CAM MANUAL
The Creative Arts Team
The goal of the Creative Arts Ministry is to glorify God and make disciples.
- We seek to glorify God through multicultural worship teams who facilitate all the services and outreaches in ICC.
- disciple sons and daughters of the house who are anointed in their expression of worship to God in the community of ICC and in the wider community in which we live and work.
We look for people of F.A.I.T.H. –
1.Faithful: in the little things (there is no task or act of service that is below us); faithful in finances by tithing and offering consistently; and faithful in another’s by doing our best to fulfil ICC’s God-given vision.
2.Available: to serve as the team and the season requires. We ask our members to commit for a minimum of 6 months. We require availability for you to also be part of church planting, which will require to travel to another campus.
3.Involved: by being a team player. In our service as worshippers we expect you to have an attitude of a servant of Christ and the heart of a son/daughter of the house (ICC). You are expected to attend the Sunday services even when you are not rostered on. As a house of prayer, we also make Tuesday night a priority in our ministry. The minimum is to attend Hearts United prayer nights.
4.Teachable: by submitting to your team leader, CAM leaders (WP, CAM Dir and CAM Admin), connect pastors, ministry team and vision team. As part of the CAM team you must be ready to receive feedback from the leaders. Our intention is to help you grow at three levels: Organisational, Relational and Spiritual.
5.Hungry: for more of God, His presence and His word. As part of a team that ushers God’s presence you must be an example of what being a worshipper is like on and off stage. Your life must reflect a continuous growth in God.
Our Spiritual Objectives
- Our first priority in worship is to minister to God through a lifestyle of obedience to His word and through the music we sing and play while facilitating the Church’s ministry to God (Ps 101:6).
- With God’s Spirit and power, come to each service ready to pour out of our spirit the life and glory of God. (2 Cor 4:6-7).
- As ministers of reconciliation, we will prophetically declare what God has done, is doing and will do in the hearts of all who come into His presence (2 Cor 5:18-19).
- Prepare the ground of men’s hearts for the seed of God’s Word. Our praise is the plow that breaks the hard, calloused ground of religion, sin, and rebellion (Hosea 10:11).
- Lead people into the life-changing presence of God through our example of worship and praise (Ps 22:3).
- Most importantly, it is our responsibility to live a life of worship before God (Rom 12:1).
Are you growing in the 5 C’s ?
Character – Commitment – Competence – Chemistry – Capacity
- Character: Level of Maturity, integrity, value system, reputation:
We commit to developing our personal character to mirror that of Christ through many means including the following:
- a) Prayer – It is one of our KEY values. That is why we encourage you to make prayers on Tuesdays a priority. Keep your fellow team members in prayer, our leaders and ICC. Take time during the week to pray for the services each week and come to rehearsals and events spiritually prepared to lead people into a personal encounter with God.
- b) Private Worship – Spend time worshiping in your quiet time and live a life of worship everywhere you go.
- c) Bible Reading – Collectively as a church we value the reading and journaling of God’s Word and recognize the importance of growing into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
- d) Christ-likeness – As members of the CAM Team we realize that He has called us to a life that will reflect His likeness and we desire to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into a lifestyle of sanctification and separation from worldly things.
- e) Tithes & Offerings – As children of God we are called to give our “First-Fruits” in all that we are and do and YES, this includes our finances! The word “tithe” means “10 percent” and as servants of God we must be found faithful in what He has given to us.
- f) Serving – Our mandate as sons and daughters of God is to not only serve God, but to also serve one another regardless of position. Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve and lay His life down for others. (Mark 10:45).
- g) Attitude – As children of God gladness should be one of the evidences of our life in Christ. A GOOD attitude is a vital and essential part of being part of any team. Your countenance and demeanour make a big difference and to the sound we collectively bring; it has the power to lift up or bring down. Please refrain from all negativity and harsh/foul language of any kind. Being positive with a heart of love and kindness must always be the tone we bring.
- Commitment: What is your track record, how much time can you commit
- Competency: Level of Gifts, Talents, abilities and passions
We recognize that God has given us with the opportunity to serve Him using the gifts and talents He has given to us. We strongly believe that God honours excellence and that we should give our very best to Him in worship through many means including the following:
- Practice – Review and practice your weekly song set prior to rehearsal on Wednesday. Before Sunday’s service please go over your set list again to ensure it’s fresh in your heart and mind and so all your parts are FULLY known. We want to GIVE and sound our best for the Lord! If a new song is scheduled to be played on your Sunday it’s important to take additional time to carefully listen to and learn the song prior to the Thursday Rehearsal. Ideally, to see personal musical growth and team excellence we recommend a minimum of 1 hour spent weekly in practice.
- Consistency – As a team we want to make each Sunday as consistent as possible regardless of the team playing. For this reason, we ask that all songs be played and sung as posted or revised during rehearsal. It is also important that we collectively as a team memorize all music so that we will not be dependent on charts during service times. This enables us as a team to be more connected to worship and to better lead the congregation into worship.
- Preparation – Be ready, alert and fresh! to rehearse and in position before all scheduled rehearsals and service times. As worship ministers it is our duty to be “with it” on the platform. Please do not come dragging your feet in the door with an “I’m so tired” attitude. If necessary, please plan your rest accordingly to ensure you are at your absolute BEST for your scheduled position. We ought to come to each service with JOY and EXCITEMENT; what an amazing honour to lead the church into the presence of the Lord! “I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the Lord!”
- Punctuality – Team members are to be ON time! Coming to practice on time honours God and your fellow team members who strive for excellence and have put in hours of preparation during the week.
- Theory – On a consistent basis it’s vital to hone our craft. This includes working towards understanding the language of music by cultivating a deeper knowledge of musical theory and your musical instrument.
