When Moses was reluctant to be an instrument in God’s hand, God asked him what he had in his hand. I want to ask you a similar question regarding your church’s music ministry: Who do you have?
For seven years, I traveled all over Ohio and parts of four other states, performing sacred concerts as a solo musician. When I arrived at a church, I would set up my sound system and do my program. However, when I accepted a position as a worship pastor many years ago at NBC, I understood that my role would no longer be a solo act. My new role was to help the musicians in my church find opportunities to participate in corporate worship.
One of the first musicians I welcomed was Clyde, an older member of our church who played the French horn. I often wondered what people thought of the combination of piano, organ, and horn. At times, I noticed Clyde would latch onto a particular note and play it with great force. Thankfully, our congregational singing was strong, and the choir served as the worship team, so I suppose Clyde’s playing fit in well enough with all those sounds. However, that’s only part of the story.
Inviting Clyde to play with us, despite the less-than-ideal mix, had an unexpected benefit. His presence signaled to others that the new worship leader was open to contributions from various musicians. At times, I feel our approach to forming the worship team resembles the story of “Stone Soup.”
We started humbly, but over time, more people came forward willing to join us with their instruments. Each time I ordered more music stands, we gained more members. It felt almost like a “Field of Dreams” story—every time I placed an order for more music stands, more musicians joined us. We now have an abundance of music stands.
Before long, we gained two trumpet players, a trombone player, a tuba player, a clarinet player, and a violinist. Shortly after that, the Lord blessed us with a flute and a saxophone. Over the years, we have also added bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, strings, keyboards, and various percussion instruments. The best part is that some of these musicians have become my dearest friends, and they continue to help me lead worship to this day.
When I first arrived at the church, one trombone player was still in high school. He was unpretentious and direct. At the time, I wasn’t sure how to interpret his straightforward nature, and I honestly doubted whether he would continue attending church after graduating. However, I misjudged him. He has served in various roles within our church since then and is now a public school teacher. For the past twenty-two years, he has graciously tolerated my quirks almost every Sunday and often comes to my aid with timely reminders or clarifications when I forget something.
These musicians feel like family to me. When I lead music at another church, retreat, or conference, I miss having them by my side. During those occasions, I wish they could travel with me. We are a team, and I truly believe we are better together.
I shudder to think of what we would have missed if I had come in with a preconceived idea of what I wanted to do or if I had been a slave to what others wanted. It has been my commitment to give well-intentioned church musicians the opportunity to join the team. It’s my job to set them up for success.
To effectively grow a music ministry, it’s important to engage the Christian musicians in your church according to their abilities. Assign simpler parts to those who are less experienced, and give more significant roles to those who are particularly talented, ensuring that everyone is treated with dignity and recognized as a valuable member of the team. This approach is grounded in the belief that the work ultimately belongs to the Lord, who supernaturally provides the church with everything it needs.
**BONUS: Three Related Ideas for Developing a Team of Musicians.**
1. **Honoring Faithfulness:**
Scripture teaches that if you are faithful in little things, you will be entrusted with greater responsibilities. Those who demonstrate faithfulness deserve to be honored. When a musician recognizes the importance of their service, arrives on time, and consistently commits to their role, I truly respect their investment of time. I have learned to pay special attention to their input.
2. **Listening to Input from Team Members:**
It’s important for your church to consider suggestions from your team. If you believe that each person is a gift from God to your local community of believers, you have a responsibility to Christ to include everyone’s contributions. The suggestions from my fellow musicians have been essential to our success.
3. **Don’t Use People to Grow Your Program:**
Use your program to build people. A leader’s role is not to impose their own agenda or a rigid definition of success. Instead, it is to harness their skills to empower other musicians, setting them up to shine and achieve their fullest potential.
I think what I want to write about next will be a few things I’ve learned about facilitating a small group.