The Three Phases of the Audition Process

For the last two weeks we’ve been discussing the on-boarding process for your worship team. We started out talking about recruiting (click here for that post), then discussed some questions to ask potential team members (that post is here!), and today I want discuss 3 important phases of the audition process. 

Phase 1: The One on One Audition
Phase 2: The Full Band Audition
Phase 3: The Sunday Morning Audition

Here’s what those phases look like:

 In phase 1: I get together with the musician one on one. 

 We start out just talking – I ask the questions we discussed last week, I get to know them, and I find out about both their musical and spiritual background. From there, we worship together. They’ll play their instrument or sing and I’ll play guitar. We’ll go through songs I sent them beforehand and we’ll just worship. 

Phase 1 is an opportunity for me to see how they play their instrument and how they engage in worship. It’s also an opportunity for us to get to know each other! 

Phase 2is the full band audition. Here, I invite the musician to a rehearsal. They’re sent the songs just like any other musician, and set up and rehearse just like any other team member. Basically, they get to see what the worship team’s weekly our routine is like.

Phase 2 allows me to see how the musician interacts with the team, how they prepare for the rehearsal, and how they play with a band!  

In phase 3, I invite the musician to join the worship team for a Sunday morning service. This is an opportunity for them to experience what it’s like to lead worship. It’s opportunity for me to see how they play, worship, and lead in front of the congregation. 

I’m often asked the point of the third phase. Usually the question is something like, “If they can play one on one and with the band, why wouldn’t they be able to play on a Sunday morning?” Here’s why: When I first started holding auditions I saw a handful of musicians do great in the first two phases, but later freeze up in phase 3. They just got nervous getting up in front of people. Nervousness doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t make the team, but it is something I’d like to know early on!

Once phase 3 is complete, a musician will be officially invited to join the team!

A three-phase audition process may seem like a lot, but I assure you it’s worth it! And it doesn’t have to take that long either.  On a number of occasions, I have met with a musician for phase 1 on a Thursday afternoon, invited them to a rehearsal for phase 2 that night, and had them join us that Sunday for phase 3. 

These three phases tell me a lot about what I need to know – who the musician is, what kind of team member they will be, and how they lead. Personally, I’d prefer a longer audition where I get my questions answered than a shorter audition process where I don’t. 

What’s your audition process like? I’d love to know!

Need help developing and implementing an on-boarding and audition process for your church? Click here to set up a coaching session! I’ll walk you through every step and help you create a plan for you and your team!