- Stay Current – Take time to look at what other successful musicians and worship teams have done/are doing. Stay up to date with new sounds, musical gear and equipment (musicians), vocal techniques, and musical styles.
- Technically Knowledgeable – Take the time and effort to become familiar with your tools so you can operate independently. The more seamless setup for rehearsals and for Sunday mornings is, the more focused the team can be on doing their best and being in the best frame of mind for entering into worship and playing song lists with excellence.
- Capacity: Level of the Leader, grace to handle the load, personality
- Chemistry: Compatible with team and culture
Relationships and community are one of the major focal points at ICC. In order to build chemistry on stage, building personal relationships are a key component to flowing musically in the Spirit and creating a unified sound. Therefore, we believe that it is important to love, value and respect those we serve through the following means:
- Trust – Build trust with others within healthy boundaries while believing their best motives. We must strive to always believe and speak the best about one another. Trust also looks like building relationships with one another outside of the worship team context (Sunday mornings and Wednesday night rehearsals).
- Encouragement – Focus on keeping a positive attitude at all times while affirming, building and encouraging others.
- Resolution – Resolve conflict with forgiveness and reconciliation and with a heart of love.
- Unity – In order to reach new heights as a team, we must walk in unity with a spirit of grace and truth.
- Accountability – Be accountable to others for your actions that we might produce righteous fruit.
- Fun – In the midst of everything, church and worshiping God should be a JOY and be fun! Keep in mind that God looks at our hearts and the way we worship Him should be with freedom. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is FREEDOM!”
JOINING THE TEAM
- To serve in the Creative Arts ministry is essential that you have made ICC your home church & family, having attended for at least 3 months. It is mandatory that you are part of a connect group before serving in the CAM team.
- Please speak to one of the CAM leaders who will invite you to a CAM TEAM night.
- You will then be asked for an audition. At this time we will evaluating your skillset, experience, character, chemistry (team player), spiritual walk. We will endeavour to provide you feedback within 3 weeks.
- We will then schedule a time for you to shadow a more senior musician/ vocalist/ tech team member at a weekly rehearsal.
- We want you to be commited in a connect group. Placement on a worship team is determined by pastoral approval after recommendation from your Connect Pastor.
- Please email Ps. Leo at leo@iccbrisbane.org if you have any questions.
About CAM:
- Our desire is to see people encounter God, get saved, healed, set free, discipled, equipped, empowered and serving in ministry through meaningful relationships in the church community.
- We believe that praise is declaring to everyone – the world, the principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness what God has done, is doing and will do (Eph 6:12). We are called to demonstrate what Jesus carried out in His earthly ministry (1 John 3:8), a demonstration that is manifested by the words we speak and by our obedience to God’s Word (Prov 18:21, 1 Sam 15:22). Praise & Worship creates an atmosphere where faith can be fuelled. Faith creates an atmosphere of expectancy where miracles can happen.
- We believe that worship is a lifestyle response to a holy, omnipotent God.
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- If praise is declaring what God has done, is doing or will do, then worship is declaring (and living) who God is. If we do not know who God is, we cannot worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Our corporate worship should be a natural extension of the relationship we have with God when we are alone.
- We believe in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
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- We accept the mantle and responsibility the Lord has placed on us to be His vessels not only through the music we play and sing, but also through our actions, attitudes and appearance.
- We want presence driven services and as such we need flexibility as we may go longer than plan to allow the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
- CAM TEAM STRUCTURE
Senior Pastor – Executive Pastor
Worship Pastor – CAM Director – CAM Administrator
Team Leaders
Worship Leaders
Team
VII. TEAM OPERATIONS
- Scheduling
All of our scheduling information is located online. We will communicate to you primarily through email, whatssap and Planning Center. It is important that you check your email and PC (Planning Center) frequently in order to stay informed of important information and/or scheduling changes.
- The Calendar
The calendar displaying all your scheduled serving times is in Planning Center. A screenshot of 4 weeks of the roster will be emailed so that you know who is available to replace you should you need to be absent.
If you haven’t been invited to join yet, please request an email from Joshua Jacob joshj_21@hotmail.com (please note once you’ve officially been added to the team you’ll receive a request email).
At your first login, you will be prompted to update your contact information. Please fill out the form completely so everything will be up to date. You can make changes to your information at any time.
- Scheduling Philosophy
As you have gone through the involvement process, the worship pastor has determined a place and position where we feel you would be best fit for this season.
You need to block your away dates in PC when requested prior to the release of the official roster. Once the roster is live, you must find a replacement should you need it. Please let us know once you have found a replacement so that the roster can be updated in PC.
- Schedule Change Requests
If you need to modify your confirmed schedule, please send an email to leo@iccbrisbane.org. If it is urgent please call or text your team leader. Non-urgent changes can be made via email.
- Rotation
We will guarantee that you will be scheduled at least once a month.
We schedule musicians/vocalists for what is best for the overall team, not what is best for one person.
- Confirmations
Once you are scheduled for a service, you will be automatically sent an email asking for your confirmation. Simply follow the link in the email or log in to the website to accept or decline. Please do this within 48 hours of the request.
If you are scheduled for a service in which you cannot serve, you may decline the event by inputting a reason (a reason is required). Please also note that 3 declines in any given season will result in a follow-up conversation as whether the team is a good fit for you this season with your busy schedule.
- Participating In Services
When you serve a ministry in worship, it’s important you are a part of the ministry. As soon as the worship set is over, please go straight into the service. Every service will require that the worship team go back on the platform to minister after the message. It’s important that we feel the heartbeat of the service to know how to minister to the people who attend the service you are ministering at. If you are unable to stay, please let your worship leader know before the day of the event.
