Finding a job can be difficult. Finding a job in ministry can be even more difficult! Ministry jobs can be so much more relational, unique, and intimate that you need to be able to prepare yourself for the interview. But, you must know how to get to that point in the first place
Author: Meggan Jacobus
You Can Ask, We Can Help
My youngest daughter just moved out of our house and into an apartment. Usually when kids move out their parents are close by to help them with setting things up and everything that comes with it, but not us, we moved 8 hours away! My daughter decided she needed blackout curtains for her room because she can only sleep if the room is pitch black. She called us for advice on how to install curtain rods and as we were telling her she said; “I think I’ll just go to Home Depot and ask somebody there. I’ll just say “hey, can you put curtain rods on a wall?” and when they say yes I’ll tell them to follow me to my apartment.” Where did we go wrong!?!!
Her train of thought was that she would go to the place that should have all the answers and they would help her. How many people do you think you interact with at church that have that same train of thought? You helped them find a parking spot so you must know how to help them get connected into a small group, or what day and time the student ministry meets, right? I am a big fan of cross training all of the first impression team members, but there’s no way anyone can have all the answers!! So what can you do?
We have thought about this and here are a couple of steps we take;
1. Help Center – we changed our “info desk” to “help center” because we want people to know where they can go for help, not just information. We push all information to our website and have iPads at the help center for the team members to not only help people with their request, but to also show them where they can find the answers in the future! We also have 4×5 pieces of paper with “Name,” “Phone,” “Email,” “I would like information on,” and then blank lines for those requests the team members are not able to answer and the staff tackles those on Monday. The iPads also allow guests to sign up for special events. They can pull up the registration form and fill it out right there at the help center.
2. Communication – we do our best to inform all team members of the basic information that can help a guest when they ask questions. We send a weekly email with information about special events happening like the next date for baptism, or membership, or kids camp, student camp, etc. Our coaches do an excellent job communicating the non-weekly activities during their preservice huddles as well as reminding all team members that if they aren’t sure how to answer a guests request, they can walk them to the help center!
Here’s what our Help Center Note looks like!
I hope our first impressions team has an incredible reputation for helping people like Home Depot does in my daughters mind!
PS – she didn’t bring a stranger into her house, she found a friend to help her hang her curtains! Whew!!
Written by Stacey Windover. Stacey is the Guest Experience Consultant for Froot Group, a worship staffing and consulting company.
Shooting An Amazing Smartphone Video
Forgive me Father for I have binged! I sat down for an extended amount of time (for I will not disclose) and watched YouTube. One video leads to another, which leads to another and before you know it you’re asking yourself what you started out doing before you started in on the binge. You spend hours and hours laughing at the videos that people have posted. You ask, “What was he thinking?” Sometimes you’re blown away or pleasantly surprised by the talent or quality.
Here at Froot Group we see videos of all kind. One of the top things that stop a worship leader from proceeding along in our process or even landing a job, is the lack or quality of their video. We can’t stress enough how important your introduction and worship leading videos are. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video may be worth a thousand pictures.
Almost all of us have a smartphone these days or know someone who does. I wanted to provide you just a few suggestions to help improve the quality of your video.
Most important, turn your phone sideways: By using the “landscape” (horizontal) orientation when shooting video, you get more of the worship center and musicians in the shot. Another reason is that you don’t want your viewers to see those black bars on each side of the video when it’s played back on social media, or viewed on a computer desktop or widescreen television.
Hold your phone steady: You can position yourself and try to be as still as possible but your best option would be to pick up a monopod or selfie stick at your local dollar store. If you have access to one, it would be even better to get ahold of a collapsible tripod. Having a still video will ensure your viewers don’t get turned off by a shakey video.
Composition rule: Sometimes you only got one chance to capture a great worship experience. If you want your videos to look professional, consider the “rule of thirds”. Break up the phones viewer screen into two vertical lines and two horizontal lines, and place your subject wherever the four lines intersect. Think of it like a Tic-Tac-Toe board; our eyes naturally look at one of these intersection points.
Lighting is important: Pay attention to the light around you, and take advantage of it. Good lighting – be it natural or artificial — can make or break a video. Play with the angles until you like what you see. Don’t shoot subjects near a window or with their back to the sun, as they’ll look like a silhouette. Even though you might be tempted to chose the auto feature on your phone, it’s ok to revert and play with the other features. This will allow you to make up for any differences that you may have for natural lighting.
Sound advice: Don’t underestimate the importance of good sound. This is one of the most important features of a great video. Your best option would be to have a professional microphone but if you can’t, try to get as close as possible to capture the clearest audio. You’ll be surprised how good your smartphone’s mic can be. If you’re too far away, you’ll get some of those ambient noises in your recording. Although you’re not going to avoid everything (sneezing, baby crying, etc) in a worship service, it will at least be better if you’re closer to the person you’re capturing.
Edit away: Video can live forever so you might as well make it as good as it can be. Tweak it on your phone – or better yet, on a computer with its larger screen to assess your work. This includes cutting, cropping, adjusting color and brightness, adding transitions, special effects, music, narration, captions, and more. Always keep the original just in case, but spice up your videos a bit before giving it to the world.
