Nothing is more vital for a worship team than worshiping together; even during rehearsals. Isn't it called the "worship" team? What the Holy Spirit can do through a team that worships is unimaginable. It becomes a reality however, through those who are accustomed to worshiping during rehearsals. It's one thing to be technically prepared, it's another thing to be anointed. The greatest fruit of worshiping together is the anointing. The anointing is God's touch on the leader, the team, and thus the service.
The anointing is the supernatural enabling (abilities) that only the Holy Spirit brings. The anointing takes us beyond mere humanity and permeates the gathering with the essence of heaven. Heaven is a supernatural place. And when heaven comes down...things change, folks are touched, and lives are changed. Rehearsing worship as a team brings this about.
As a worship leader I learned the importance of worshiping together as often as possible ...as a team. The teams I led would always end up in deep worship before the rehearsal was done. Most of our rehearsals were done on a weeknight and on Sunday morning before the service. In every rehearsal we would also worship.
I would plan our rehearsals to include adequate practice time as well as adequate worship time. Our weeknight rehearsals would be scheduled to last 2 hours. However, some would extend longer due to our getting lost in worship. I always made it a point to take care of the practice part first. God always seemed to work with that! Our pre-service rehearsals were always scheduled to be at least 1 hour and 15 minutes before the service began. Since the technical part was nailed down during the week it was more of a run-through or tweaking for the technical part. We would then worship together right on up until near starting time. I remember a few times when the service actually started just a tad late due to our being lost in worship. There were even some occasions when the congregation would be drawn into our worship as they filtered in and we just flowed on into the service!
I remember one Thursday evening practice that changed most of the lives of our worship team. We were experiencing a deep level of worship toward the end of our rehearsal time when I heard my wife, Connie gasp very, very deeply. Then she went down to her knees. I was a bit concerned. I asked if she were okay, but she couldn't answer me for awhile. A few minutes later she began to describe her experience to the team. It was incredible!
As we were in open worship she instantly saw an enormous throne being formed right before her. Our praises, harmonies, and musical notes were transforming into gemstones, gold, and golden filigree constructing the throne. The throne was very beautiful and ornate. Then an enormous, extremely bright presence descended on the throne and sat down. That's when she gasped and went to her knees. The presence of God totally took her breath away as He descended into our very midst. It was as if we had built a throne for Him out of our worship to sit down on. "Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel." (Psalm 22:3) This plunged us even deeper into the presence of God. It was an evening we will never forget!
Let me share one more thing I am convinced came about because of worshiping together as a team. I mean deep worship. There were several times during our Sunday morning praise and worship time, people would filter down to the altar to be saved. There was no human-generated altar call. No message was preached at the time. The Holy Spirit would simply call people to the altar. They didn't come to share their prayer requests. They came to be saved. It was extremely exciting.
If you are a worship leader, it is crucial that you understand the importance of worshiping together as a team. The ministry of worship is for real. Nothing can substitute for worshiping together. It's one thing to put it together technically and pray for God to anoint it when the service starts. It is quite another to begin the service soaring on the supernatural wings of the Holy Spirit.
"Worship is not a repetitious exercise of rituals and formulas. These create a veil that actually prevents us from enjoying the presence of the Lord. Worship is the heart poured out in gratitude and awe, expressing our appreciation of who He is and what He has done for us by His grace through Jesus Christ." - Dave Hunt
"Worship is not a repetitious exercise of rituals and formulas. These create a veil that actually prevents us from enjoying the presence of the Lord. Worship is the heart poured out in gratitude and awe, expressing our appreciation of who He is and what He has done for us by His grace through Jesus Christ." - Dave Hunt