- CAM Team Nights
Scheduled on the worship calendar are monthly meetings known as CAM Team Nights. Team nights are an ALL-IN night with teams from all over the ministry where we will have a time of worship, FUN and team-training and vision casting for the season. Please note these nights are MANDATORY for all CAM Team members.
I.Training
As a CAM Team member it’s our heart that we would be committed to improving the way we do things. Please stay alert each month for that scheduling invite.
VIII. SUNDAY SERVICE STRUCTURE
- Sunday Rehearsal
- Time
We ask that all musicians and singers to show up no later than 6:45 or 7:00AM for Sunday AM rehearsal. Please DO NOT be late. We are given a very limited time to set up equipment, run-through the songs, sound check, and work through transitions. Given the reasons stated, we need to be ready and in position to start soundcheck by 7:00 or 7:15AM and conclude by 8:15AM. This helps us all have a short break to have breakfast and be ready to start Pre-Service Prayer. If you are a guitarist or another band member with extensive set up, please come a little earlier to ensure you are properly set and equipment is working so that you do not have to be tweaking things during practice. Please note that if you are consistently late your commitment to the team will be addressed privately.
For HMS Service: Practice starts at 3:00PM and instruments should be set up by 3:15. WL will share the direction of the set and pray. Practice will run from 3:30PM till 4:45PM. That will allow the team to have a briefing before the service starts. SDs hold the briefing on the side of the auditorium.
- Equipment Setup & Monitor Adjustments: All equipment setup must be completed by no later than 7:00 or 7:15 AM. And 3:15PM for HMS Service.
- Sound Check & Monitor Adjustments
- Proper sound check is very important. In order for your avioms to be set properly please play and sing at the energetic level you would perform at during the service. Ideally, it is best to make all of your monitor adjustments within the first 10 minutes of rehearsal while the sound guy makes adjustments to the gains.
- Warm-up song: We will run through the first song on the list which aids our sound techs in working quickly to set the proper gain levels for your instrument or mic. It gives the team a good idea initially what changes need to be made to the monitor mixes.
iii. Please take time to understand how to set your mix, hearing yourself properly as well as the rest of the team not only helps everyone play and be in sync better. It will help increase your individual confidence and engagement which translates into more interaction from the congregation.
- Song List Runthrough (incld. transitions)
After the warm-up song, as a team we will move right into running through the song list for the service. Come Sunday morning, everyone on the team should know all of their song parts very well. The purpose of the rehearsal is for ensuring the transitions between songs is seamless and everything for the service is in our short-term memory.
- Service Briefing
Our briefing is hosted by the SD on the side of the stage at 8:20 AM (4:45PM for HMS) with the team serving in that service. Together the order of service is reviewed with prayer to follow. Once briefing is completed, we will join pre-service prayer on stage for morning service.
- Pre-Service Prayer – 8:30 AM
The team serving will help facilitate pre-service prayer by listening to what the pastor(s) and/or intercessor(s) are praying. The WL and MD will select songs based on the prayer theme for the morning. The WL needs to constantly communicate with the person leading the prayer.
- Service
- 9:00AM or 5:00PM Worship Set
Our worship set usually consists of 3.5 songs:
- An invitational praise song
- A song of declaration of God’s attributes (fast or mid-paced)
- A song of encounter with God
- A song of response (usually a tag consisting of choruses and/or bridge)
- Announcements
Announcements follow each worship set and depending on the format of the service for that morning the whole team may or may not be on the stage. If you are on the stage it is very important that there is no communication on the stage between team members and that eye contact is fully on and engaged with the person giving the announcements.
- Post-Message (Altar calls)
Generally speaking, the message for the 9 AM service is usually finished or wrapped up by 10:45 AM. If a message cue isn’t stated in the briefing by the pastor speaking for that given service, most likely the pastor will call the worship team up to the stage. As quietly and undistracting as possible, make your way onto the stage using the stairs on the left or right side of the stage (depending on where your performing position is located). Remember to stay engaged and give your attention to the pastor speaking while you are on stage until as a team we begin singing.
- PREPARATION AND WEEKLY REHEARSALS
- Wednesday Mid-Week Rehearsals
- Time
- Mid-Week rehearsals always begin at 7:00 PM on Wednesdays unless otherwise communicated. Your Wednesday practice will correspond with the week you are scheduled to play on planning center.
- Please be on time so that we can start right at 7:00 PM. If we start on time, we are able to finish on time.
- Rehearsal Structure
Our Wednesday rehearsals are designed to cover the following:
(our goal is to try and be finished by 9:00 PM)
- Team equipping – 15 minutes
- Sharing by WL and prayer – 15 minutes
- Review Sunday’s set list with song transitions – 90 minutes
- Close with prayer – 5 minutes
- Special Event Rehearsals
- Time
Please note if you are scheduled for any special events we hold you will be notified separately of the details pertaining to it.
- Rehearsal Structure
Structure order will be individually determined for each event but expect that it will go longer than a weekday practice as extra time would be needed.
- Periodic Song Calendar
- Worship Periods
- The year is divided into 3 periods of 4 months each. The year is broken
down as follows:
- Period 1 – January through April
- Period 2 – May through August
- Period 3 – September through December
- New Songs & the Worship Calendar
- A list of new songs (usually 6-8) will be scheduled each period with corresponding dates to which Sunday’s the new songs will be introduced to the church congregation.
- If your team is introducing a song to the congregation please make sure you have all of your parts learned and ready for the Wednesday Mid-Week rehearsal.
iii. It is recommended that you work towards making a habit of learning all of the new songs in a block of time rather than cramming to learn a song for the Sunday it is being introduced.
- Please note, that once a song has been introduced to the congregation by a team, it will begin to regularly be scheduled into subsequent song lists in following weeks.
