From shoutatdaniel.com
by Daniel Gonzales
Published Nov 15, 2009 @ 2:20am
I am asked often from fellow worship leaders and pastors what the best methods for attracting talent are. One thing I can say for sure is that talent is available. Sometimes it is hidden, sometimes it is obvious and sometimes it needs to be pulled out and trained up. I don’t know what your church situation is but I do know there are some sure fire things you can do to attract talent. Prayer is the best place to start. After you say “Amen” then let’s move on to some of these.
- Worship Expo (open audition): This is the best place to start when you’re a church plant. It also works effectively in a bigger church setting but as Celebration has grown we have used this approach less and less. You need to know who’s available and who’s eager to participate in your church. This is the best way to do it. Set a date, type up a flyer and listen to the talent. See their future potential not their current ability when auditioning them.
- Excellence: “Excellence attracts Excellence” I know you’ve heard that before. It is true but what is “Excellence”? Perfection? Nope. You can have Excellence at any level. Show up on time. Practice and rehearse diligently. Show interest. Know your stuff. Be a team player. These are just few of the things you can do. Other talented people will notice. I don’t have enough space in this blog to elaborate further rather I will reserve this topic for a future blog.
- Rotate Your Musicians: This may seem like a dumb idea but, trust me, it isn’t. This is mostly effective in a church of several hundred or more. If musicians and vocalists don’t see a place for them to participate then often times they will not approach you. Seeing fresh faces on the stage every now and again sends the message that you want a variety of people on your team.
- Be Flexible: As you grow in size and team you will be able to set more defined guidelines for your teams to follow. Until then, have some grace with your team members’ schedules. Nothing will burn a team member out faster than the perception that their leader doesn’t care about their personal life. Now don’t misinterpret this as allowing yourself to be pushed over. You will be able to discern the genuine from the lazy.
- Train Up: I’ve been at Celebration Church for 6 years now and have seen our young aspiring guitarists grow into committed members of our adult team. Find the youth and kiddos that have obvious musical interest/potential and begin training them. A 40 year old husband and father will not have 3 hours a day to dedicate to practice and watching youtube lessons online but a teenager will. It will pay off and they will not only be trained skillfully but they will be embedded with your church DNA and worship philosophy. Your band/vocal members should also be doing this – not just You! Sometimes the amount of time spent searching for talent is better applied training someone up.
- Network: Never ignore the person who says “hey I know someone who can play…” This is my favorite thing to hear! Get this person’s contact info and invite them to a few rehearsals. Have your team members connect with said person and I can pretty much guarantee that they will stick. Another great way to network is to join facebook groups or website discussion forums geared towards musicians and strike up conversations over the web.
- Evangelize: Many of my worship musicians played in the mainstream arena around Austin, TX for years before getting planted at Celebration. Each one can name musicians they knew in the mainstream arena who would be great at Celebration but they aren’t saved. Whether saved or not invite these people to rehearsals where they can connect to a purpose. The Holy Spirit will handle the rest and before you know it your team will have an exceptional new member. Sometimes this takes YOU going to the places where musicians are to make it happen. Make enough deposits in the unsaved and eventually you can make a withdrawal. In the end – everyone wins.
Believe me, there is plenty more I can say on this topic but I have to go to bed because we have 4 services tomorrow… 
I will elaborate more in future blogs related to worship operations. I hope these few bullet points can help you in your team building. Let’s grow the church together! Chaka Kahn!
