Some helpful advice for church musicians. Although its a controversial subject, the prevailing reality for the last 2 or 3 decades is that one of our main income sources is the church. Sadly for us and some of the churches we work for, it is a business/market with high instability, turnover, and insecurity. So how do we create a livelihood in an environment like this? I have been at my church for almost 16 years and I have observed musicians at my church and other churches come and go. I have also taken note of stable musicians with longevity and musicians who float from one church to the next. What separates them from each other? Its not skill. Its not timeliness (although that helps). So what is it? Ill give you what I have observed about stable musicians and just assume the opposite is true of unstable musicians. I dont have all the answers, these are just observations. You make your on conclusions 1. Highly visible and approachable. Is seen during church times he or she is not paid for. Example...prayer and bible study 2. Able to receive CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and even use it to the advantage of the ministry 3. Communicates regularly with the pastor. 4. Gives back to the church.....not just money but time and talent 5. Does more for the church than play. Example....helps the media ministry....works with the kids....teaches Bible study from time to time....leads prayer groups 6. Family (spouse and children) attend the same church. 7. (BIG ONE) Create or establish something that has never been done or established before in that church. And in the untimely event that person leaves, would be difficult to duplicate without specific instructions. Example....help your church do their FIRST album. If your church has never done a concert, help put together their FIRST concert. Put on workshops for worship and praise services. In short, making ourselves invaluable means going way beyond playing.....there are lots of musicians who can play....dare I say many who are better than us......there arent many who will go beyond playing. Again, I dont have all the answers, but I believe I have seen enough to be able to make intelligent assumptions. 😅whew you read all that? Thank you!
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 10:14:42 +0000