- Worship Playlists with all of the new songs for a period are provided. During each 4-month period please be actively listening to all of these new songs and get them into your heart. Listen for dynamics, memorize the structure and chords of the song, and know your parts off by heart.
- Personal Musical Development (PMD)
- Owning your Craft
As a team we want to help stretch you and provide guidance along with the resources to foster individual growth; however, your desire to improve your musical and vocal abilities still rests on you. The following are practical steps for improvement:
- Get your hands on some quality books explaining and outlining musical theory
- Practice scales (musicians and vocals) and rudiments (drummers) regularly as warm-up before you get into personal practice. Turn on a metronome and start at a slow tempo and gradually increase the speed.
- Surround yourself with people that musically have more experience than you.
- Find new ways of getting excited about your instrument (sounds, styles, etc.)
- Always practice with a metronome.
- Spend time on youtube watching your favorite worship/bands and musicians and look at what gear they use, techniques, or other hints you can gather from watching them.
- Invest in putting yourself in lessons.
- Learn to play different chord inversions (musicians) and to sing different harmonies (vocals).
- Develop your ability to listen for various note intervals and then listen to songs and try to pick out what the distances are within chord changes.
- Learn the Nashville Numbering System
- Probably the most important tip of all is being consistent. Practice regularly even if it is only for 15 minutes at a given time.
- Learning New Songs
- If you are having difficulty learning a particular part of a song by ear, generally someone on Youtube will have posted a how-to video or a tabbed version of a given song is provided online by doing a simple google search.
- Chord charts, lyrics and translations can be found on our Dropbox (see the Tools & Resources section).
- Tone & Sound
- When practicing a song, try not to only listen for what the musician or vocalist is are playing/singing, but be attentive to the tone of the guitar/bass/vocal/drums. Our goal is to produce a consistent sound, therefore if every individual can play their part in replicating the sound heard on the album, we can achieve this.
- Always keep in mind how your instrument tonally will blend and mix with the rest of the band and not just how you sound individually. Ideally, your individual instrument/vocal should fill a particular frequency in the overall mix and if your frequency is too wide, your instrument or vocal will be lost. If you feel you aren’t EQ’d properly please inquire with the sound guy.
- PLATFORM PRESENCE
- Platform Presence Body Language
- Body language is a huge form of communication. We all know what it is like to say one thing but our body is actually saying another.
- When you are on the platform, your presence is as important as your musicianship.
- Your platform presence is simply an outward expression of what is happening inside your heart.
- Determine to communicate your heart as effectively as you can through your body.
- At times a leader may come to you and ask you to adjust something with your platform presence. For instance, you may be asked to open your eyes more in the worship services or move around your area a bit more. When you are asked to modify something, please do so cheerfully. Your leaders really care about you and want you to look and BE your best.
- Tips for Better Platform Presence
- Look in the mirror and watch what you look like – jump, clap, bow, dance, raise your hands, be engaging. If something appears awkward, adjust it to make sure you are communicating what you want to communicate.
- Do not let the congregation determine your level of expression. Sometimes they will not be engaged in worship. As leaders, we always need to be engaged. Show them an example of how to express worship. Most of the time, they simply need to see worship in order to learn how to express it on their own.
- Make sure that the actions you are doing is reflecting the song we are collectively singing. If the words are saying, “lift your hands”, then we lift our hands. If it’s saying to shout, then we shout etc…True leadership is to lead by action and not just words alone.
- Be sincere. Worship from your heart. Give a warm smile from within. We are leading people from all different circumstances, so remember that a warm smile ministers more than you realise.
- Vocalists – When you are singing, have the microphone to your face but don’t block it. When there is a long period of time in which you’re not singing into your microphone, move it away from your face but still continue to sing and worship. Stay engaged at all times.
- Musicians – Be sure to stay engaged in worship. Practice ahead of time so you don’t have to focus on your instrument the whole time. Sing while you play. Seeing a musician singing from their heart can really lead people well. Move around your area. Although you may be on a riser, use your space to the fullest. When there is no movement, the platform can look stagnant.
- Dress Code
The platform is the most visible place in the church. As leaders on the platform, the things we wear need to be considered very closely. It’s important to remember that modesty is the key. We want our clothes to reflect our individuality and style while keeping people’s focus and attention on Jesus.
- Men’s Clothing Guidelines
- General (all services)
- Modesty and style are important so we give focus on the worshiping, not us, and still come across as relevant to our culture and the people we are leading.
- If you are ever unsure about an item, bring it and we can tell you if it can work for the next time.
- Before you finalize an outfit for service, be sure to do a final worship check. Raise your arms as high as you can and swing them in all directions. Look in the mirror and check yourself from all angles. Make sure you are not revealing anything inappropriate.
- When in doubt wear dark colours. It always looks sharp.
- Specifics for Men
- Top Half
○ T-shirts are fine as long as they are layered with a jacket or cardigan. (please no logo’d tees).
○ Short-sleeved dress shirt with a collar are okay
○ Wear an undershirt of an appropriate colour if it’s needed.
○ Make sure your shirt is buttoned at an appropriate place. No chest hair should be seen.
○ Make sure your shirt isn’t too tight and an appropriate length if it’s made to be worn untucked. (It doesn’t show your stomach or undergarments if you raise your hands).
- Bottom Half
○ Black or dark jeans or denim. No light-coloured jeans.
○ No sweat pants.
○ No shorts
- Shoes
○ Sneakers or shoes (no thongs)
○ If you have a pair of shoes that do not fall under the above category please ask the worship pastor or worship leader ahead of time for approval.
- Women’s Clothing Guidelines
- General (all services)
- Modesty and style are important so we give focus on the worshiping, not us, and still come across as relevant to our culture and the people we are leading.
