How do praise and worship teams work in megachurches?

[charlemagne_4]

My church is mid-sized, with about 200 people (pre-COVID, no one's there now), and we have a praise team with 7 singers (including myself, and I'm our keyboard player).

I was wondering since a lot of megachurches also have praise teams that stay around 8-12 people each Sunday, how do they audition singers? Instrumentalists? How many singers do they have? because I'm sure a church with 5,000 people would have quite a few musically gifted members and they'd have a rotating schedule of two or three different teams. Are there a lot of instrumentalists or do the same instrumentalists play for each praise team? At my church, we have 2 groups (the adult praise team and the youth praise team).

I'm just curious how these things work in larger churches. I know every church is different but if you have led worship at a very large or megachurch with quite a few musicians/vocalists, could you tell me how it works, and maybe the pros and cons of working at a larger church with so many resources? I'm not planning to go to one of those churches, yet at least. I'm at the church God wants me at right now.

I'm just curious how things work at those larger churches.

 

[WolfGate]

I was in worship ministry in a church of roughly 1000 each Sunday, which meant we had probably 1500 regular attendees plus youth.

We had rotating teams under a single worship leader. The worship leader was involved perhaps 80% of Sundays, but delegated the up-front leader roles frequently as well. Everyone else rotated, sometimes based on weeks on/weeks off, sometimes based on type of music planned for that Sunday. Auditions were straightforward. If someone expressed interest, we'd set up a small group for them to play for. We would let people know auditions were available usually in the fall right after school started but would do them whenever someone expressed interest. Some people would send in a tape before, but we didn't require it.

 

[bèlla]

I attended 3 churches in the past. All of them were megachurches. Two had 6,000+ members and another had over 25K.

Church One had a worship team, choir, and orchestral ensemble. Most Sundays the choir performed. The worship team handled evening service and the ensemble joined morning service once per month.

Church Two was a multi-site institution with worship teams in every setting. They were large enough to allow them to rotate and have time off.

Church Three was a multi-site institution with worship teams in all locations. They were smaller than church 2. The main group recorded professionally.

~bella

 

[Bass4Jesus]

I assume you're interested in what to expect when you DO leave the church you're at and move to a larger church.

Before you're even granted an audition, you'll be expected to provide links to videos of you playing with other bands. Not audio only. Videos. The church will want to see how old you are, your appearance including how you dress (whether it fits their theme), your general demeanor on stage, your confidence level. And of course they'll want to get a feel for your playing from the audio portion of the video -- both competence and style. For a keyboard player specifically, they'll be looking for simplicity, excellent timing, and avoiding the bottom registers altogether so as not to intrude on the frequency slot reserved for bass players and the kick drum.

You will be expected to be extremely competent, but in a very limited area. Your work will involve only simple piano and synth work, but you must be excellent at it. Know your chord inversions. For example, if someone tells you, "Put a 3 at the bottom of that major chord you're playing," you must be able to do it without hesitation. You should be able to do "hole-in-the-middle" chords for effect. Listen to Elevation's keyboard player for some really outstanding work. (Just watch out for their lyrics, many of which go against some of the most basic biblical concepts. Listen to EW solely for the keyboard player's technique.)

You will be expected to know tech, i.e. how to operate a DAW and how to interface a keyboard to it via MIDI. A portion of your pre-audition video should provide an overview of how you personally do this. If you can find out what DAW the church you're going to audition for has standardized on, consider buying it and getting to know it before you make that video.

You will be expected to know how to work with click tracks and in-ear monitors (IEMs, or "ears" for short). If you haven't yet, start now. You can get click tracks off the Internet, or you can make your own in a DAW. Click tracks will contain human verbal cues/countdowns to verses, choruses, solos, and outros, e.g. "Verse 2 3 4." Click tracks may include backing tracks, with the click on one side and the backing track on the other. Learn your way around all this stuff.

Get an agreement beforehand of exactly what songs you're going to be asked to play at the audition, and know them better than you know how to spell your own name. Be prepared to be asked to change a song’s key at any moment's notice. This is so they know they can count on you if, for instance, a singer's throat is shot and a substitute with a different range is going to take over for her and you don't find out about it until you walk in the door on Sunday morning.

Learn the Nashville Number System. Most communication, for instruments as well as singers, is done with numbers, since they’re key-agnostic. If the worship leader says, “I want to change this 6 minor to a 2 minor seventh,” you must know exactly what to do.

