When we worship in community, we are blessed when we can engage the gifts and talents of a variety of people to lead various parts of the service. Some of our churches use multiple musicians, some engage the speaking gifts of liturgists to read scripture. Sometimes the Elders make announcements, the Deacons pray and the Director of Children's ministries gives thanks to the volunteers.
The more people involved in a single worship service, the more well prepared and planned we need to be. This is not just for the practical reason of keeping things in good order (and good time), it is also a hospitable behavior when we value the gifts of others enough to make room for them in the service.
In a simple service, the few people participating can agree who is doing what, but the more people who get involved, the messier it gets. What are some ways we can communicate well with each other so that the service still flows orderly?
In our congregation we use a form that I used when I was a producer of large conferences and events. It is a chart that puts a timeline down the left column and the events, people, tech notes and other items across the top row. Check out the attachments below.
What form do you use? What has worked well and what complications do you find?
