This is a continuation of last week’s post, where I began the process of sharing with you my morning routine and preparation for the services on Sunday morning. If you have not yet read Part I, I would encourage you to do so to help connect the dots. I left off with the idea of us making sure our minds and hearts are right and ready to lead the team and that by establishing a positive, healthy routine in the morning, it would give confidence and peace of mind as we step into those leadership spaces. With that in mind, let’s continue…

7:00 – 7:15 AM: We Arrive at the Church.
When we arrive in the morning, we basically hit the ground running because we have such a short time before our band and tech meeting at 7:45 AM. Because of this, any prep work we can do in advance is important. If we can eliminate any item from being done last minute, we will. On Wednesday evenings, I try to make sure all number charts are correct and loaded in the iPads, the in-ear systems are set and the order of service is printed off and ready to go. The only items I really want to do on Sunday morning is turning the systems on (audio, iPads, computers, lighting, etc.) I think it’s really important to take care of your musicians and volunteers. Having their stations ready is just a small thing we can do to make their time more enjoyable and show them that we care and appreciate the time they give.

7:45 AM: Band & Tech Meeting
Once all the systems are turned on and the stations set, we pretty much just chat with our team and help them set up anything they need before our meeting. Again, show your team that you care. With our team, we are all really great friends off the platform as well (this is called community), so that makes it really easy for us. We love anytime we get to spend together.

In our band and tech meeting, we are basically just going over the order of service in detail. I have two different orders of service I print out, one for the platform team and one for the tech team. The platform team’s order has the basic order of service along with the band notes, which includes the transition notes  and any special instructions needed for particular songs. The tech team’s order has the order of service, but also includes all the audio notes (who is singing what, who is speaking when, what songs we are using multitracks on, etc.) and the video/lighting notes as well.

During this time, we are talking through transitions with band, lighting, audio, video, etc. We talk through response time, any edits or tweaks we need to make, and answer any last minute questions. This time is so crucial to ensure that for our morning run-through everyone is on the same page. We then conclude with prayer and break for about a ten minute turnaround time before our service run-through.

8:00- 8:45 AM: Service Run-through
For service run-throughs, we make sure the talkback mic is in the monitors for the vocalists as well, since our vocalists are still on floor wedges as of right now. This way, everyone can hear the transitions and direction. (We take the talkback out of the wedges for service, of course.) We typically run the opener and stop so everyone can make the proper adjustments to their in-ears and monitors. Then, we run the whole service top-to-bottom starting with the countdown, with the exception of the sermon. We do this so every volunteer can run their parts and transitions (lighting, audio, video, ProPresenter slides, & the platform team).

It is so so so crucial that you have a top-to-bottom run-through before your services. We make sure we are always reiterating to the team that Sunday morning is not a rehearsal (a time to learn your parts), but it is a run-through. Being consistent in this area will encourage your team members to come prepared, because they know they will only have a short-time. Also, we all know how fickle technology can be, and the more moving parts and transitions you have, the more you should run them. This also gives a last minute buffer and opportunity to make any little changes or corrections you need to make.

As I am “finishing up” writing this, I am realizing I have about five more paragraphs of content to go. Therefore, I have just decided to make this a 3 part series. I don’t enjoy reading extremely long blog posts, so I am just assuming you don’t either. Check back next week as I break down our Connector’s Service we do at 9:00 AM, what that is and why we do it. Also, I’ll go over more team preparation before our main 10:30 AM service. Thanks for being patient and happy prepping!