Merge Worship

Shane Duffey Creative Arts Pastor @NewSpring

Service Planning:

• One meeting a week…4 Sundays ahead (would rather be 6 and would be cool if it’s 2)
• 1 hour per message
• Do mostly internal advertising…empowering their people to invite people.
• Getting ahead for them is all due to the senior pastor planning ahead.
• People don’t get saved from our creative works/activities. They get saved when the Word is spoken clearly and the Holy Spirit speaks to their heart.
• The rest is eye candy and they try and remove the eye candy.
• Excellence is “getting everything out of the way that obscures somebody’s ability to see Jesus”.
• Sundays @ NewSpring
o 6:15 band comes in
o 6:45 test sync of live video feed and video run
o 7:00 sound check
o 7:45 everyone involved walks through the production sheet (talk through ALL transitions)
o 7:55 countdown starts for a literal service run through 7:55-8:30
o 9:15 1st service starts
o Review after run through and 1st service and anything that doesn’t work gets dropped
• They teach artists to appreciate the process not the product.
• A.B.E..---always be evaluating
• Who has the final say on service elements?
o The speaker or Perry…the speaker has to be comfortable with the service elements to communicate it well.
o You have to be willing to push back both ways, but the speaker has final say.
• Announcements?
o Currently doing video announcements
o The make sure a person comes on stage and welcomes people and makes sure new people know they’re welcome
o They take the offering before worship and during the message and they teach about why they give. (it is worship…scripture 2-3 minute teaching on giving)
• They do communion twice a year and make communion the service. Very gospel focused services.
• When you work with your senior pastor you have to humbly help him understand how planning ahead helps everyone, including him.
o Have conversations about how planning ahead will help us make sure everything lines up
o The further out a pastor gets, the more fluid it can become
o Being well prepared allows to make last minute adjustments more easily.
o If you get your pastor to plan ahead and you don’t get ahead and change the way you do things, he’s a fool to not go back to the way he was doing things.
• They record practices for lighting cues and volunteer directors so the camera guys can be prepped. (WOW!)
• NewSpring has a core group of 5 people and invites other people (staff and otherwise) based on their connection to the content.
• They get an outline ahead of time to come into the meetings with ideas.
• Worship leaders get together and pick sets and cover songs. 90% is done by them and open to suggestions to changes.
• Service Format (default)
o Performance Song
o Video Announcemenct
o Worship Set---3 Songs
o Offering
o Video Roll In
o Perry Speaks
o Maybe a song before invitation
o Perry (or speaker) dismisses with “thanks for being here see you next week”
• Invitation normally happens with a just the keyboard player
• They practice the 6 and 1 principle of the Sabbath.
• If your ministry gets in the way of your relationship, or if your work gets in the way of your Sabbath, you’ve lost.
• If people aren’t on time, make what happens at the beginning the biggest thing.
• Don’t let people steal your joy because of the participation or lack therof.