Growth

We believe that Christ followers should be authentic and desire growth.

Our desire is to be healthy spiritually and personally and to continue to grow in our faith. We do this by having daily Bible study, prayer, relationship with other believers, and by living a Spirit-filled life. However, we realize that there are times when this is not the reality.  So if you are struggling in any way, we want to help.  Rather than staying isolated because you feel like you “just can’t meet the standard,” please take the lead by reaching out.  We want to pray with you and stand by you through anything you may be going through.  That’s what a family does!

It is important to be devoted to the house of God so we encourage regular church attendance, not just serving.  Be a part of the congregation, not just someone on stage.  While you’re in service with the people, remember that we want to help lead people in worship in every setting.  Take the opportunity to be a “congregational worship leader” and lead the church in expressive worship even when you’re not on stage.

We believe that loving relationships should permeate every area of church life.

In addition, we strongly encourage getting connected in a life group.  We hope that relationships within our team and church will extend beyond services.  Life groups are a great way to further develop friendships, community, accountability and support in every day life.

Preparation

We believe that the anointing in the teaching and in our worship is vital.

Preparation is an essential value for us.  We prepare our spirits, not just our craft.  When getting ready for a service, spend time with God.  Allow the Holy Spirit to speak directly to you.

We want to always bring our best before God because He Has given His best to us.  Practicing our craft helps us bring our best, and it helps us maintain focus on what and Who is important.  Preparation enables us to be more confident and sensitive to the Holy Spirit while leading the congregation in worship.

Before Rehearsal

In preparation, listen to each song to familiarize yourself with a known song or to learn new material.  You are responsible to know every song so please be intentional to review each song before rehearsal.  Be mindful that most songs have specific parts for every instrument/voice.  Sound files, chord charts, and/or tutorials are almost always available to you on Planning Center a little over a week in advance.  SO PLEASE, KNOW YOUR PARTS!

Improvement

In addition to preparation, excellence means always improving our skill.  Improvement happens as we assess our strengths and weaknesses and intentionally take regular steps to improve weak areas.  If you need help assessing areas for improvement, seek direction from stronger or more seasoned musicians.

Punctuality & Attendance

We believe that excellence honors God and inspires people.

Each team member plays a vital role, so it is absolutely necessary that everyone be on time for rehearsal.  "Call time" is the time the team arrives and starts setting up for rehearsal; it is listed on Planning Center Online (the planning system that we use and is discussed below under "systems") as well as the time for sound check.  If you need more time to get set up, you are welcome to arrive before call time.  Just make sure you are plugged in, tuned up, ready to go with mic/pack and a basic ear monitor mix for sound check at the time specific to your campus.

If you are scheduled for weekend services, please participate in all services and rehearsals for that weekend.  If you are scheduled at a campus that has Saturday and Sunday services, you are expected to be present both days.

Tier-1 Events

We believe Church is A unified community of servants where men and women use their gifts.

A TIER-ONE event is an event that we consider to be highly important because it includes all campuses.  Sometimes, it is an event where all campuses are coming together in the same location at the same time (e.g., Collide Student Conference or Woman Conference).  Sometimes, it is an event that will take place at all campuses at the same time (e.g., Easter).  At these events, we encourage everyone to be involved – maybe in the choir, maybe in some other area of NLC Creative.  It is important that we are all working together during these times.  There may be extra rehearsals or setup nights; so please, make these events a priority.

Mid-Week Practice & Meetings

TEAM PRACTICES are important to us.  It is a time when we come together to work on the things that we’ve been working on individually.  Most rehearsals take place right before the service we’re about to do and will include departments other than worship.  However, there are times when we have mid-week practices for the worship department only.  These team practices focus on connecting newer team members and/or learning specific songs.  Generally, these take place on Tuesday or Thursday nights.  We will also have mid-week practices when preparing for tier-one events.  Please, make practices a priority.

There are other times when we come together for a TEAM MEETING rather than a practice.  We may hang out and have dinner in order to strengthen community within the team, or we may have teaching that encourages us in our calling.  These meetings generally take place on Tuesday or Thursday nights.  Please, value the team, your place on the team, and our growth by attending these meetings.

Attitude

Be UNIFIED.  Since NLC is one unified church with several campuses, not several separate churches, you can expect to be scheduled at any campus.  Our language should reflect that we are one church and one team, and we should encourage each other in our value of unity.

Be RELATIONAL.  Please, be welcoming of people.  Whether you are new to the team or have been on the team for years, please make effort to connect with people on the team.  Take opportunity to encourage and pray with each other.  If you feel uncomfortable when meeting new people, follow these easy steps:  (1) look them in the eyes, (2) introduce yourself, and (3) ask them three questions about themselves.

Be THANKFUL.  Maintain an attitude that is thankful for the opportunities and provision that GOD gives us and for the people that He allows us to do life with and serve alongside.

Be TEACHABLE.  Be prepared to take suggestions from the leaders and make modifications.  This includes suggestions from the audio engineer who has the best interest of the service in mind.