You say you sing. That probably won’t be needed, because the big churches already have more singers than they need. If you do want to display your skills in that area, though, you must, and I repeat MUST, know how to sing to the number system, and it must be totally instinctive. When I audition a singer, I play a “1” note in the middle of her range, and then I start throwing numbers at her and see how quickly she can sing those notes. “Sing a 6. Sing a 3. Sing a 5. Sing a flat 7. Sing 1 5 3 2.” The notes should pop right out of her throat with no hesitation. And I mean NONE. Success here is what separates the pikers from the pros.

Find out what the church requires of you on weeks you're not on stage. Be suspicious if they insist you be there even if you're not playing.

Show up early. If you're bringing your own keyboard + laptop + DAW, that means at least an hour early, to allow for setup time. Bring whatever direct boxes you'll need; they'll probably have DIs on site, but the fact that you brought your own will be points in your favor. Bring a long extension cord and power strip, too. Bring your own water. Bring headache meds, stomach meds, and Handi-Wipes. Bring a couple of shop rags for sweat wipe-downs. You want to appear totally self-sufficient, like you’re a veteran player. Bring a notebook and a ballpoint pen and have them ready to go before you set up; that will show you’re listening to the team’s requests and corrections and you take them seriously.

I think that’s most of it.

 

[seeking.IAM]

The praise bands in mega churches I am familiar with use paid performers contracted for their ability and musical reputation in the community. They are not simply talented members of the church, nor are they voluteers. You won't see them when the gig is over.

 

[KevinKret86]

What does DAW stand for?

 

[WolfGate]

What does DAW stand for?

Digital Audio Workstation. It's basically the software package used for recording, mixing, etc. Ableton, Studio One, many others.

 

[phydaux]

Was at a San Diego church, ~2000 Sunday morning attendance across three services.

They had an associate pastor who was the senior worship leader. He oversaw three teams:

One team took Wednesday night.

One team took Saturday night & Sunday night.

One team (his team) took all three Sunday Morning.

Each team had their own instrumentalists & singers - Usually drums, electric bass, always at least one electric guitar, usually at least one acoustic guitar, sometimes piano, sometimes other instruments, usually at least one male and one female backup vocalist, and one male lead vocalist.

 

[phydaux]

The praise bands in mega churches I am familiar with use paid performers contracted for their ability and musical reputation in the community. They are not simply talented members of the church, nor are they voluteers. You won't see them when the gig is over.

Wow, that's 180 out from my experience.

At the megachurch I went to, and every other church in their extended network, you got no where near stage ministry of any kind unless you were already DEEPLY involved in ministry elsewhere and had a rock solid "livin' in a fishbowl, life under a constant microscope" reputation.

The assumption was if their wasn't someone from the core congregation ready to volunteer and do it for free, then clearly it wasn't something that was needed.

 

[1watchman]

There are many religious ideas and innovations; and rather than stage shows, the saints need to sing and praise together, I see, which no doubt pleases God. We don't need selected voices, or a hierarchy. Those who pervert Scripture and seek religious ways need to review our Bible, and preach a sound Gospel as John 3:16; and meet collectively much as the Epistles show us in that simplicity of the 'priesthood of all saints' worldwide (as shown in such as I Cor. 12:25-27; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 20:27-30; etc).
All saints WORLDWIDE need to be of ONE mind according to the Church as God established it as shown clearly in the Epistles (note 1 Pet. 2: 5 and 9), and not with stage shows and entertainment and innovations. All saints are priests and should execise their priesthood as the gift God gives them . I found the site at Biblecounsel.net to show what God intends for His testimony in the world, and I agree with that. But, 'to each his own way' as the saying goes.

 

[tturt]

Don't see a component of what they believe just based on musical abilities.

Wondered who are unbelievers worshipping as they perform?

 

[1watchman]

Don't see a component of what they believe just based on musical abilities.

Wondered who are unbelievers worshipping as they perform?

Yes, people seem to like religious innovations, stage shows, etc; but NEED to hold "all the counsel of God" and be "rightly dividing the Word of Truth" as God tellls us in our Bible. I urge all seekers after God to be reading the four Gospels (notably John 3; John 14; Romans 8; etc). We need to understand Church history as in Acts and the Epistles of our Bible; and see how many sects formed after the Reformation of 1500 AD (and still are forming). Let us seek out true Gospel preaching assemblies today; and I know of many worldwide, who hold to the "priesthood" of ALL saints and hold to Church as our Bible makes clear.

One can chat with me on this further at the Conversation Page if they like; for I do not want to debate those who like their church-way path and feel settled there.