If you are ever unsure about an item, please bring it and the worship pastor or worship leader ahead of time and they can tell you if it can work for the next time.
- Before you finalize an outfit for service, be sure to do a final worship check. Raise your arms as high as you can and swing them in all directions. Look in the mirror and check yourself from all angles. Make sure that you are not revealing anything inappropriate.
- Specifics for Women
- Top Half
- Neckline – Show NO cleavage. Please be very conscientious about this. That doesn’t mean everyone needs to wear a turtleneck; it’s just the first place that can be a distraction in worship.
- Test – your neckline should be no more than the span of 4-finger width from your collarbone.
- Bras should be inconspicuous and serve you well. Make sure that it cannot be seen under any circumstances. Tank tops under clothing is recommended. Be careful not to buy shirts and/or jackets that bring focus to the chest.
iii. If wearing a sleeveless top please be sure it’s fitted well underneath the armpits and/or wear a tanktop under the shirt.
- T-shirts are fine if they are layered with a jacket or cardigan (please no secular logo’d shirts).
- Stripes should be minimal and must be layered.
- Waistline – absolutely no skin around the midriff.
- Test – raise your arms straight up, you should have several inches of shirt past your pants. If ever in doubt,
wear a tank top underneath your top to make sure that when you jump, there isn’t a lot of movement.
vii. Make sure that your top is not see-through. If it’s the style, make sure that the undershirt still meets the guidelines and is not tan in colour (that can seem like you aren’t wearing anything underneath, even if you are).
- Bottom Half
- Skirts should come to minimum just above the knee or below. Skirts must not be see-through. Wear a slip or pants underneath if there’s a chance it can show light through. If your skirt is deemed too short for service, you will be asked to step down for that service.
- Pants or denim. Thick leggings are acceptable ONLY if worn with a very long shirt or dress over top.
iii. No pants that focus on your front. Some pants are too tight in this area or have weird stitching or coloring that draws the eye there.
- No shorts.
- Other
- Dresses must be minimum just above the knee or below. Make sure that the dress is not see-through with light shining through.
- Shoes should be appropriate to the outfit. Make sure that you are able to move freely in worship.
iii. Keep jewelry simple. Make sure that with movement, the pieces don’t cause unnecessary noise or weird movement.
- Please note that if your dress doesn’t meet the requirements you may be asked to step down from your scheduled slot on that day.
XII. Equipment
- In-Ear monitors
Each musician and/or vocalist will be asked to purchase their own set of in-ears. More cost-effective ones can be purchased online (ask Eugene). If money is initially an issue we can provide in-ears for an interim period for your convenience.
Care: Please remember to bring your own in-ears to your scheduled service.
- Microphones (vocalists)
Care: Never blow into the microphone. There are tiny wires inside the microphone that can break if blown into.
Always carry the microphone in your hand when not in use. Putting it on the floor or table is not acceptable as it could be stepped on or dropped.
- iPad/tablet Holders
Holders for your iPad are provided and can be found attached to stands on the stage. Try to not use music stands on the stage please.
- Other Equipment
For guitar amps and other more specialized equipment individual training will be given.
XIII. TOOLS & RESOURCES
We try to utilize and integrate a variety of different tools into our worship team. These tools are designed to make your life as a member of the team easier and to keep you in the “know” at all times. Additionally, our goal is to provide you with strong resources to help improve your individual musical ability as well as help boost your understanding and ability to play together with the band.
- Tools
- Planning Center (Roster)
- As mentioned earlier in the document, all of our scheduling for practices and services is done through Planning Center Online. It is a very user friendly website, iPad, iPhone, and Android application that enables us to efficiently schedule you and your team for a given service. Within Planning Center Online, you will be able to see exactly which songs that will be led on that given Sunday (in the correct key) along with the attached chord charts of the song.
- If you don’t have a Planning Center account yet, please email leo@iccbrisbane.org with the email account for which you would like to have your account created under. An invitation from Planning Center Online will be sent to the email address you have provided along with a set of instructions to follow to finish creating your account. If you are having difficulties setting up, please email us.
iii. Tips & Tricks:
- Music Stand
- As a team we use two different applications that are digital sheet music readers. In order to keep the stage looking clean and for convenience, we have adopted the use of tablets (Ipads or other Android based tablets) for storing all of our own personal sheet music.
Listed are both of the applications we use and you can choose which one suits your application based on the specifications mentioned below:
- Music Stand – Is made by the same company that makes Planning Center Online and is a free application for members of the team to download. It is available for both Apple and Android tablets and phones. Music Stand works seamlessly with Planning Center Online and all of the chord sheets uploaded for each week through PCO can be easily imported into Music Stand and saved to a song library for use at anytime.
To get setup with Music Stand, please email leo@iccbrisbane.org with your request.
- Resources
- Guitar & Bass Resources
The Church Collective – http://thechurchcollective.com/resources/timeline-presets/
- Keyboard & Piano Resources
- Drum Resources
- Vocal Resources
- General Worship Resources
XIV. IMPORTANT LINKS AND CONTACT INFORMATION
- Songs charts – http://www.dropbox.com
- Period Song Selection – http://www.dropbox.com
- Scheduling and Operations Contact – josh
- Emergency Cancellation Contact – contact your team leader
In 1 King 10 there is a story about the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon.
“When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba realized how very wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers, and and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the Lord. (I Kings 10:1-5)
She was a queen who had heard about the magnificence of Solomon’s temple, the service of the people, the king and his wisdom and the extravagance of the sacrifices. So, she visited Solomon with hard questions, and the Bible tells us that what she saw left her completely breathless. She could not do anything else but to acknowledge our God who she doesn’t even know, worship and praise Him for His wisdom, power and glory. The Queen of Sheba experienced God through ordinary people doing extraordinary things because of their relationship with God. This is the heartbeat of SOT. We are ordinary people wanting to help others experience God through our hospitality. We want them to leave our building with a greater sense of who our God is and marvel at His wisdom, power and glory.
