Last year’s District Council once again proved to be a powerful time. Hopefully, you’re seeing this happen at your church, but it seemed like people really wanted to spend time in God’s presence. We scheduled worship to be a bit more open-ended. As such, we had some wonderful Selah moments and saw God do some great things.

I’ve been thinking that the more “fluid” our worship experiences become, the more opportunity worship teams have to minister “in-between” songs. We need to be adept at exhorting our congregations and communicating words of affirmation. Remember – your congregation will not exhibit more confidence than those who lead them. As such, we need to develop their trust in allowing us to lead them in whatever direction the Lord is taking our worship. This principle is an important topic to discuss with your lead pastor. One question I would ask my pastor is, “When a corporate worship experience is over, what is the criteria you use to establish whether or not it was successful?” Listen to the perspective you’re given. Ask appropriate questions. It is very important for the two of you to be on the same page. When there is strong unity between the Worship Pastor and the Senior Pastor, that unity will make a huge difference to your people. This is also a good season to foster growth within your team. Encourage those leading songs to be able to explain the song’s meaning, why the song will enhance that particular worship experience, and tie that to scripture. I believe there are members of your team that have wonderful perspectives to give, and all they need is your encouragement and the opportunity to share them.

Having several different Ministers Retreats gave us an opportunity to recruit some worship crews that were local to the community in which the retreat was held. It is always a pleasure to meet musical people from around the district and get them involved. This is probably a good place for me to thank a terrific young man named Ben Brown. Ben is probably known to many of you given the fact that he has led worship at some district events. I asked Ben to partner with me on the Minister’s Retreats and as fate would have it, I was unable to attend the Las Vegas retreat. Ben stepped in and did a wonderful job. Ben is a talented player, singer, educator, and author, having written a great book called “People of His Presence.” You’ll see Ben at this year’s District Council. Thanks, Ben, for your willingness to share your wonderful talent with our District and for your heart for worship.

I want to thank Pastor Frank Silverii and Bethel Church San Jose for the opportunity to participate in these great district events, Superintendent Bret Allen for allowing me the opportunity to serve, and to all of you – thanks for your continued support and encouragement.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jon Lugo