Building a Team in a Smaller Church

I recently taught two webinars for Worship Leader Magazine called Building Teams for Smaller Churches. I also taught these classes at The National Worship Leader Conference in Austin, Texas, for Worship Leader and shared with the classes that over 60% of churches in the U.S. have less than 100 people in attendance each week. We are in the majority! The small church has some distinct disadvantages like budget and personnel, but it also has some terrific advantages such as setting the tone for the future and establishing an atmosphere of excellence in worship.

I approach leadership in any sized church from the standpoint of engagement. The reason small churches grow is because they are engaging in some way: a pastor, teacher, or music person has a winsome, charismatic personality that attracts and engages people. Or perhaps a great program for children or for those in recovery offers opportunities for engagement that cause a church to grow. People look for something exciting, meaningful, surprising, and that engages them on an intellectual, spiritual, and emotional level. That's why movies are so attractive to us - we get to live into a story with the lead characters that engages us and causes us to feel something, to engage with the plot and experience it along with the characters on the screen.

To be effective as a team leader in smaller, or larger churches, you have the challenge of involving others in the story of the Gospel. To lead worship is to engage others in the high drama of connection with God using any means at your disposal. Movies do not have one kind of music or use only one camera angle, but they employ the gamut of musical styles and an amazing array of shots and angles, pans and flybys, to engage your imagination in the show. Why can't we do this in worship?

If you are a leader in a smaller church ask yourself the questions: How can I engage my people? What language do they speak and how can I take them deeper in their spirituality and in their heart for worship? The results you want flow naturally out of that kind of engagement. If you concentrate more on building your people instead of on creating the "perfect worship service" you will find that they will respond well. Everyone wants to be cared for, nurtured, and given an opportunity to contribute.

My new weekend workshops are called INSIDE OUT and will help your church grow into engaged worship. In this workshop we explore and practice the principles of engaged worship and demonstrate to your leaders and to your people what it can mean to love God effectively together. You can check them out at Doxa360.com.

In the end, building teams is about building people.