What the Queen of Sheba experienced is the culture that we want to create as the SOT team:
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A team with answers – Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her”
SOT team members should be people with answers. Every team member should be able to answer basic questions about the church (i.e. the vision, upcoming events etc), the building (know where everything is e.g. toilets, kids’ ministry area, etc), the ministry or the leaders.
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A team with a spirit of excellence – When the queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, she was breathless…
The queen was left breathless. She was completely “Wowed” ! We serve a Holy God. He is more glorious, amazing than anything! He deserves our Best. Everything we do should reflect the excellency of our God.
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A team with a great spirit of Hospitality – She was also amazed at the food on his tables.
Hospitality is an outworking of the gospel. In fact, theologian N.T. Wright says the entire New Testament can be summed up in one word—hospitality. It is the lifeblood of any Church and Christian organization, it’s like a medicine for the soul of mankind. SOT (Service Operation Team) members serve as Jesus’s ambassadors (2 Cor.5:20) and He uses us to be His welcoming arms to draw people from the outside into His presence!
When you have a guest who show up at ICC, they are going to walk away and say one of two things…
“I felt like a guest” Or “I felt like an intruder”
Many guests haven’t been to church in a long time. Many of them are skeptical or afraid. Sometimes, they are just not sure what it is going to be like and how people are going to respond to them。
You are offering hope – the hope of Jesus Christ. SOT is a group of volunteers who understand the basic foundation of a Church (spread great gospel, shows love and hope etc.) by welcoming, engaging guests and with the hearts to create memorable and great experiences.
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A team that is well organized – She was also amazed at …the organization of his officials…”
SOT members realize no one can be everyone. We learn to work together as a team, recognizing and respecting each other’s giftings.
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A team that operate with pure motives – She was also amazed at …their splendid clothing
Spiritually, this speaks to us of being clothed with righteousness. It means serving with sincerity and authenticity. Practically, it also speaks about being well groomed (wear deodorant, take some mints, etc) and dress presentably.
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A team that is generous – I Kings 10:13 “King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba whatever she asked for, besides all the customary gifts he has do generously given”
The Queen went home with more gifts that what she brought. We need to serve out of a generous spirit—be generous in our attitude, our words and the way we serve others.
Spotlight on Excellence
Excellence is not perfection. It’s about doing our best and constantly improving.
When Sir Dave Brailsford became head of British Cycling in 2002, the team had almost no record of success: British cycling had only won a single gold medal in its 76-year history. That quickly changed under Sir Dave’s leadership. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, his squad won seven out of 10 gold medals available in track cycling, and they matched the achievement at the London Olympics four years later. Sir Dave now leads Britain’s first ever professional cycling team, which has won three of the last four Tour de France events.
Sir Dave, a former professional cycler who holds an MBA, applied a theory of marginal gains to cycling — he gambled that if the team broke down everything they could think of that goes into competing on a bike, and then improved each element by 1%, they would achieve a significant aggregated increase in performance e.g. handwashing, pillows, etc.
An excellent team is always looking for that 1% improvement in everything they do e.g. learning to greet in different languages, better coffee making, etc.
Overview of SOT
Qualities of a Service Operations Team member
Welcoming is an incredibly important ministry. It is imperative that the men and women serving on SOT possess certain qualities and gifts. God gives his people various gifts to be used for the building up of the body of Christ, different gifts will be needed in each role within SOT, however, there are also common qualities that all serving on SOT should have.
- SOT member needs to be someone who has experienced the love of God through the Lord Jesus and has been welcomed into God’s family – a Christian. Are you a person who has put your trust in the Lord Jesus?
- A SOT member must be living a godly life, a life worthy of the gospel. Not just at church, but at work, at home and even in private. Our lives are to reflect the message that we bear.
- It is important that a SOT member feels positive about ICC. This is God’s church, and He is working in and through it. It would be harmful to the ministry to have someone spend most all of their times complaining about the Church. Are you excited about sharing our church with whoever might walk through our doors?
- Friendliness! First impressions last! A newcomer will form an opinion very quickly as to whether this is a welcoming place or not. Therefore, we must willingly serve with a smile and be friendly to the newcomer. As the saying goes ‘you only get on chance to make a first impression’. If people come to our church for the first time have a friendly and welcoming experience, this gives further opportunity to reach and connect with these people.
- Finally, it is essential that a SOT member is faithful and committed. Faithful in prayer and committed to the ministry of SOT. Commitment will be seen in being regular at church, being punctual and reliable.
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Faithful
Jesus puts a high premium on faithfulness. It was the ultimate commendation given by the master to those who have fulfilled their duties in the parable of the talents –“You are a good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:14-30). The faithful was rewarded with “many more responsibilities” (promotion).
Jesus mentioned three areas of faithfulness. The first one is being faithful in little
things. [1]He asserted that “whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). Maturity, integrity and leadership is not built up on the big things in life. It’s built in the small things—in the stuff that nobody sees, in the stuff behind the scene, in the small, unseen, non-spectacular tasks or decisions in life. Second, one has to be faithful in managing “unrighteous wealth”[1]. Finally, Jesus also emphasized the importance of being faithful with “other people’s things”[1] (Luke 16:11).
Being a SOT people, many times we may be dealing with seemingly small things e.g. straightening the chairs, picking up rubbish from the floor, smiling to the newcomers. But when we are faithful with these little things, we are positioning ourselves for “being trusted with much”.
