John Ivins (right) and the John Ivins Worship Band lead worship in a variety of settings around the world. (Photo by Michael Patch)
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LYNCHBURG, Va. — Contemporary worship leaders who are selecting praise team members should aim for an “OK” musician with a passionate heart for the mission instead of a “wonderful” musician with no heart for it.
That’s the advice of worship leader John Ivins, who led three workshops last month at “iPraise,” Virginia Baptists’ praise team weekend at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center.
The event, a recurring event for Virginia Baptists, was designed for contemporary and alternative worship leaders, youth and adult praise teams and bands, and sound and media technicians.
“This style of worship is important to many churches and the weekend was offered to provide new ideas for established groups and a strong foundation for those who are just beginning,” said Tom Ingram, worship and church music ministries coordinator for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, which sponsored the weekend. “It really met our expectations.”
Ivins, who is worship leader at Woolridge Road Baptist Church in Midlothian, Va., tackled the often difficult task of keeping worship both fresh and familiar. He also discussed planning strategies and the “care and feeding of praise teams” — a familiar ask for him as he and his John Ivins Worship Band lead worship in venues around the United States and abroad. Ivins currently is leading workshops in Bangladesh and Nepal.
In looking for appropriate musicians, “find someone who is interested and grow them,” said Ivins. “Look in the church youth department. Youth will learn by working with the experienced musicians.”
Often, nearby churches which have established praise teams can recommend musicians and web sites such as www.bandmix.com offer posting services, he said.
“A regular praise team member should also be involved in the church,” Ivins emphasized. “It’s not a good idea to put a non-Christian in the role of soloist or guest worship leader because it may give the impression that the person’s lifestyle or past is a representation of the praise team or the church.”
And if it becomes necessary to ask a praise team member to step aside, “never close the door,” he said. “Gently suggest that they take a break. They may even come to that conclusion on their own.”
Congregational engagement in worship is key, said Ivins. “Get people moving and get them clapping, moving around greeting people,” he said. “Get your whole praise team moving as well, and get them excited, too.”
Participants at iPraise engage in worship songs during the workshop. (Photo by Michael Patch)
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After introducing a new worship song, have the congregation sing it in each service for the next three weeks in order to make it familiar, said Ivins.
“Introduce a new song about once a month, surrounded by a lot of familiar songs,” he added. “Don’t repeat familiar songs more than once a month or even once every two months.”
When the congregation gets off beat, cue them, said Ivins. “Congregations are good at following clear directions but not good at following vague directions.”
And keep the sound level appropriate, he added. A rock concert generates about 115 to 120 decibels, he said. For a contemporary worship service primarily attended by youth, somewhere between 90 and 95 decibels works well, For adults, about 80 to 85 decibels.
Worship planning should be intentional, said Ivins. Web sites such as www.planningcenteronline.com help track when songs were played and which praise team members led the service.
“Keep things interesting and challenging for your team,” he said. “Stay connected with them and be aware of what is going on in each other’s lives.”
Participants in the weekend said the left better prepared to face the challenges of contemporary worship.
“I was most interested in how to get a band going and John gave us some very practical ideas,” said one participant. “The best part was how he modeled worship leadership and then gave us helpful suggestions.”
”It verified that what we have been doing as a praise team and band is on target,” said another.