Free People Worship
Vision & Application Process
Thanks so much for your interest in being a part of Free People Worship! Below, you will find an outline of our vision and application process. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out and ask. We’re looking forward to talking more about this with you!
Our Vision
Our vision for worship is based on Psalm 66:2: “Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.”
This sums up what we believe the role of music in worship to be. Specifically:
SING
It should engage the people of God to participate in the worship of God through singing! This isn’t a performance or show, we’re all here to SING TOGETHER about/to/for God. This encourages us and blesses God!
THE GLORY OF HIS NAME
It’s all about Jesus, for Jesus, through Jesus and to Jesus! It’s for declaring the great things He has done (gospel/cross/OT stories, etc.) and responding to how awesome He is in gratitude.
MAKE HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS
This speaks to excellence and giving our best. God deserves the highest praise and the highest quality praise. If secular musicians practice for hours to put on a show that glorifies themselves or their own artistry, how much more worthy is our great and awesome God!
Good music has a way of bypassing our reason/logic and speaking straight to the heart. One of the roles of music in worship is to stir our affections for God. However, BAD music full of mistakes is anything but inspiring and won’t cause anyone to want to sing! As I once heard someone so eloquently say, “Leading worship is the art of removing distractions.” Mistakes in the music, off-key singing, slides with typos, these all will distract people from worshipping. It’s not excellence to make us look good, it’s excellence so that people can worship distraction-free! It’s making his praise glorious!
This also speaks to our character/integrity as worshippers. Worship isn’t just music, it’s a lifestyle. If we’re praising him on Sunday but sinning on Monday, we’re making his praise to be vain/empty and anything but glorious. As Psalm 33:1 says, “it is fitting for the upright to praise him.”
Finally, glorious praise is passionate, whole-hearted worship. God is not honored by half-hearted, going through the motions praise/worship. As Psalm 86:12, “I will praise you Lord with all my heart” and Psalm 108:1 “I will sing and make music with all my soul.” When we go after God in musical praise/worship, we’re going to give it everything we’ve got and pour out our souls/hearts to him!
This sums up what we believe the role of music in worship to be. Specifically:
SING
It should engage the people of God to participate in the worship of God through singing! This isn’t a performance or show, we’re all here to SING TOGETHER about/to/for God. This encourages us and blesses God!
THE GLORY OF HIS NAME
It’s all about Jesus, for Jesus, through Jesus and to Jesus! It’s for declaring the great things He has done (gospel/cross/OT stories, etc.) and responding to how awesome He is in gratitude.
MAKE HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS
This speaks to excellence and giving our best. God deserves the highest praise and the highest quality praise. If secular musicians practice for hours to put on a show that glorifies themselves or their own artistry, how much more worthy is our great and awesome God!
Good music has a way of bypassing our reason/logic and speaking straight to the heart. One of the roles of music in worship is to stir our affections for God. However, BAD music full of mistakes is anything but inspiring and won’t cause anyone to want to sing! As I once heard someone so eloquently say, “Leading worship is the art of removing distractions.” Mistakes in the music, off-key singing, slides with typos, these all will distract people from worshipping. It’s not excellence to make us look good, it’s excellence so that people can worship distraction-free! It’s making his praise glorious!
This also speaks to our character/integrity as worshippers. Worship isn’t just music, it’s a lifestyle. If we’re praising him on Sunday but sinning on Monday, we’re making his praise to be vain/empty and anything but glorious. As Psalm 33:1 says, “it is fitting for the upright to praise him.”
Finally, glorious praise is passionate, whole-hearted worship. God is not honored by half-hearted, going through the motions praise/worship. As Psalm 86:12, “I will praise you Lord with all my heart” and Psalm 108:1 “I will sing and make music with all my soul.” When we go after God in musical praise/worship, we’re going to give it everything we’ve got and pour out our souls/hearts to him!
Application Process
Because we see this as a leadership position within Free People, this process is intense and intentional. We evaluate each applicant for Character, Competency (how well you know your craft) and Chemistry (how you get along with the team). We highly value the unity God has blessed Free People Worship with, and we hold high standards to maintain that unity.
Below is an outline of the application and audition process for Free People Worship. Details are outlined in the sections that follow.
Below is an outline of the application and audition process for Free People Worship. Details are outlined in the sections that follow.
- Complete all prerequisites
- Complete Worship Team Application
- Submit pre-audition videos
- If application is accepted, complete in-person audition
- If audition is accepted, complete an Apprentice period
- If Apprentice period is accepted, become part of Free People Worship
Prerequisites
Different serve team positions at Free People require different levels of maturity and commitment. Because leading worship is such a visible and important leadership role in our church, these positions have higher expectations than some other positions. To begin the application process, the following prerequisites must be met.
As a note of information (not a requirement), most of our guitarists/bassists currently use some form of the Line6 Helix line of modelers, and we find that it works very well with our setup.
- I have completed the Honor Code Form
- I regularly attend weekly services at Free People
- I regularly give financially to the vision of Free People
- I actively participate in a Group at Free People at least one semester a year
- I have my own touring-level gear (guitar, amp/modeler*, pedals, etc.) necessary to play the type of music regularly played by Free People Worship. The only exceptions are drums, as we use a house kit, and bassists are not required to have an amp/modeler.
As a note of information (not a requirement), most of our guitarists/bassists currently use some form of the Line6 Helix line of modelers, and we find that it works very well with our setup.
Application
To begin the application process, please complete the Worship Team Application.
Please take your time and answer completely and honestly.
Please take your time and answer completely and honestly.
Pre-Audition Videos
Along with answering these questions, please send a video (or multiple videos) of THREE worship songs (see below for details). Capturing it with your phone or web cam is completely fine - there no need to submit a “professional” video.
For song selections, view the Free People Worship Weekly playlist on Spotify for recent songs and/or songs that fit our style. At least two of the three songs should be from this playlist.
WORSHIP LEADERS
At least one song should be performed a cappella (no accompaniment)
MUSICIANS
Provide at least one example of you playing with a click track or metronome. (We use a click track on EVERY song at Free People, and this is an incredibly important part of our technical requirements.)
For song selections, view the Free People Worship Weekly playlist on Spotify for recent songs and/or songs that fit our style. At least two of the three songs should be from this playlist.
WORSHIP LEADERS
At least one song should be performed a cappella (no accompaniment)
MUSICIANS
Provide at least one example of you playing with a click track or metronome. (We use a click track on EVERY song at Free People, and this is an incredibly important part of our technical requirements.)