Direction, Part 2

This is part two in our series dealing with the switch the Vintage21 Worship Arts ministry is making from a Worship Team Model to a Missional Band Model. Tomorrow we’ll look at the Missional Band Model, and I’ll share where we are in the process. Today, I’ll explain where we are currently. We’re actually no longer operating in a Worship Team Model, but have adopted a Team-Band hybrid.

The first five years of Vintage21 were spent recruiting musicians and vocalists for Sundays. In the fall of 2007, we finally arrived at a place where we had almost four full bands worth of musicians, save one drummer. This meant that volunteers could serve once a month and play in a specific band together. Serving less means people are less likely to burn out, and the hope was that different styles and original music would result from people participating in bands together. Musicians would gain familiarity with each other on a spiritual level, friendship level, and musical level.

In January of 2007, after letting people know where we were headed, I assigned people to different bands. Three of the bands: The Vintage21ders, Two Minute Warning and I Love Lamp, were led by yours truly, while Prodigal Family Band was led by Jarred “Jarred” Mercer. It seemed as if we were on the right track to reach our goals. After a few months, however, several disadvantages were made clear:

Disadvantages of a Team-Band Hybrid

Assigned Bands
Musicians were assigned to bands. This makes it difficult to gel, because musicians didn’t choose these people to play alongside. For instance, I play drums in The Whalewatchers, alongside Geoff and Matt, with whom I’ve played music since high school. If Geoff were to stop playing guitar and another person was simply assigned- it would be difficult to work with their person, and just might not work at all. Honestly, I can’t imagine it.

Schedules
For the most part, bands have been able to play together on assigned Sundays, but each month there are people who need to take off for certain reasons. This could be an issue with the Missional Band model, but in the current setup bands are unable to get to know each other musically as a whole due to schedules.

Limited By Leadership
My hope was that all four bands would develop a different sound, but with one leader leading three of those bands, they’re limited in that development. A good example, shared by Joel Brown was that of Jeremy Enigk. Although he has fronted Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft and his own solo records, it all sounds like him.

Less Ownership
There’s still not a band mentality, mainly because of the factors mentioned above. It’s not a big deal to miss a week and sub in with another band, mainly because the songs and sound is the same.

Still on a “Week of” basis
We’re still working on songs Wednesday, getting ready for Sunday. Because I lead three of the four bands, there’s not enough time to gather outside and write music.

At first, it was frustrating this model was not the success I’d hoped for. However, it’s been a great learning experience, and overall was much better for us than the Worship Team Model. For instance, the band led by Jarred Mercer has been able to work on a unique sound and they have several hymns and originals that are “theirs”.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at the Missional Band Model. Until then, visit our new facebook page!