Resource Monday- Forever Yours

Hi everyone,
As promised, I am going to start posting some helpful resources every Monday.  Today we are featuring training videos for the song "Forever Yours" from Gateway Worship.  There are many tutorial videos available for a lot of the songs we do and they are EXTREMELY helpful!  Please take advantage of these.

Forever Yours- Piano (Keys 1) (this song is NO JOKE on the piano part!)
FOREVER YOURS_PIANO_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.

Forever Yours- Keys 2
FOREVER YOURS_KEYS_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.

Forever Yours- Acoustic
FOREVER YOURS_ACOUSTIC_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.

Forever Yours- Bass Guitar
FOREVER YOURS_BASS_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.

Forever Yours- Drums
FOREVER YOURS_DRUMS_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.

Forever Yours- Electric Guitar
FOREVER YOURS_FIRST ELECTRIC_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from worshipteamtv on Vimeo.

Forever Yours- Harmonies
Soprano-
FOREVER YOURS_SOPRANO_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.

Alto-
FOREVER YOURS_ALTO_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.

Tenor-
FOREVER YOURS_TENOR_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.

A Word for 2014

Happy New Year!  I'm really excited about this coming year and my resolution is to write more blogs!  I'll do my best :) 

As I was praying for this year and where we are to go as a worship ministry, the Lord led me to this verse.  As soon as I read it I knew this is what God was speaking over us for this coming year.  As I’ve prayed over this word the past week, He has shown me more about these verses and what it might possibly mean for us as a team.  I hope you will embrace this word, dissect this word, and jump in with both feet to 2014 and all that God has for us!

Isaiah 54:2-3 (The Message)

“Clear lots of ground for your tents!
    Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big!
Use plenty of rope,
    drive the tent pegs deep.
You’re going to need lots of elbow room
    for your growing family.
You’re going to take over whole nations;
    you’re going to resettle abandoned cities.
Don’t be afraid—you’re not going to be embarrassed.
    Don’t hold back—you’re not going to come up short.

Clear lots of ground.  

I have seen this already happening.  We moved into a new building at the end of last year.  We have “moved ground” in the natural at both campuses as well as in the spiritual sense through prayer and preparing for more people.  I don’t think this part of the process ever ends.  We need to always be diligent to make room for more.  More people, more opportunities, more services.

Spread out!  Think big!

This is where I tend to get a little scared and stay inside my own head.  I know God can do exceedingly, abundantly above  all we could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20), but sometimes I’m afraid to let myself dream that big.  I look at my own limitations and insecurities and put God in that box.  I limit Him to what I think I can pull off on my own, but not this year!  It’s time to lift the lid and just let our imaginations run wild.  It’s time to start dreaming of what services can and should look like.  Where people’s lives are radically changed and saved because they’ve encountered the presence of God in a new and different way.  That’s what I want to be part of.

Drive the tent pegs deep.

There is so much value in deep roots.  I believe we’ve laid a strong foundation for this ministry to continue to build on, but we can not ever get lazy in going deeper with the Lord.  I love that we will have a worship night once a month called “Deeper.”  My desire is to see those nights be an opportunity for people to do just that: go deeper with the Lord.  We have to consciously seek after Him and make sure we are staying deep in His Word, deep in our prayer lives, deep in our relationship with Him.  The deeper we go, the higher we can build.

You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family.

This excites me!!  The number one killer of a ministry in my opinion is “exclusivity.”  The moment you shut the door to new people coming in, you start to die.  I’ve always wanted this worship ministry to be inclusive, but sometimes saying it doesn’t mean we are actually doing it.  It’s easy to get comfortable with a certain group.  It’s easier sometimes to do it the way it’s always been done.  It’s hard to trust someone new to come in.  Will they work as hard as you do?  Will they get it right?  Will they hold us back?  All of these thoughts and feelings are valid, but if we buy into those thoughts and not let people in, we will grow stagnant.  As our church body grows, our worship family HAS to grow, and I’m ready to welcome them with open arms!  This doesn’t mean that things have to suffer.  This is where good systems and strong expectations help us!  If new people come in knowing what is expected, see the current team working and living up to those expectations (and pushing beyond them), it is easier for a new team member to plug in because there is no question and no uncertainty of where we are going as a unit.

You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities.

To be honest, I’m still praying into this one.  I’m not totally sure what God has in mind with this, but I believe it is for us, for this time.  I do believe there are places we have not gone before and things we’ve only talked and dreamed about doing and perhaps this is the time we will revisit those things and venture out in those new directions.

Don’t be afraid!

Fear is the number one thing that holds me back from just diving in and going for it.  It’s scary to be stretched.  It’s terrifying to be asked to go beyond your comfort zone.  But what makes all of this work is that we don’t have to do any of it alone.  We are a team, and we have an incredible leader! (I’m not talking about myself J)  God wants more for us.  He has more waiting for us and when we give it all over to Him, He makes it happen.  We give our best, our most excellent gift and He makes it more.  Do not be afraid to try new things.  Do not be afraid to be stretched.  Don’t let your fleshly tendency to shrink back or run away keep you from where we are going as a team!

Don’t hold back!

I want this year to be a year of new ideas.  Let’s try things.  Some things may work, others may not.  That’s ok!  We will never know unless we try.  Don’t hold back from the team.  Get to know people.  I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again because I believe it with all my heart.  We have the GREATEST worship team on the planet.  Not only are you all super talented, but you’re fun!  We really are a family and I’m so glad that I’m connected to each and every one of you.  Our leadership team is amazing.  They meet with me and give feedback and ideas.  They give life to dead dreams and they challenge and push when we need it.  Each of you are amazing.  The talent level on our worship team blows me away.  You have no idea how many times people seek me out just to tell me how great our team is.  But it’s more than talent.  Your hearts are so pure.  Your love for Jesus, for His church, for each other, it shows when we play and sing.  I truly have the greatest job on the planet because I get to do life with you guys.   

So this year, let’s not hold back.  Let’s not be afraid.  Let’s be willing to drive our tent pegs deeper into God’s Word.  Let’s not be satisfied with where we’ve been, but let’s go further.  Let’s look around and see who needs to be a part of what we’re doing and invite them to join us.  Let’s welcome new people and include them in our worship family.  Let’s push ourselves to give our very best each and every time.  I truly believe that we will look back a year from now and not even recognize the team we are today.  I believe this word and I’m going to stand on it and walk in it this year and embrace all that God has for us, and my prayer is that you will join me.  We are better together.