Before the Doors Open

Leaders arrive first

What we do: leaders are in the building before their teams. They gather for a short huddle and prayer before set-up starts.

Who leads: staff and Team Leads.

Why

You have to show up to grow up. So much of leadership is consistency and presence.

• Leaders go first.

Load-in and set-up: the Legends

What we do: we set up and tear down every week. The Legends bring everything in from storage and build each room.

Who leads: the Legends lead.

Why they are called Legends

Because they are the first to arrive and the last to leave. They are truly legends.

Sayings we use

• Leave it better than you found it.
• Nothing great is built on the talents of a few but the sacrifice of many.
• We get to do this.

What we learned

• Organized storage is the biggest set-up lever: labels, shelving, photos of how things go, itemized lists.
• When set-up finishes early, the team has time to connect with each other before guests arrive. Early set-up is a people win, not only a logistics win.
• The energy in set-up carries into the service, in both directions.
• Put the set-up roster in the scheduling system like any other team.
• Set-up is never overstaffed. Keep recruiting.
• Have a plan for when things go badly wrong.

Soundcheck and rehearsal

What we do: soundcheck, then a run-through, before the rally.

Who leads: the worship leader and the production lead.

Two non-negotiables

1. The room stays clear during rehearsal.
2. The platform is for presenting, not practicing. Preparation happens before Sunday.

Why

Worship is how we fight our battles. We believe worship shifts the atmosphere.

What we learned

• Someone has to own soundcheck and in-ear monitors or it drifts.
• If one tech person's absence sinks the morning, the bench is too thin.

Team huddles

What we do: every team huddles on its own for about 5 minutes before the Team Rally.

Who leads: Team Leads and Captains.

What we learned

• Small huddles before the big rally lift the energy in the room.
• A Sunday when every huddle happened was itself a win worth naming.

What a Team Lead covers

Check in, a word (brief), a challenge, and prayer.

Team Rally

What we do: every volunteer gathers 45 minutes before the service, for 10 to 15 minutes.

The format

1. Hand the mic to a Team Lead
2. One value
3. Honor someone
4. A quick song
5. Prayer
6. The creed

Why we gather everyone before doors: the team sets the temperature. The room takes on what the team brings.

Team is a thermostat, not a thermometer.

The Team Rally Creed

Jesus is our message, our life.

This is His church, built on love and full of faith.

We are here to serve and not be served.

We are grateful, expectant, and ready.

To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

We are vocal with our honor, meaning we are not stingy with our words.

What we learned

• Starting late was the most repeated weakness in our reviews. The fix that stuck: if the rally starts late, keep it short.
• Keep it to 10 to 15 minutes. Going long hurts as much as starting late.
• People sitting down drains it.
• The prayer time was named as the best part.
• With two services, the second service needs its own rally.
• Hand off the mic. Develop Team Leads to lead it.

Stage Huddle and mic check

What we do: Stage Huddle 30 minutes before the service, mic check 20 minutes before.

Who is in it

Worship team, speaker, hosts, and AVL team.

The speaker gets a head mic and a handheld. A stage hand brings the podium on as the speaker walks up and takes it off as they walk down.

Where it came from: the speaker, the worship leader and production needed one moment together before the service.

What gets said: walk the service once (the transitions, who hands off to whom, anything different today), then pray.