Building a worship band is not easy or simple. In this post, Citizens frontman and Mars Hill worship pastor Zach Bolen explains the essentials of building a strong band in the church. Be sure to check out Citizens’ new Christmas EP, Repeat the Sounding Joy, available today at Mars Hill Music and on iTunes.

What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. (2 Cor. 4:5)

Building a great band in the church requires investment, time, and a unified focus on Jesus.

Start with a few

In college I went to a church that had a pretty big youth ministry. They were looking for someone to lead worship and build a band of students, and even though I had very little experience in leading, they asked me (I’m still not sure why). I had played in bands before, but building a band made up of people in the church, especially one of mostly 13–15-year-olds, was a new one for me.

I held a couple of auditions, and out of that we got four solid (but very green) musicians. Our first couple months leading the youth services were horrible. I wasn’t very great at leading, and the band didn’t play very well together. Thankfully, the story didn’t end there.

Building a great band in the church requires investment, time, and a unified focus on Jesus.

As it turned out, the “bad days” proved incredibly helpful in shaping the band into a really solid group of musicians. We learned from those mistakes and stopped trying to do everything from scratch. By starting with just a couple musicians, we built a solid foundation that allowed for bringing in new musicians without starting all over again every time.

After two years, we had two really solid bands. Realistically, if I had not invested in a few people at first, it would have taken years to get to a good quality level.

Grow together first, create later

There is no shame in playing arrangements from other churches and bands. If you’re building a band, your primary goal is not to prove your creative worth. The most important thing is to become a strong band that plays well together and is unified in its desire to call people to worship Jesus and proclaim him as Lord.

Worship leaders are servants of both Jesus and his people, so we must be willing to sacrifice our preferences if necessary. Because each band is comprised of musicians and singers from different backgrounds, their sounds will each have a unique identity, even when covering songs. Grow together first, and create later.

Music is secondary

Every Sunday morning before the services, I sit down with the band and production team and share with them my call to worship. I want them to be unified with me in that call.

Proverbs 29:18 tells us that when there is a lack of vision, “people cast off restraint.” Building a tight band of musicians is great, but unless you continually cast the vision for “why we do what we do,” your band can start to drift off into unhealthy places.

If you’re building a band, your primary goal is not to prove your creative worth.

The worst thing for a worship leader is to have complacent, self-glory-seeking musicians. I always remind the band that the gospel cannot be outdone. While we may write what we think are great arrangements or cover songs that we love musically, we must constantly remind each other that music is just a means for proclaiming the greatest news. When the band is unified on that vision, there can be incredible freedom as you grow together in your affections toward Jesus and in your skill as musicians.

Celebrate the wins

In order to celebrate a win, you first have to establish what a “win” is, and then share that aim with the band. I like to divide wins into two categories: Visible fruit and invisible fruit.

Visible fruit may be something like the band playing a song well without making many mistakes, the congregation singing loudly, or even the songs complementing the sermon well.

We must constantly remind each other that music is just a means for proclaiming the greatest news.

But invisible fruit is my favorite. It’s when people come up to you after a service and share how much the Holy Spirit used a lyric from a song to bring comfort in a tough season. Or when a band member shares how being a part of that community has increased their love for Jesus and helped them learn that worship goes beyond what you do in the band. Or when a parent tells you how their kids sing the songs you lead at church all the time, and it’s providing the opportunity for conversations about the gospel.

Ultimately, when we celebrate wins, we are celebrating the work Jesus is doing in the lives of his people. Let this be your measure for success, and out of that will come the blessing of getting to see all the amazing things God will do through your band.

Get the new EP from Citizens, Repeat the Sounding Joy, today through iTunes or Mars Hill Music.