Be HONORING.  Always show honor and respect for your team leaders.  They carry a lot of responsibility (spiritual and logistic) in leading our church in worship and in executing the vision and direction given by our pastors.  Please, demonstrate a ready-and-willing attitude towards them at all times.  If they ask you to do or adjust something, honor them by responding with eagerness rather than resistance.  Please, don’t talk or play your instrument while they are talking.  Pray for them in the days leading up to worship services:  that they may be led by God’s Spirit, that they may be encouraged, and that they may have peace.

Be FLEXIBLE.  We plan ahead but are ready at any moment for adjustments if the need arises.  Be ready to make adjustments quickly and without personal offense.  (There is no “song ownership” on our team.  We reassign songs and parts all the time so don’t take this personally.)

Be TIDY.  Please, be mindful of keeping the stage and green room clean.  Throw away trash, water bottles, etc.  Wrap up cords at the end of services.  Turn off amps.  Take equipment off of the stage because the stage is cleaned throughout the week and your equipment can get damaged and dirty.

Attire on Stage

We ask that everyone approach attire with a mindset of excellence.  Here's a video explaining the "what" and "why" behind NLC worship dress code.

Excellence

Excellence doesn't mean expensive, but we are asking for our dress on stage to be at level above the dress of the congregation.  If you lead worship in student ministry services and in weekend services, your definition of "excellence" may modify when leading adults versus students only.

Unified Colors

In order for the stage to appear unified, we have a clothing color scheme each weekend.  You can find the color scheme by looking at the note on the bottom left-hand side of the service plan on Planning Center.  It may say something like “black/grey/color.”  This means that everyone should be wearing some version of black and/or grey – color is optional, and any color is acceptable.

Dressy Attire

There are also certain times of the year when we wear “dressy” attire (e.g., Easter, Mother's Day, Christmas).  However, our pastors may ask us to elevate our level of dress at different services throughout the year as needed.

Above All

The most important thing to remember with our appearance on stage is that at ALL times we aim for excellence – which we describe as a professional, current, classy look, but not too casual nor too flashy.

EVERYONE

1. Layers:  try to layer shirts, jackets, scarves, etc.  Layering looks more professional and modest. 

2. Pants:  Dark jeans are acceptable but should not have holes or be heavily distressed.  Try not to wear jeans exclusively – dress it up every now and then.

3. Shoes:  Wear shoes, but no flip-flops.

4. No hats.

5. No sweats, shorts, or capris / pants rolled up to capri length.

Guys

• If you wear skinny jeans/pants, they should not be extremely tight or tapered.

• Stick to neutral-colored pants, no bold colors.

• No deep v-necks or shirts revealing your chest.

Girls

• If you wear a skirt or dress, it must be ankle length.  Leggings are acceptable if your top is knee-length.  The leggings MUST be dark and opaque (not sheer).

• Check the material of your clothing under bright lights.  There are certain materials that become sheer in the bright stage lights. 

• We encourage everyone to be very engaging while onstage.  This includes a lot of movement so please be conscientious when choosing tops.  We recommend utilizing jackets, scarves, and vests.

• No sleeveless tops.  This is mostly because we are often projected onto large screens, and we assume that enormous images of armpits are visually unappealing.

• Absolutely no low-cut or tight-fitting tops.  Move around in front of your mirror before you leave your house.  If you even think you can see cleavage, change.  If you are distractingly bouncy, please consider how to cover up or change tops.  We are trying to point people to our Lord Jesus, not be a distraction.

Engaging Worship

Stage presence is defined as a “quality that attracts attention on the stage.”  As worship leaders, our goal is not to attract attention to ourselves but to direct attention to God.  How we present ourselves on stage can either help or hinder that goal.  So let’s replace the term “stage presence” with “engaging worship.”

We define "engaging worship" as a physical expression of worship that invites others to respond to God.  This physical expression includes our countenance, mannerisms, and movements when leading others.

We must understand there is a distinction between private worship and publicly leading others to worship God.   Since our goal is to worship God while leading others to worship Him, we may be asked to change personal mannerisms and movements that can impede our ability to lead others. 

Tips

• Instead of using motions and positions that are turned inward, use motions and positions that are reaching for the church (ex. leaning forward, reaching your arms out toward the people) and also directing them to the Lord (ex. upward movements, lifting your hands upward, lifting your face up). 

• Instead of closing your eyes, look out to the people you are trying to engage in worship.  When our eyes are closed, we are sending a message that “this is my worship time,” and people are more apt to stand and watch.  When we OPEN OUR EYES, people can connect and engage far better. 

• Instead of standing still, utilize the space you have.  Move forward and backward rather than side to side.  When we play a fast song, clap, move, and engage in the song.  Whatever level of engagement we demonstrate on stage, the congregation will likely demonstrate a little less.

• Have a joyful countenance.  We are happy and excited about what the Lord has done and is doing in us and others.