8 Compelling Reasons Your Team Should be in the Word Together
If your worship team doesn’t currently have a team Bible study, you should think about starting one. I can't encourage you enough to consider the benefits to your team of meeting together to have regular discussions around the Word. Even if people on your team belong to a church with an established community and small-group culture, there’s something so valuable and special about a worship team that studies the Word together.
Here are eight benefits I’ve found to having a team Bible study:
1. It brings unity.
Gathering together as a team for fellowship and community is key to having a close, committed, and unified team. I have a monthly fellowship gathering with my team where our only focus is relationship building. As valuable as that time spent getting to know each other has been for us, I find that an even deeper level of unity comes as we’re studying the same passage of scripture together and going deep in God’s word during our team Bible study.
2. It provides the benefits of a small group atmosphere.
Some people on your team may already be in an established small group or Bible study, but some may not. A weekly team Bible study may be the only small group in which some people on your team are involved. Small groups are a unique context in which we can be vulnerable, share our hearts, and encourage one another as we journey together.
3. It allows you to be together outside of the normal context.
Leading worship together is awesome and incredibly meaningful. But there’s something special about studying the Bible together that draws hearts together in a different way than just playing music or singing together. Investing time studying the Word together and meeting to discuss it allows you to see different sides of each other and appreciate each other more as brothers and sisters in the Lord.
4. It enables you to lead by example.
As the leader who will be facilitating the study, you have the opportunity to lead by example and show your team that you not only value the Word but that you actually spend time in it.
"The long-term benefits of having your team gather to connect around the scriptures far outweighs the scheduling challenge and extra work that it takes."
5. It helps you gain biblical knowledge.
In a day where truth is seen as a relative term dependent on how someone is feeling that day, there’s something so valuable about dwelling on and studying God’s word together. It's encouraging to be reminded that there is absolute truth and to walk with comrades who are committed to it.
6. It helps you gain biblical language.
The more we have the Word inside of us, the more it’s going to come out of us, not only in our conversations together but also in our singing on the platform. Incorporating biblical language into our speech edifies us and those we are speaking and ministering to.
7. It helps keep you and your team accountable in the Word.
When you know that you have to share at Bible study, you’re going to take the time to prepare. When your team knows that they may be called upon to answer a question about something they’ve read, they’re a lot more likely to spend time preparing. Keeping each other accountable is one of the natural benefits to a small group study like this.
8. It allows you to glean from others.
When I get to hear my friends and team members share their hearts about the Word, I not only appreciate them more as people, but I am stirred, motivated, and challenged by their sharing. The insights, perspectives, and experiences that we share with each other are like nuggets of gold that are uncovered as we study God’s Word together.
Regardless of your church size or dynamic, having a team Bible study is both doable and beneficial. In my experience, the long-term benefits of having your team gather to connect around the scriptures far outweighs the scheduling challenge and extra work that it takes to make it happen. Do you currently have a Bible study with your worship team? I’d love to hear how it has impacted your team dynamics.
Huge thanks to my friend Jordan Vanderplate for letting me use this photo of Zion National Park. Check out more of his work here.