Here’s a list of ten things I use every week for worship ministry at church.
Guitar – I have been playing guitar since 6th grade and I’ve been playing this particular guitar since 1992. I’ve had the frets redone four times. It’s still in the original case. It sounds good, but at times gives me fits. I play the thing at least 4 days per week. The longest I have gone without playing was in 1999 when, based on inspiration from Rich Mullins, I ‘fasted’ from the guitar from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
Capo and Tuner – I use the capo with the guitar nearly every weekend. And I clip a tuner on the end of my guitar and use it too, though, it’s pretty old and not really working all that well. I don’t really use any other guitar accessories, never really have. I don’t even travel with a guitar stand.
Bible – I rely on Scripture to keep me fresh and focused. I read scripture from the Bible on my phone, from verse-of-the-day emails and from the actual book on my desk and by my bed.
Phone – I typically use my phone to connect with people about Sunday. It also comes in handy, at times, as a tuner, a way to show new songs, and to take notes at meetings and during messages.
Planning Center Online – We schedule everything through Planning Center Online. The worship band and vocalists, the audio and media teams, and the hospitality teams.
Media Shout – Though I’m not the one who does it all the time, I count on projection for lyrics for our worship services. I really rely on the program and the media team member who is running it to know what the lyrics to the songs are. I would say 80% of the time I have the song memorized, the rest of the time (at least my own church) I follow the screen.
Songselect (CCLI) – I use this in conjuction with Planning Center Online to get the chords to songs and print music for team members. I also use this website to jog my memory while thinking of songs for worship services.
Youtube – I google songs that we’d like to learn, add them to playlists and sometimes will listen to the same song over and over on Wednesdays before practice.
WordPress – This isn’t directly related to worship ministry, but I do use WordPress for the blog I post in three or four times per week. It’s a great set up and makes it easy to work with.
Constant Contact – Again, not used for specifically for worship leading, but used for publicity about worship ministry and events. I discovered this at a seminar several years ago and it’s been a great deal. It does cost a little money each month, but it’s a huge help in ministry!
What are the tools you use?
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