BETTER BY SUNDAY
[ HOW TO SCHEDULE YOUR WAY TO A MORE ]
COMMITTED TEAM, PART 1 | Jon Nicol
Let me give you an ulcer: You’ve just been musician scheduling process is a frantic group- did that was by creating an expectation of
asked to lead a worship ministry full of people text to your team members that says, “Please response and responsibility.
who... show up Sunday,” that’s a system. (Not a good • Routinely no-show to rehearsals. one, by the way.)
First, I required my team to use PCO’s Accept
• Give late-notice call-offs.
and Decline features.
• Don’t bother finding a replacement. A worship team needs several ministry systems • Don’t respond to scheduling requests. to run well, and one of the essential systems So when I post the latest schedule, my
• Have availability issues. (Like, “I only can is scheduling. During this two-part article, team members are expected to respond by
be scheduled every 3rd Sunday that falls we’ll dig into the six elements of an effective hitting the Accept or Decline buttons for their
immediately after a 2nd Saturday, and only in scheduling system. And along the way, we’ll scheduled times. And if they decline, they are
odd-numbered months.”) also look at the practical features of PCO that required to give a reason and find their own
can help you make that happen. replacement. That’s the responsibility. More on
• Require you to scramble for at least one last-
minute replacement weekly.
that in part two.
Remember, it’s not just about producing a
A team with this much dysfunction is more monthly musician roster or rotation. Creating common than you think. I’m amazed at what the right scheduling system can help change some worship leaders put up with from their your team’s culture of commitment. So let’s dig This article doesn’t allow space to talk about
team members. But even if your team only has into the first two critical elements that can help how to do that in detail. But just know I had
a fraction of the above infractions, you still have you raise the “all-in” level of your team. to repeat the same expectations over and over
some very real commitment issues.
(and over) and have more than a few “come to
6 Elements of a Commitment-Building
Enter Planning Center Online. Now, PCO can’t
Now, was this an shift easy? Oh crud no.
Jesus” conversations.
Scheduling System, Part 1
make your team more committed any more
While creating expectations is crazy important,
than the treadmill sitting in the corner of my 1. THE RIGHT SCHEDULING/DISTRIBUTION TOOL it’s not enough to just require something. If
bedroom (doubling as a clothes rack) can make Your team needs instant, 24-7 access to their you’re truly going to change the culture, your
me skinnier. PCO is merely a tool. But wielded schedules, the set-lists, and the music files. team has to “own” their behavior within that
in the right way, it can help you cultivate a more Emailing mp3s and Word documents from your system.
committed culture on your team. MacBook won’t cut it. As I work with leaders, we discuss a 3-part To serve busy volunteer musicians and techs, building scheduling system that we’ll talk
framework to help them build exceptional you need a scheduling and music distribution about in part two. But let me leave you with an
worship ministries. Here it is: tool that’s easy-to-use, always accessible, and encouragement.
And that’s the next element of a commitment-
updates show in real time. Check, check, and
Engaged Team Members + Effective Systems check - PCO delivers all that. It’s intuitive and If it feels like your team is a long way from the
x Equipped Leaders = An Exceptional Worship easy to use for team members, and it gives kind of commitment that we’re talking about
Ministry. them right-now access to the latest schedules here, please hear this: even small changes to
and music. your scheduling system can start the process
So central to every healthy worship team are
towards building stronger commitment. Start
systems and processes that hold the ministry Making the schedule is just the start. The next
together. Now, don’t let that word “system” element is probably the most crucial.
throw you.
And in the second installment of this article,
2. AN EXPECTATION OF RESPONSE
we’ll help you lead your team even closer.
A system is simply your or your team’s way I spent several years shifting the culture of
of getting something done. If your monthly commitment on my team. One of the ways I
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there.
December 2017
WorshipMusician.com