

Pastor of Ministries - Nick Watts