If you stumble upon someone to shoot a professional grade video for you definitely jump on the opportunity. Just remember though that if a church is investing enough in you to bring you out for a visit to their church, you should invest in them by having a great video.
Written by: Meggan Jacobus. Meggan is the Staffing Manager at Froot Group, a worship staffing & consulting company.
It’s Time for a Walk
Want to get out of your rut? Do something that you can’t do. I don’t mean juggling, or touching your tongue to your nose, but something that is bigger than you are capable. I just finished the biggest challenge of my career. A four month, no instructions available, sink or swim challenge.
In my fairly new job, a lot of what I do is hire people. Back in January, I helped hire 12 people here, another 18 there, even helped with hiring 40 at another location. But in March, I was tasked with hiring 950 in 3 months for a major sporting event. I had a team of 5 other people to help. Three of them were interns just out of college, another was brand new, and the other less than a year of experience. It was the blind leading the blind. And after the first month, we had hired only 100 people.
In addition to the numbers not being nearly as high as they should be, there were many other obstacles. Our internet connection was 2 weeks late, 8 inches of snow fell before the first night of work, none of the rental furniture arrived, and the house we had rented was infested with bugs. Yes, infested. We stayed a total of 3 hours in the house before I knew it was too much to overcome. All of this and more, and not hiring near as many people as we needed; the first month was bad.
At the end of the second month, we had grown our number to 300, leaving 650 to hire in the last month. Simply daunting. We hustled, tried new things, worked 15 hour days, and at the end of it all we hired 810 people. Not the goal of 950, but a good number. And when it was all said and done, we were actually over-staffed during the entire event.
I would have never thought it was possible. This project was far greater than anything I thought I could have done, but it was that constant push to do something more that caused my team and I to get the job done.
When you are feeling stuck, or predictable, or bored in your routine, find a new challenge. It is like the time when the twelve disciples were in the boat and the storm came. Jesus walked to them and called Peter out of the boat. Something that was impossible, something Peter had no reference for, and was far bigger than what he thought he could accomplish. But Peter stepped out and walked on water. He did something great.
It’s time for you to get out of your boat. The boat that brings safety and comfort may be the thing that is holding you back from doing the extraordinary. Take the step. Challenge yourself in what you know. Be all that God has for you. Be bigger than yourself and be incredible!
Written by: Dave Feltman. Dave is a search coach for Froot Group, a worship staffing and consulting company.
5 Ways to Grow Your Worship Team
Over the past 10 years I’ve had the privilege of being part of worship teams all around the country. Now as a Worship Pastor of a growing church, I often am asked “How are you growing your worship team?”
So I thought I would share with you 5 simple ways to grow your team.
Build the Culture
When we talk about building the culture we want to first talk about having a vision for your worship team.So ask yourself this question. Why should people want to be on the worship team? By sharing the vision, your team will know if this is something that they can get behind or not. Do not be afraid to lose teammates over casting a vision. King Solomon said it best, “People without a vision will perish.” So, what kind of culture do you want to build?
Worship Team Commitments
Worship team expectations or team commitments are essential for building your worship team. It is a way for people to not only see the vision of the team, but to also have a good idea of what they are getting into and what is expected of them. You may also want to include a vision statement as well as a list of your team believes. i.e. We believe every week something powerful happens when we worship Jesus.
Ask People to Join
There is a true and real statement in the worship world when talking about worship teams, “Excellence Attracts Excellence”! Though this is true, the simple truth is people want to be asked. Try not to assume they don’t want to play with the team. Maybe they are just waiting for someone to ask them? You never know until you ask.
All Team Nights
As a volunteer at our church, you are not just on a team but you are part of a worship family. We love to get together and one way we do this is by having All Team Nights. This consists of all our worship and tech team coming together once a quarter. We have a time of worship and encouragement. We talk about upcoming events as well as changes that we are going to be making. This is truly a great time for the whole team to be unified.
Build a Lead Team
If you can, build a lead team. This is so key as it helps cast the vision and unite. Your lead team will also be able to see things that you as a worship leader may not see. They will help you dream and implement new ideas that you may not be able to implement yourself.
Try to find a time, each month, to sit down over coffee or a meal and talk about how things are going. Always try and answer the question, “Are we better than we were 3 months ago?” Trust me when I say this is a game changer!
Written by Derek Harsch. Derek is the Marketing Director of Froot Group, a worship staffing and consulting company.
Whether you are starting college, finishing up college, or are on the brink of starting your career in a brand new field, an internship is most likely coming your way. As I am sure you know, selecting an internship can define your career. Coming from someone who works for a staffing Continue reading
The Power of Excellence
I’m a perfectionist! It’s one of my greatest assets and one of my greatest struggles! Perfection is actually not a healthy goal. It’s actually not even a healthy mindset. And it’s definitely not biblical. So why do we strive to be perfect, when we know for a fact it’s unachievable? I mean the reason that Jesus gave his life for us was to be the perfect sacrifice that He knew we could never and would never be. So why do so many of us struggle so much with this ideal of perfection? Because it’s Godly, and we are called to live a holy and pleasing life? Maybe?
