Category Archive

  “If our goal is to be excellent every Sunday, we need to find a way to evaluate our services so we can see what needs to be tweaked and continually move toward improvement. Excellence happens through making small improvements week by week – improvements that can be made only as we are open to honest evaluation and feedback about … Read More

  “Schedule your series planning meeting and your weekly worship planning meeting, and then stick to the time slots you’ve given them. Don’t underestimate the importance of these meetings; they are the rudders on your worship planning ship.”                – Nelson Searcy and Jason Hatley The above quote is from p. 146 of Engage: A … Read More

  “An open flow of communication between the pastor and the worship pastor is essential to creating a coherent worship planning system. The teaching pastor should be ready, able, and willing to speak into the worship pastor’s area, and vice versa. The worship pastor and his team can help the pastor invent creative moments in the message; the pastor can … Read More

  “A culture of punctuality is one of the requirements of an effective worship planning system. When both the pastor and the worship pastor have a list of things they need to do and self-imposed deadlines to keep them on track, things immediately begin operating more smoothly.”                – Nelson Searcy and Jason Hatley The … Read More

  “One of the most important things you can do to keep the relationship healthy is to make a list of what you think is expected of you every week in order to get ready for the service. Ask your pastor/worship pastor to the same. Then arrange a time to sit down together and talk through those lists. Make sure you … Read More

  “Clear roles and defined expectations act as the grease that keeps the pastor/worship pastor relationship turning without friction. Think through these questions: What is your role in the pastor/worship pastor relationship? What is your counterpart’s role in the relationship?  Do you have a clear job description? Does he? What do you need to do every week to get ready … Read More

  “The responsibility you and I have to bring God’s Word to his people is too great for us to ever get comfortable. We should always be pressing toward improvement. The only way we are going to get better – and the only way our messages are going to be as strong as they can be week to week – … Read More

  “One of my mantras has become, “Never preach a message once.” And preaching it at multiple services doesn’t count. Your first service is not your trial run. If you want to increase the value of your preaching, you must develop the habit of pre-preaching – that is, preaching your message ahead of time, gathering feedback, and integrating changes into your … Read More

  “When people walk through your doors on a Sunday morning, they want to be inspired. They want to be stirred, thrilled, and called to a higher level of living. As church leaders, our job is to do everything we can to make that happen.“                – Nelson Searcy and Jason Hatley The above quote … Read More

  “After preaching and music, testimonies are the single most powerful tool you can include in your worship service. People tune in to stories of life change, especially when they recognize some aspect of themselves in the story. You can incorporate testimonies into your service in three ways: 1. Have someone share a live testimony before the message. 2. Bring … Read More