Ch 5: Specific Service Elements
Often, our services end with the altar open at the front for prayer and the worship team setting atmosphere for responses to the preach.
Preparing for the Potential
We never know how the Spirit will lead in a service and should always be prepared for ministry time. Near the end of service, communicate with your Worship Leader and see what song(s) they think would be appropriate to flow on for ministry time so the keys player knows what key to be playing in when he/she fades in. If the preacher has given an indication the altars will be open for a while (or if the service calls for it like Shredder or VisionBuilder Sunday), having a few songs ready in that key would be wise.
This doesn’t mean we have to play that song instrumentally behind the preacher though. If your Worship Leader wants to end service with a ministry time song that’s at 77 BPM, it may be wise to play behind the preacher at a slower tempo then as we’re getting close to service closing out, slowly raising the tempo to 77 BPM over a number of measures. Same with chord progressions. If there’s a very resolved progression for the part your WL wants to eventually go into, consider playing something less resolved (like a 4 5 6 1/3) until we’re close to leading the song then changing the progression to the intended one.
Worship Team vs Spotify
Ultimately, the Worship Leader should determine for that service if we should turn the service over to Spotify or if the worship team should lead/flow and for how long. If the vibe of the room is more celebration and chatting, they’ll likely decide to go to Spotify pretty much right away, but if large amounts of people are getting prayer,they may want to flow for a while to give atmosphere.
Transitioning to Spotify
When the Worship Leader is ready to turn the service over to the Production team to run Spotify, we want to ensure the transition is seamless. To make that happen, communication with Production is key. First, check to make sure they’re ready with an appropriate playlist/song. It’s generally wise to bring the dynamics down to make a smooth transition because it’s easier to match with a Spotify playlist. When you’re ready to transition, let Production know the last time around that progression, then count “End 2 3 4” to the last chord. Because we’re making the transition as seamless as possible, it’s generally wise to have the team hit the chord change and let it ring out instead of trying to swell up on it. Swell-ups are usually only used when we’re inviting a response. Keep the chord sustained until you get a confirmation that Spotify is in the house.