WorshipCentral

Oh man, this is a fresh topic for me as we're just gearing up for our Fall auditions.

First of all, I should explain that our teams are all on a one-year commitment. I found that if there is not a length to the commitment than people end up staying on the team for a very long time which can result in entitlement and people vying for position. Having a one-year commitment allows us to call the team to a specific vision and set of expectations, and also allows us to change them each year if necessary. It also allows new people to get involved with the team by creating new spots. Lastly, we are able to make it clear that there are no guaranteed spots, which encourages people to stay sharp and continually develop their talent.

It all starts with an application that includes information on vision, values, and expectations. From the application process we are able to narrow down who is qualified before we enter the audition process. We then invite everybody that is qualified to audition, which generally takes place on a Saturday morning. I have a volunteer leadership team that helps with the auditions, which is not only a huge help, but also protects me from appearing to be the sole decision maker. You will continue to see these people around church and it is helpful to say that decisions are made by a team of leaders.

The auditions start with an informal orientation, where I again explain the vision, values, expectations, and audition process. For us, we know from experience that out of 40-50 people that audition, we will likely decline 75% of those auditioning, so I try to also give a quick teaching on serving the church, and not being limited to serving only on the worship team. After the orientation we pass around a clipboard with 10-minute timeframes, split into vocals and instruments. Everyone signs up for a time slot and either hangs out or comes back for their slot.

For vocals we have 3-4 people that take notes while sitting at a round table. We very briefly make them feel comfortable through asking a few questions and then ask them to stand and sing a verse and chorus of a song of their choosing. This not only allows us to hear them, but also gives a glimpse into their style and preference of music. It's amazing what a song choice can reveal. During that song we're listening for pitch, tone, style, and confidence and taking notes. Following that song, a worship will sing one verse and chorus of a classic worship song and ask them to harmonize. The whole process takes no longer than 5 minutes and when we're done we thank them and tell them they will hear from us within 2 weeks.

For instruments we have a full band and worship leader that plays with the instrumentalist and also evaluates the one auditioning. We normally have 2-3 songs that we choose from, as well as a new unfamiliar song on hand. For whatever instrument they play, we have them sit in with the band, to see how they blend. We then play through about 2 minutes of two songs to see how they do. If they are doing well, we may throw in an unfamiliar song to see how they respond to a new song. We try and make it as much like a rehearsal as possible. When finished we take notes and tell them they'll hear from us within 2 weeks.

For us it is very important to take detailed notes so we can make good decisions after the auditions are complete. We also provide audition notes for those that do not make the team so they can grow. This usually goes over well, but occasionally can be painful, but we strive to be honest with people. Once we've made our decisions we send out two e-mails, one to those who we're asking to join the team, and one to those that did not make the team (bcc of course).

This has worked well for us and proved to simplify what can be a very long and draining process. I have several documents that I'd be happy to e-mail to anyone that is interested, and I'd also be excited to hear any other ideas that have worked well for others.

I think that may have been the longest post to date...

I oversee some of the music teams but im not officially a worship pastor so here's what we do.
I desperately want to build a community of worshippers not just Christian musicians,

- once people have shown an interest we get them to fill out a form which has questions abut who they are, what they do, how long they've been a christian, how long they've been coming to St. G's, what other ministries are you involved in, to harder questions about holiness and what is worship.
(this sifts out the people who just want to play an instrument)

- I meet with them with one of our female worship leaders and we hang out, talk through their answers and communicate our vision and expectations from the offset we then talk about practicalities.

- We then ask them to come down to the a few practices and the worship forum (we have a forum running the same time as practices for people to hang out, study theology of worship and get some quiet space with God)

- We then evaluate and speak about how they are fitting in if we feel they are dong well and its right for us and importantly for them we ask them to be involved in a service for 2 weeks.

- We then meet all together and talk about how it has been and whether we all think its right or not to be involved.

If its for a worship leader we have more of a staggered process, leading at small groups, prayer meetings etc.. before they go near a service.

We then review all our team every year to see how its going, what God has been doing and is it right for them to continue.

So far this has worked (thank you Lord!!)

Chris.

hmm.. i guess this is a difficult one.

The way that we are trying to do this is through discipleship. we do not audition, because.. well, i think its better to work with people organically rather than recruiting people based on thier interview technique or musical ability (im not saying that this method is by any means wrong, it's just that it wouldnt work for us!). Each worship leader at the church is constantly looking for others to disciple who will in turn look for others to disciple. That way you can see involve others at the pace that they need rather than putting them in for an amount of time before they are out again.

I have heard that there used to be auditions at my church, and by the sounds of it, it caused alot of hurt. it would be interesting to see how other churches are doing this!

Nice post Caleb...I've been very impressed with Rock Harbor every time I visit!