Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse

Most people don’t like rehearsal, but rehearsal is a crucial part of a great worship service. You will only be as good as your rehearsal. That’s why it’s important to make rehearsal, for yourself and your team a priority.

Welcome to part 10 of an 11 part series called How To Plan A Worship Service from Start to Finish.

In this video we will look at 7 practical things you can do to make your rehearsals the best they can be.

If you missed any of the other videos, I encourage you to go back and watch them on our YouTube Channel or on fwbworship.com.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to download “Top 5 Resources To Use When Planning Worship” a free download produced by the Free Will Baptist Music Commission.

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The tenth step to take when planning a worship service is: Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse.

I have been leading in worship ministry for 17 years. As far back as I can remember, I have had a reoccurring dream – or nightmare – about not being prepared for worship.

The dream never has the same details, but it always has the same plot – it’s time for a service to begin and we are not ready.

I’ve probably had that dream over 50 times. It’s almost like a pet now :-).

That dream of not being ready for a service is a reminder for me to make rehearsal a priority.

Rehearsal is an essential step if you want to lead the best service possible. And I can guarantee that every church that you consider to have quality worship services also makes rehearsal a priority.

At its core, rehearsal is an opportunity for each person to contribute what they’ve practiced at home to the team so that the music can be presented with excellence and purpose.

A championship basketball team doesn’t become the champions just by showing up. They put in hours and hours of individual practice in addition to their team practices.  So they can collectively use their skills to win the game.

If someone on your team has not made rehearsal a priority, it’s time for you to cast a big vision about why rehearsal is so important and how everyone’s participation will make your team better and make your worship experiences the best they can be.

Here are a few practical tips about leading an effective rehearsal.

1. First of all, as the leader, make sure you have everything prepared before rehearsal begins.

Most churches use volunteer musicians and vocalists to help lead in worship.

Show your team that you care about them and respect their time, by having everything ready to go when they arrive.

They should not have to wait for copies to made before rehearsal can begin.

Make sure the music is in the correct order and the correct key.

Work out any sound issues so that they aren’t just standing around while you troubleshoot the mics.

Get there early to turn on the Air Conditioning and make the room comfortable.

Have water (and maybe even a snack) available for each team member.

These tips are just a few of the things you can do to ensure that rehearsal starts on time and that your team feels valued in the process.

2. Second, communicate your expectations about rehearsal.

Don’t make your team guess about what time rehearsal starts or when it will end. Communicate those times and then stick to them.

Let your team know you expect them to show up on time.

For some this will mean arriving before call time because it takes a few minutes to get their instrument or gear set up.

Encourage your guitarist for instance to get there early so they have time to plug in, tune and make any adjustments before rehearsal.

In the same way you respect their time, each musician needs to respect the time of the other team members.

Help your team understand the difference between practice and rehearsal.

You practice individually, you rehearse as a team.

Practice is what you do at home to prepare. Rehearsal is what you do collectively to present a unified sound.

If you have a team member that constantly takes up rehearsal time to work on their part, you might need to have a conversation to encourage them to come prepared so that they are not taking up everyone’s time.

*Side Note: In order for your team to practice at home, you will need to get them the music ahead of time. I recommend Planning Center Services for this and I talk more about it in video 9 of this series.

Communicate what will happen in rehearsal.

Obviously you will spend time working on the songs, but is there anything else they should anticipate?

Will there be a devotion or an extended time of prayer?

Do you have snacks available? Will you be working on anything special?

Keeping your team in the loop will increase their participation and enjoyment of rehearsal. Remember, an informed team is a happy team.

3. Third, take the first 5 or 10 minutes of rehearsal to make sure the sound is working properly and each instrument and vocal is properly tuned and EQd.

If you jump in to the first song without checking the sound, it will cause frustration and waste time when you run into a problem.

I realize some churches don’t have a lot of qualified help with their sound systems. As the worship leader – you should make it a priority to understand how your sound system works so that you’ll be able to turn things on and set levels for your rehearsal times.

You might need to take a class or get someone to train you, but it will be well worth the time and money you spend to learn how to run sound effectively.

4. Fourth, use the time you have to its fullest potential.

Think through the songs you need to work on and determine which songs need the most rehearsal time.

It might be helpful for you to write down how much time you want to spend on each song, so that you don’t get caught up on one particular song and end up having to rush through the last song or songs.

Start rehearsal with an easy song or a song that you know everyone is familiar with.

This will give the band an opportunity to get comfortable and give you an opportunity to make any final adjustments to monitors and levels.

Work on any new music early in rehearsal while everyone is still fresh and focused.

Break the song down into parts and work on one part at a time until everyone can play it without stumbling through it. Then move on to the next part.

A typical song can be broken down into Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Instrumental, and Outro.

Be sure to highlight any tricky parts, key changes, stops or hits, so that your team will pay attention to them.

After each part has been mastered, then put the whole song together and make adjustments as needed.

If you have time, end rehearsal with a run through. A run through is where you play every song, including the transitions straight through without stopping. This will reveal any hiccups that need to be addressed and also give your team an opportunity to see how the overall service will flow.

5. Fifth, be sure to practice your transitions.

I share extensively about this in video 8 of this series, so be sure to watch that if you haven’t.

Here’s the bottom line – if you want to have a distraction-free and seamless worship service, you have to plan your transitions and rehearse them so that everyone is on the same page.

6. Sixth, encourage your team to worship while they rehearse.

Worship is not limited to just Sunday mornings. Rehearsal time can be a powerful time of worship for your team.

Encouraging them to worship will also remind them why they are there and help them prepare their heart for the service to come.

Getting the notes exactly right and playing the rhythm just like the demo is important, but those things are secondary to surrendering your heart in worship to God.

Encouraging your team to worship while they rehearse will communicate that worship is a priority.

7. Seventh, Be Critical

Be critical of what it’s supposed to sound like. You are a producer of sorts. Listen for vocal blend and make sure the melody is being heard. Listen for overall balance so the guitar lick is heard.  Make sure people aren’t overplaying their instrument, just to be noticed. Know exactly what the song is supposed to sound like and start there. The song doesn’t have to completely mimic the radio version, so let your team take ownership by making it their own.

Here are just a few more tips to help you get the most out of rehearsal.

1. Pray at the beginning and at the end of each rehearsal. These don’t have to be long prayers, but they will help to remind everyone of who and why they worship.
2. Rehearse with your team during the week if possible. This will give you an opportunity to work through the details of the music without feeling the pressure of the service starting soon.
3. Use Sunday morning to run through everything – with everyone – including sound, lighting, videos and lyrics.
4. Keep rehearsal light by allowing your team to share with each other, laugh and enjoy playing together.

I hope this video has helped you see the importance of rehearsal and given you a few ideas you can use to make your rehearsals effective.

I encourage you to make rehearsal a priority and see how God uses the faithfulness of your preparation, to improve your worship services in the future.

Thanks for watching part 10 of this 11 part series: How To Plan A Worship Service From Start To Finish. We are almost done! I hope you’ll watch the last video and let us know what you think in the comments.

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