Golden Oldies
The first level of communication in your program, in my opinion, always needs to be vertical, not horizontal. Pray regularly for your ministry, your people, your staff, and your church. I know some worship leaders who, in their prayer time, are quiet, and let God bring the name of an individual to mind. Others, pray for those who have expressed a specific need. It has been pointed out before, but these approaches, while good, perhaps let some of your membership "fall into the cracks" for any one of many good reasons.

The prayer plan that resonates with me is to systematically pray for each of your colleagues and volunteers. In a large ministry, that may mean that by praying for one person per day, you get through your flock once per year, while in a smaller church, you might cycle through your list every month. One way to organize your prayer list, is to pray for each individual on their birthday.

You may also wish to organize a group of "prayer warriors" for your ministry who will also pray for you and all of those who are a part of the program. If it is not possible to have a year-round group, reach out to the congregation in advance of special programs, such as your cantata or musical presentation. Ask them to pray for your musicians, and also for the Holy Spirit to work in your community in advance of and during the presentation of your special music offering. If you tour with your choir or other ensemble, this is another great time to enlist prayer warriors. Make a list of names of those traveling available to your congregation, and ask them to pick one or more individuals for whom they will pray regularly.

The second level of communication is, of course, horizontal.

It has been said often, but a hand written birthday card to each of your volunteers can go a long way toward keeping them connected to you and your corporate ministry. You may wish to send a Christmas card as well. Even better, sit down each Monday morning (after you've read Monday Morning Email, of course!) and think about who "went the extra mile" the previous Sunday. Write a thank you note. You'll be glad you did.

Right Here Right Now
Not everyone will choose to take the time to hand write a note, and not every situation demands it. There was a time when telephone trees were the best means to communicate to everyone in your program, and that system still works:

• Divide the ensemble into equal groups
• Assign a "first call" and/or "second call" person, and call them to disseminate the necessary information
• They either call everyone else on their list, or, make their first and second calls, and the information works its way through the ensemble

These days, however, email is a much more common means to communicate to a large group of people quickly. Here are some things to consider:

• If your church website can handle it, set up a "private" or public page for ensemble members to visit in order to get the most up-to-date information, including what will be rehearsed (and in what order) during the next meeting, etc.
• Send an email as often as necessary to refer people to the website because the information has been updated
• Alternatively, send a regular (weekly is probably best) email with all the pertinent information, including the following Sunday's order of worship, and/or worship music, and/or Scripture(s), and/or sermon theme. Encourage your ensemble members to prepare for worship by studying the Scripture and praying about the theme.

What's Next?
For those of us of a certain, um, age...it may be hard to visualize, but the future of communication seems to be texting. If you are not sure what texting is, ask a millenial (someone born in 1982 or later). You can easily recognize them...they're the ones with cell phones held in one or two hands and their thumbs are flying over the keypad.

At a recent conference, I spoke to Scott Degraffenreid, a noted researcher who specializes in studying millenials. In the course of the conversation, I became convinced that one of the "futuristic" new hires that churches may want to look at in the next few years is a Director of Texting. I know it sounds strange, but you may wish to ask your Youth Director for his/her perspective on how important texting is to their program. If you have a youth choir, I suggest you learn to text now.

Two other "futuristic" techniques that are now available to you are the media of podcasting and video email. You can create a short video email with a cheap webcam, or create a podcast, and distribute your message in your own words. That means that inflection doesn't get lost in translation. If you choose to do video email, try to keep your file under one meg at the moment, because not everyone has high speed internet yet...but the time is coming...

In next week's Monday Morning Email: Ministry Tools:

Bob Burroughs includes insight from Bill Hybles, Roger Breland, and George Barna, and Joe Glass on Building a Praise Team. Plus anthem keyboard, and handbell reviews, and more...

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