 

[EclipseEventSigns]

The replies so far are some of the saddest things I've read in a long while. I've been in quite a few worship teams over the years. Anyone remember the well known Glimpse of Glory Sunday evening worship times in Edmonton? I've also been worship leader in a few teams - in Edmonton, Florida, Hawaii, San Francisco and Los Angeles. My experience has been that the modern "worship band" is an extremely broken and worldly phenomenon.
I don't think there is anywhere that has figured out how to successfully manage ego, team politics, churchianity rules and the ever present draw of music which dishonors God and the accuracy of His Word.
I left that mess behind and I'm very much more happy and content. Also my walk with Christ is much more fruitful.

 

[wonderkins]

I assume you're interested in what to expect when you DO leave the church you're at and move to a larger church.

Before you're even granted an audition, you'll be expected to provide links to videos of you playing with other bands. Not audio only. Videos. The church will want to see how old you are, your appearance including how you dress (whether it fits their theme), your general demeanor on stage, your confidence level. And of course they'll want to get a feel for your playing from the audio portion of the video -- both competence and style. For a keyboard player specifically, they'll be looking for simplicity, excellent timing, and avoiding the bottom registers altogether so as not to intrude on the frequency slot reserved for bass players and the kick drum.

You will be expected to be extremely competent, but in a very limited area. Your work will involve only simple piano and synth work, but you must be excellent at it. Know your chord inversions. For example, if someone tells you, "Put a 3 at the bottom of that major chord you're playing," you must be able to do it without hesitation. You should be able to do "hole-in-the-middle" chords for effect. Listen to Elevation's keyboard player for some really outstanding work. (Just watch out for their lyrics, many of which go against some of the most basic biblical concepts. Listen to EW solely for the keyboard player's technique.)

You will be expected to know tech, i.e. how to operate a DAW and how to interface a keyboard to it via MIDI. A portion of your pre-audition video should provide an overview of how you personally do this. If you can find out what DAW the church you're going to audition for has standardized on, consider buying it and getting to know it before you make that video.

You will be expected to know how to work with click tracks and in-ear monitors (IEMs, or "ears" for short). If you haven't yet, start now. You can get click tracks off the Internet, or you can make your own in a DAW. Click tracks will contain human verbal cues/countdowns to verses, choruses, solos, and outros, e.g. "Verse 2 3 4." Click tracks may include backing tracks, with the click on one side and the backing track on the other. Learn your way around all this stuff.

Get an agreement beforehand of exactly what songs you're going to be asked to play at the audition, and know them better than you know how to spell your own name. Be prepared to be asked to change a song’s key at any moment's notice. This is so they know they can count on you if, for instance, a singer's throat is shot and a substitute with a different range is going to take over for her and you don't find out about it until you walk in the door on Sunday morning.

Learn the Nashville Number System. Most communication, for instruments as well as singers, is done with numbers, since they’re key-agnostic. If the worship leader says, “I want to change this 6 minor to a 2 minor seventh,” you must know exactly what to do.

You say you sing. That probably won’t be needed, because the big churches already have more singers than they need. If you do want to display your skills in that area, though, you must, and I repeat MUST, know how to sing to the number system, and it must be totally instinctive. When I audition a singer, I play a “1” note in the middle of her range, and then I start throwing numbers at her and see how quickly she can sing those notes. “Sing a 6. Sing a 3. Sing a 5. Sing a flat 7. Sing 1 5 3 2.” The notes should pop right out of her throat with no hesitation. And I mean NONE. Success here is what separates the pikers from the pros.

Find out what the church requires of you on weeks you're not on stage. Be suspicious if they insist you be there even if you're not playing.

Show up early. If you're bringing your own keyboard + laptop + DAW, that means at least an hour early, to allow for setup time. Bring whatever direct boxes you'll need; they'll probably have DIs on site, but the fact that you brought your own will be points in your favor. Bring a long extension cord and power strip, too. Bring your own water. Bring headache meds, stomach meds, and Handi-Wipes. Bring a couple of shop rags for sweat wipe-downs. You want to appear totally self-sufficient, like you’re a veteran player. Bring a notebook and a ballpoint pen and have them ready to go before you set up; that will show you’re listening to the team’s requests and corrections and you take them seriously.

I think that’s most of it.

The churches doing all this are more concerned with performance than the worship of our Lord. Run from this, or you will be involved in false worship.

Also, don't be suspicious if a church wants you to attend even when you're not playing. You should want to be at the church you have submitted yourself to. Be suspicious of the church that doesn't care if you don't come even when you're not playing.