So how do we shift our perspective and objective to be healthy and pleasing, rather than unhealthy and trapping? The answer is something I’ve spent years learning… excellence. Excellence vs perfection is something that will release you from disappointment, shame, guilt and burn out. Not only as a human being, but as a team and even a church.
Working out the freedom of excellence is a very important lesson to learn! Excellence is simply doing the best you can, bringing your best offering, working to be the best you can be at your gift, calling, job! And letting go of unrealistic expectations, so that you are free from burning out or giving up on some impossible goal you may never achieve.
A mentor once told me “the only person you can compare yourself to is the you that you were yesterday.” This is a mantra I carry with me! As long as I’m trying to be better today than I was yesterday at the task at hand or the gift I find myself using, I’m doing okay!
Cultivating this mental shift within yourself and your team, will release an atmosphere of excitement, learning, and grace! You will ignite a passion for the things you can achieve and set goals that you work towards with realistic standards. The end result will be a much healthier mental space, a much healthier team, and a much healthier church!
So release yourself and your team from perfection and strive for excellence and see how God will work in and through you!
Written by: Kelli Wright
Kelli is the Consulting Director at Froot Group, a worship staffing and consulting company.
My Pleasure!
I’ve been hanging out at an event this week and I have seen the best and the worst customer service!! I am working with the company that does all of the parking for the event and they have an amazing vision that says they are in the customer service business, and they happen to park cars!! I love that!! Maybe some of you are wondering; “why the emphasis on customer service, it’s just parking cars,” well let me share something with you… it’s your customer service that will always set you apart!! (Hello!!! Just look at Chick-Fil-A!! Aren’t they just selling a chicken sandwich?!?) There’s a lot of strategy and a ton of hours that go into making a parking plan for each lot. Some lots are paved, but most are grass lots where strategy and creativity rule!! Each lot that is run by this company has guests walking away smiling and excited to attend the event!! There’s one lot though that is located at a nearby airport and guests have to interact with the airport parking staff before arriving at the lot where our team is located. Let’s just say the airport parking employees do not have the same vision or philosophy! Like I said above, I have seen the best and the worst!! The airport staff would benefit greatly from first impression training!! No smile, no clear signage, and not speaking clearly or kindly, I drove away from that interaction feeling frustrated and irritated – not a good combo!
As you think about the guest experience at your church, is there an area that leaves your guests feeling frustrated and irritated? Here are a few questions to ask yourself and your key leaders:
- Do you have a clear vision?
- Is everyone on the same page with your philosophy on how and why you do what you do?
- Are you and your key leaders consistently evaluating the weekly guest experience to identify areas that could be better?
- What’s working?
- What’s not working?
- What’s confusing?
As a team, we try to never lose the guest mentality! I even encourage my key leaders to attend other churches in the area so they can know first hand what it feels like to visit a church for the first time! There’s always room for improvement, right?
If you would like a fresh set of eyes that can help you identify growth opportunities, contact us today! We would love to help you create a strategic plan to make your guest experience unforgettable!!
Cheering you on as you create the best guest experience for your church or organization!!
Written by: Stacey Windover
Stacey is the Guest Experience Consultant at Froot Group, a worship staffing & consulting company.
What do you use to encourage your team? Do you tell the speaker that they just preached a great sermon after that early Sunday morning? Do you tell your favorite worship leader that their voice sounds angelic every time they steps on platform? How about the chairs team? Do you thank them for all their hard work and faithfulness to the church, and the ministry that God is using them for? Absolutely. Continue reading
Listen Up!
Pastor’s are known as talkers. They speak to people every week. Forty-five minutes during a Sunday morning. Thirty minutes at a Bible Study. Twenty minutes at a prayer group. They talk.
Worship leaders are known as singers. They sing to people every chance they get. Sunday morning church, rehearsals, private lessons, weddings…always singing.
But when have we, as pastors or leaders, just listened?
Franklin D Roosevelt (32nd President) loved to entertain guests at the White House. His desire for connecting with people become so popular that he had to create a line and have everyone pass by while he shook hands and conversed. One day he had been feeling as if people weren’t really listening to him so he tried something… as he greeted each guest he would whisper as they were walking away, “I murdered my grandmother.” Everyone gave similar responses, “You’re doing a great job,” or “Nice to meet you,” or “Great, keep up the good work.” Roosevelt became pretty upset until the ambassador to Bolivia come by. When Roosevelt whispered, “I murdered my grandmother,” the ambassador leaned in and said, “Well sir, I’m sure she had it coming.”
The people we serve have a story they are living, and they need to share it. The job promotion they just received, the news of an illness, personal struggles, they all are happening in the people around us every day. And we need to hear about it. But that requires a skill very few have mastered: listening.
My challenge to you this week is simple…stop talking long enough to allow others to tell their story. When given the space to be heard, you will be amazed at what people will share with you. And when you are a good listener to them, you will better know how to speak to them.
Written by: Dave Feltman
Dave is a Search Coach for Froot Group, a worship staffing & consulting company.
