How does your church add to your worship team or choir?  Some churches hold open auditions.  Some say “Whoever wants to play, just let us know.”  Some are small enough that it’s only a matter of meeting one-on-one with a pastor or worship leader and demonstrating the necessary qualifications.

And of course, different churches require different things.  Some hire professional musicians — whether Christian or not — for certain spots, whereas some want regenerate believers to fill the band.  Some require a basic knowledge of chords or singing and a willingness to learn.  Others require a greater degree of proficiency or experience.

Sojourn has always been blessed with plenty of musicians and artists in our gatherings, and has a large body of professing Christians who have gone through our membership process, have a desire to lead in worship, and are skilled in their chosen instruments.  This is a standard that our pastor-elders, including worship arts pastor Mike Cosper, maintain.  At the same time, we recognize that as the church grows, we must make room on the worship team for more leaders who fit these qualifications. 

And so we occasionally hold open auditions.  Below is a notice from Mike and pastoral assistant/ worship leader Jamie Barnes for our next audition, to be held in just two weeks.  We’ll look at our audition process more closely in the week’s to come at sojournmusic.com, but this should give you an idea of how we issue the call for candidates.  And if by chance you are a Sojourn member or are in the membership process and you’d like to audition, please contact Jamie at the address given below — the date is fast approaching:

          ______________________________________________________

Sojourn Music is once again holding open auditions for the worship team. We as a church are blessed to have so many gifted servants who desire to use their gifts to bless the rest of the body of believers. So, in order to keep this ministry active and vital, we look forward to meeting with those that want to use their musical abilities to worship God and lead the church in worship. If you are interested in auditioning, here is the low-down:

1. Auditions will be on Wednesday, July 30th at 7pm in the auditorium at The 930.
2. You Must be a member of Sojourn or in the membership process to be considered for the team.
3. Let us know what musical instrument you’ll be auditioning with or if you are a vocalist ( or both ). If you are a multi-instrumentalist, please come ready to play the instrument you are most proficient with. Please email Jamie Barnes - jbarnes@sojournchurch.com with that info before auditions so we’ll know what to expect.
4. You will be expected to know these songs from the Sojourn Hymnal:

Instrumentalists and male vocalists: In the Shadow of the Glorious Cross, Before the Throne, We are Listening

Instrumentalists and female vocalists: My Maker and My King, All I have is Yours, There is a Peace.

These are all songs featured on the last full length Sojourn album Before the Throne. You can download mp3s and lead sheets for these songs there.

5. If you have any issues, questions or concerns - please email Jamie at jbarnes@sojournchurch.com.

Thanks.
Mike Cosper and Jamie Barnes

• description: How do churches add to worship teams and choirs? This is a look at one church\'s audition process.
• keywords: worship team practice, worship team auditions, music audition, Sojourn Church
• title: Adding To The Band -- How Sojourn Does It

This entry was posted Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 8:49 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed, and you can leave your own response below.