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Available
Available means “able to be used or obtained; to be at someone’s disposal”. We need people who are available to God, to His church and to be trained and mentored. When we make what we have available to God, even if we do not have much, God can multiply. However, even if we have plenty, but are not willing to make it available to God’s work, we will not be able to contribute much.
Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
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Involved
We need to be actively involved.
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Teachable
A teachable person is “humble and willing to learn, grow and receive correction”. We need to be teachable or our capacity will be capped.
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Hungry
Hungry people are those who are eager for more…more knowledge, more training, more responsibility
Carepark and Security Team Overview
Mission: The team is the first point of welcome and hospitality to all who come to ICC! The goal is to create a welcoming atmosphere so guests can be opened to the gospel.
Job Profile |
Position: Care Park & Security Team |
Hours: 1 hour before service |
Skills to be demonstrated in this role will include:
Relational people skills, conflict resolution, problem solving skills
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Roles and Responsibilities in the Parking Area
- Sweep and clear the drop off area.
- Wear a high-vis jacket or vest to ensure you can be seen easily in the parking lot
- Greet guests by smiling and attempting to genuinely connect with them through their windshield.
- Put out proper signage and cones where necessary
- Direct traffic. Remember people are friendlier than signs and cones. Smile and wave as you direct traffic.
- Use traffic wands or large gestures to give clear directions to guests entering the car park
- Gather all cones, signs, nametags, etc., and put them back in their proper place when traffic has dwindled after the service.
- Always be prepared to help those in needs e.g. those carrying lots of stuff, umbrella during rainy days.
Roles and Responsibilities as Security Team
- Be aware of the surrounding and conduct a sweep of the entire church, inside and outside, looking for anything/anyone suspicious
- Maintain assigned post
- Report any suspicious activity to team leaders
- Escort the finance team to the counting room after tithes collection
HOST Team Overview
Mission:
The definition of a Host means door keeper but in truth, our church greatly depends on diversity and magnitude of the many services Hosts provide. Each Host has the opportunity to impact the lives of new and existing people in the church and should be viewed as an extension of the pastor’s hand. In most cases, they provide the first impressions of church and ministry of the pastor.
In ICC, we believe that a Host’s performance can make or break the outcome of the service as well as bring a true reflection of how friendly and loving ICC really is.
Hosts set the spiritual climate of the service by presenting a joyful attitude, make others feel welcome and comfortable, and make sure that everything is flowing in a proper order so that everyone is free to worship without interruption.
Attire/Uniform
- All Hosts must be well groomed, neat, and dressed appropriate.
- Attire should include slacks; Supplied ICC polo shirts.
- Closed toe footwear must be worn to ensure personal safety.
SET UP Team for All Services
Ground Floor
- Assist and receive instructions from the team leader
- Make sure the ground floor function areas and all toilets are clean and tidy
- Put out proper signage
- Turn on the music in the function area
- Gather any items to be passed out as people enter
- Clean up any rubbish lying around or any spills
- Check pamphlet display rack to ensure the up-to-date information and events are being promoted.
Auditorium Level
- Ensure the balcony room is tidy. Turn on the TV and speakers so that the parents can listen to the Sunday service. Ensure the Airconditioning unit is on. Put out the big playset for the toddles and ensure all the blinds are downTurn on air con in the balcony room and nursery
- Check the bin in the balcony room and ensure it is empty and clean
- Check the nursey area to ensure it is tidy and clean. Spray the air fresher if necessary. Check the toilet in the nursey to ensure it is clean and tidy
- Make sure display TV working properly
- Ensure that there is enough Bibles available for people to use. The Bibles are located on the bookshelf near the front entrance door. If you need to top up with more Bibles, please see Susan Chong at the Resource Desk.
- Put away seat covers (morning services) or set out seat covers (evening services) in the auditorium
- Make sure seating rows are clean and organized. Check brochures at the back of seat to ensure they are up to date, remove out-dated materials.
- Maintain supplies at the Altar, making sure oil, tissues, Bibles, pens, and offering envelopes are available
- Checking all bathroom facilities are clean. Spray freshener if needed
- Make sure display TV next to the resource desk is working properly
- Set up translation units and make sure they are working properly.
Hosting
Front Door
- Greet all arriving members and guests with warm and enthusiastic smile. Make eye contact.
- A host must display a servant’s heart, willing to serve anyone, no matter how big or small the request.
- Provide direction to the restroom, toilets, nursery, etc.
- Try to identify new guests and hand them the welcome bags. Invite them to fill out the welcome card. Please ensure the following information are filled in i.e. names, addresses, emails and phone no. If a new guest is reluctant to give away personal information, do not force them but encourage them by saying, “I collect these information so that we can keep in contact with you and let you know some of the services that we provide as well as upcoming events or activities that you might be interested in”
- Assist the elderly and handicapped out of their cars and into the church
Auditorium
- Usher people to fill up the front rows first
- Look out for empty seats and usher late comers to those seats
- If there is an emergency, alert the service director
Offering Collection
- Have enough Hosts for each isle of the auditorium.
- All Hosts will proceed together, walking in unison from the back of the building to the front, and will turn and face the congregation.
- Each Host to be in attention to any congregation member wanting an offering envelope or assistance.
- Each Host will go to their section and stand at the end of each row, passing the offering buckets down their respective row, rotating every other row, and observing the Host at the other end to make sure the flow of the offering is managed well. There may be times when the offering may be slow due to someone writing an envelope, the other Host continues to pass the offering place to the next row or slow down enough to allow the other Host to pass their plate to the next row. It is also permissible to continue receiving the offering and come back to the one who has needed more time to complete their offering.
- Each Host will hand their offering buckets to security once they have been collected.
Communion
- All Hosts walk slowly from the back of the auditoriym to the front in unison and turn facing the congregation.
