One of our goals as music ministry leaders should be to build team. While there are various ways to do that, over the years I’ve found a technique to engage people and it has become my favorite. Not only does it build team, but it establishes one-on-one relations in the group as well as my relationship with the group as a whole. Here are some examples.
One year I convinced the music ministry to do a more elaborate Christmas program than they had previously attempted. It was early on in my ministry with them, so I did not know them well and they did not know me. We were going to need backdrops built and painted, staging constructed, lights researched, purchased, and hung, a huge rented screen assembled and put up, etc. So I put out the plea for help – I was overrun with volunteers. On some of the many nights we worked at the church it seemed like the entire choir and orchestra was there! There were men and women painting, nailing, drawing, decorating, and on and on. Once the concert was over, most of those same people came back to strike the stage and put things in storage. When the entire event and follow up had come and gone there was a bond within that group and with me that was not to be broken.
Since that time, I continue to use the same approach most any time I need help. And, honestly, I don’t always need help – it’s just a good way to connect with people and bond. In the process, they feel an ownership in the ministry.
So – are you hanging pictures? There are men in your group that would love to help you and they probably will even bring the tools. Do you need something painted? There’s likely somebody in your choir with paint brushes ready. Need an extra plug in the choir room? Call that electrician in your orchestra and make a connection (pun intended). Need to build a relationship with a deacon or elder? Find out their strengths or interests and look for a way to attract them to your ministry.
If you need help, it can be as close as four simple words: “Can you help me?” If you ask, they will come. In time, don’t be surprised if you asked “Can you help me?” becomes others asking, “How can I help YOU?”
Likewise, this reminds me of the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father and his promise to us:
"You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father." John 14:13
