In Part II, we talked through the details of our run-through and how we try to do as much as we can prep wise to ensure our worship & tech teams are taking care of. With that being said, let’s pick up where we left off and go over our first service: the Connector’s service.

9:00 AM: Connector’s Service
At Connect, we always want to make sure our volunteers are fed, appreciated and taken care of. Part of this is making sure they are not missing out by not being in the service for the worship and teaching. We don’t want anyone to not get involved because of them possibly missing the service. Also, preventing burnout is important. Therefore, we do an abbreviated 45 minute service for our volunteers at 9:00 AM. Typically, we do our normal countdown & welcome video, along with our opener and one more down song. In the past, it has consistently been our first and third song. Following the worship, Pastor Devin does a shortened version of his message, about 25-30 minutes. Our Connectors also have the opportunity to give in this service and take communion together if we are administering it in the main service that morning. This is also the time when we announce anything that is going on specific to the Connectors as well as general announcements.

9:45 AM: Team Prayer
At the conclusion of the Connector’s service, all of the teams (Connections, Worship, Kids) gather together and have a time of prayer, where we give individual requests and pray over the service. This is also a good time to give any last minute reminders to our teams before sending everyone out.

10:00 AM PreService Stations
Once prayer is over, teams dismiss to man their posts, whether that be parking, greeting, etc. The worship team at this point is encouraged to mingle around the sanctuary and lobby talking with new people or assisting in whatever way they can before the service at 10:30 AM. At this point, we do not have a green room or hang out space for the team because of our limited square footage. However, even if we did, I would still encourage the team to be doing this. We really believe in having a platform team that is touchable. The only time people see/interact with the platform team should not be when they are ministering/leading on Sundays. We never want to foster an “us and them” mentality. People are more likely to engage in worship if they trust the motive of the people leading worship. Remaining “touchable” to the congregation is one way to help build trust and continue to bridge the gap between the rows and the platform.

Being spiritually prepared for services on Sunday, as well as doing the proper preparation needed to take care of your volunteer teams is so crucial in order to do effective ministry. Although it can be tedious at times, preparation always pays off!

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!

One thing that has always interested me is people’s prep routines (personal and team wise) for services. How do they prepare? Why do they do those certain things? Some steps and answers are just common sense, but others I find are helpful in understanding outcomes. I also believe it helps us understand why or why not people may be successful in what they are doing and how we can take steps to improve. Some details I give may be unnecessary, but that’s just how I roll. This will Part I of a two-part post. This post will simply be my personal morning routine, and the next post will be my prep and the team’s prep for service once we are at church. With that being said, I would like to share with you my personal Sunday morning prep routine for service. Feel free to email me yours or share it in the comments below.

4:45 AM: Wake-up & Drink a Full Glass of Water. (hydration people…getting that mind & body going)

4:50 AM: Eat Breakfast. (usually oatmeal…the new breakfast of champions) At this point my eyes are hardly open so I’m usually eating in the dark. : )

5:05 AM: Get Inwardly Ready. (Devotional Time)
This is probably the most important time for me on Sundays and something that I have learned I absolutely cannot skip. You have all heard the saying, “You can’t lead people somewhere you haven’t been yourself.” My number one job is to come to church spiritually prepared to lead the team and the congregation. If I am not filled, I will have nothing to pour out. We have all had those moments where we’ve been running on empty, and it usually leads to a very dry outcome. Now, I will say there is a difference between being physically exhausted and spiritually exhausted. I’ve led plenty of times physically tired and because I have filled myself up spiritually, the Lord has done some pretty amazing things in my weakness. Obviously, your best scenario is being rested in both areas…but let’s be realistic.

5:30 AM: Get Outwardly Ready.
Since my devotional time mainly consists of me reading and mediating on a verse or passage of scripture along with just sitting in silence listening to the Lord, I take my getting ready time to extend my devotional time. I will put on a more contemplative worship playlist and pray for the service, our team, the worship, etc. My husband doesn’t wake up until 5:50 AM, so I have a bit of time to worship, pray, think.

5:50 AM: Caleb Gets Up. 
Once Caleb wakes up, he is full-force. Unlike him, I am a slower developing morning person. When he wakes, he turns over and immediately opens the Planning Center app and goes to the media player to listen to that morning’s set. This is a good refresher for us before run-through. We go over transitions again and make sure there aren’t any last minute adjustments we need to make.

6:10 AM: Vocal Warm-Ups.
Once we have gone over everything, I open my vocal warm-up playlist on my phone, while I finish getting ready. (Caleb loves this…not.) It is very important that if I expect the rest of the team to come prepared with their instrument, I come prepared with mine. One of our worship core values is Craft, which means we are committed to the continued pursuit of excellence and growth with our gifting. I must model this. Also, it’s really not the best for the long-term care of your voice to sing the amount we do on Sundays on unwarmed vocal cords.

6:30 – 6:45 AM: We Leave to Head to Church.
I put a 15 minute window because it just depends on if there is any extra/special prep we need to do once we arrive at the church. On our 25 minute journey to the church, we put on a worship playlist and together pray for the service and for the team. Caleb usually leads the prayer and I will close us out. We have recently made the rule that our ride to the church is set aside for prayer and worship. It would be the enemy’s great joy to divide us and get our focus derailed right before we minister. It is such a short ride and being united on this really helps keep the atmosphere focused on the Lord. Making sure our mind and heart are right and ready to lead the team is essential.

Getting some sort of a positive, healthy routine down before you minister will give you more peace of mind and confidence as you step into those leadership spaces. Make sure you check back next week for Part II, where I share with you what our personal and team preparation looks like for service once we arrive at the church.