- Once all hosts are in place, the pastor will ask the hosts to distribute the elements. Each host will gather a communion tray or plate with two Hosts being assigned to each section of pews or chairs to distribute to elements to the members.
- One host will be assigned to serve the platform and another will be assigned to serve other people in the church, such as the sound and tech group, musicians, nursery and overflow rooms.
- The pastor will read the communion scriptures.
- Once the communion is over, hosts are required to collect all cups from the congregation.
- Hosts will be allowed to go back to their seats.
- Host team to collect all communion ware, wash and return to their appropriate storage areas.
Ministry altar call
- Come out promptly the moment the pastor gives the altar call
- Help people to come closer to the stage
- Line people up with enough space between each line for hosts and pastors to move through
- The host team members should spread themselves behind the first line of people
- One host to tag each pastor once the pastor starts moving
- Maintain the flow. If there’s plenty of room at the front, don’t rush the people. If it is getting very crammed. Gently get those who have been prayed for to go back to their seats and move those from the second line up to the front.
Catching
- Catching is very important from both a safety and a liability standpoint. A person who is injured in a fall may have legal grounds to sue the church.
- Catch people in proper manner. The host is not actually catching the person; he or she is simply breaking the fall. Do not try to carry a person’s weight to the floor. Let the individual lay backward as you support the head and the small of the back, not allowing the person’s head to hit the floor. Two person should catch larger person or have someone stronger to catch a larger person.
- Put modesty cloth over any ladies who are lying on the floor.
Emergency Procedures
Emergency Procedures
Emergencies are rare, but they do occur. When they do, the SOT function as a team in cooperation with security, medical personnel, pastoral staff, and Care park attendants.
- Security Situation
- The most common scenario is someone acting aggressively or inappropriately and beyond your ability to control.
- Contact the SOT Team Leader or Service Director to summon police officers into the building.
- Fire
Detailed emergency evacuation procedures will be posted in prominent positions in the church.
- hosts guide everyone out of the building and stop parents from running to get their children. All will exit through emergency EXITS and assemble in the designated place for a headcount.
- Emergency EXIT signs are prominent throughout the building. Follow these signs for a speedy and efficient exit.
- Running is discouraged.
- The ICC Kid’s ministry team is responsible for evacuating the children.
- The Care park team keeps the lanes open for emergency vehicles and guides them to the building.
- Further training in evacuation procedures will be held regularly.
Resource Desk Team Overview
MISSION
The team’s mission is to provide resources to the church members as well as facilitating any sales (ie. books & DVD’s, T-shirts) or event registration.
Team Leader (Information Specialist Leader)
Job Profile |
Position: Coffee pot team leader |
Hours: 30 mins before service and 1 hour after service |
Skills to be demonstrated in this role will include:
Organisational skills, Relational people skills, conflict resolution, problem solving skills, accounting skills
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Roles and Responsibilities of Team Leader
- Arrange schedule and roster
- Assign tasks to team members
- Recruit team members
- Provide training and induction to team members
Team Members (Information Specialist)
- Pre-Service Prep
- Be on time at 8:30am
- Familiarise yourself with merchandize, pricing and any event registration that need to be carried out that day
- Familiarise oneself with all upcoming events
- Set up
- Open cupboards 3, 4, 5 (keep other closed). Note: the key should be in the top drawers or designated team leaders.
- Clean and tidy the display table
- Display the desks with items to be sold
- Take out the EFTPOS and make sure it is charged
- Take out the laptop that is located in the cupboard on the side. Charge the laptop. Log in using user ID “MCC Volunteer” with password “ICC4006”.
- Count the float which is found in the red pouch in the bottom drawer.
- Service
- Maintain positive body language (smile, make eye contact, and stand with good posture)
- Greet each guest enthusiastically as though you were expecting them.
- Pack up when service starts
- When the service starts at 9am, place down black cloth, located on the left side bottom drawer of the information desk over the items for sale.
- Lock all cupboards and drawers.
- Leave the eftpos machine under the information desk while it is charging.
- Leave the laptop on the floor behind the side desk, while it is charging.
- Ensure you lock up the petty cash in the bottom right drawer. Take keys with you.
- Call time
- Pre-service cut off : 9am
- Post service start time: 10 mins before service ends.
- Handling finance
- If people pay by EFTPOS:
- NO surcharge for resources items.
- 5% surcharge of all event registration eg. Synergy, Cherish, etc.
- At the end of the shift,
- Count all cash sale and mark in counting sheet (separate dollar and coin values)
- For any credit card sales, add in counting sheet
- Remember to itemize all good sale
- Clip the counting sheet with the credit card and cash slip
- Place the counting sheet, credit card receipt and cash received in sealed plastic bag and into red pouch.
- Make sure all transactions are entered separately
- Photograph the slips and put in the WhatsApp chat. Also put total sales ofthe days in a separate list on WhatsApp. Even if there are no sales, just put in the group chat, there are NO SALES for recording purpose.
- With CREDIT CARD, ensure you do the cutover settlement by pressing :
- Press Menu
- Press Settlement
- Press Cutover
- It will display TERMINAL CUTOVER PROCEED?
- Press YES
- It will print out the total of the days receipt by eftpos.
Note: It may sounds corny, but it creates purpose and vision around the role. You are a Help Specialist, therefore, it is important for you to know what’s going on in your church! The Help Specialist need to have exhaustive inside information about things like……
- Upcoming events
- Nursery/Sunday school protocol
- How to tithe online
- When Abide youth ministry meets
- How to sign up for a connect group
- How to become a volunteer
- How to get a copy of last week’s sermon
Your role is to build relationships with any guests that come. You should always start with an introduction. Of you can get to know people and make relational connections, it will create a sticking point for guests.
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