Central Church
Everything you need to serve well here: who we are asking you to be, how we prepare, and where to find what you need.
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First things first, thank you! We are so glad you're here and that you've said yes to being part of what God is doing through this community.
At Central, our heart is simple: We exist to help people share the love of Jesus with their relational world, the people already in their lives at work, at home, around their table, in their neighborhood. Everything we do points back to that.
So where does worship fit? Here's what we believe: you can't share what you don't have. Love for Jesus that gets passed on to someone else has to be real in you first. And worship is one of the best ways we grow that kind of intimacy with God. When we come before Him honestly and give Him our attention, our voice, our surrender, something happens in us. We come to know His heart. We are changed by His presence. And people who have spent real time with Jesus can't help but carry Him into every room they walk into.
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
John 4:23 (NIV)
That's the invitation. The Father is looking for worshipers who will bring Him their whole selves.
Which is why worship is so much more than music. It's a whole-life response to who God is and everything He's done. Not just a song or a moment, but a way of living, where we offer ourselves to Him daily in gratitude and surrender.
When we lead on a weekend, we're inviting our church into that same thing. We're helping people draw close, know His heart, and respond with genuine awe and joy. What happens in a worship set isn't meant to stay in the room. It's meant to send people out full.
Whether you're on the platform or in the seats, you're part of something sacred. Your role goes far beyond the technical or the musical. You're helping prepare the way for people to meet with God, and then helping send them back out into their relational world carrying Him with them. We are honored to do this with you!
Being part of the worship team is more than showing up and singing or playing an instrument. It is a commitment to preparation, spiritual leadership, and to each other. This section covers who we are asking you to be and how we ask you to function as part of the team. Musical and rehearsal expectations are covered separately in Musical Expectations.
If you are on the platform, you are leading. That is true whether you are singing melody into a microphone or playing bass in the back corner. People in the room are watching the whole team, not just whoever is talking. A drummer who is clearly worshipping preaches as loudly as anything said from the front, and a guitarist checking out mid-song is just as visible. Everything below applies to every person on the team, in every role.
What happens on the platform should be the overflow of what is already happening in your own life with God. Before you lead anyone, spend time in Scripture, prayer, and personal worship. We cannot give away an intimacy with God that we are not cultivating ourselves.
We ask every team member to live in a way that seeks to honor Jesus both in and out of the church. That includes how you speak, how you treat people, what you post, and who you are when no one from Central is watching. We are not asking for perfection. We are asking for a life that is genuinely pointed toward Him.
This team is not a separate church. Make Central your home: attend regularly, get connected relationally beyond the platform, and invest in the life of this body. Serving is one expression of belonging here, not a substitute for it.
We ask every team member to attend Connection Class and complete membership within six months of joining the team. Leading worship here means you are not just serving at Central, you are committed to Central. Membership is how we make that official.
When you are not scheduled, keep showing up with a posture of worship. The congregation learns as much from watching you worship beside them as they do from watching you lead in front of them.
Come open to coaching, feedback, and correction, both musically and spiritually. Growth requires humility, and a teachable team is a team that keeps getting healthier.
Our mission is helping people share the love of Jesus with their relational world. Worship is how we cultivate the intimacy with God that makes that possible. Let what happens in this room shape how you love the people God has placed around you.
Reply to Planning Center requests and sub or fill-in texts within 24 to 48 hours. If you cannot give a firm answer in that window, tell us that, so we are not left guessing.
We ask that you serve on a Saturday or Sunday team at least once a month. Consistency is what turns a group of individuals into a team. It keeps you familiar with our songs, our flow, and each other, and it means the congregation sees faces they recognize week to week.
We ask for a minimum commitment of one year when you join the team. That gives you enough runway to settle in, build relationships, and grow in your role, and it gives us the stability to plan and invest in you well. If life changes and you need to step back before then, we would rather you tell us early than disappear quietly.
Arrive promptly to call times. Punctuality respects everyone else's time and sets the tone for a focused, unified rehearsal.
Service order changes, plans shift, and decisions get made on the fly. Hold your preferences loosely and stay ready to adjust with a good attitude.
Follow the current team dress guidelines so we present a unified look that keeps attention where it belongs.
Read emails, Planning Center notes, and team communications to stay as current on information as possible.
Speak well of one another. If you have a concern or a conflict, bring it directly to the person involved or to staff, not to the rest of the team. Gossip does more damage to a worship ministry than a missed note ever will.
This team is a community, not a roster. Some of the best things that happen here happen off the platform: conversations in the green room, hanging around after rehearsal, showing up for team nights, checking in on someone you noticed was quiet. Come to those things. Learn people's names and their stories. Ask a real question and stick around for the answer.
Travel, a new baby, a schedule change at work: life happens, and stepping back for a season is something we totally understand. We would much rather help you step away well and welcome you back than lose you entirely.
Just as we ask much of you, we commit to leading and serving you well. Here is what you can count on from us.
We will know the music, come ready for rehearsals and services, and lead with intention and clarity.
We will show up on time and communicate schedule changes as quickly and clearly as we can.
We will lead with kindness, clarity, and respect, creating a space where you can grow and where hard conversations can happen safely.
We are committed to your growth as a musician, as a leader, and as a follower of Jesus. You will not be left to figure it out alone.
We will model and uphold the same standards we are asking of you: preparation, punctuality, dress code, and integrity.
You are not a position to fill. We want to know what is going on in your life, celebrate with you, and walk with you when things are hard.
Just like you, we are committed to living lives that honor Jesus on and off the platform.
Our purpose is to glorify God and love His people. This is not about performance or perfection, it is about stewarding our gifts well so people can encounter God without distraction. We pursue excellence for four reasons.
Excellence begins with worshipping Him ourselves before we lead anyone else. Every note, transition, and hour of preparation is an offering. If it becomes about impressing people, we have missed the heart of worship.
Colossians 3:23-24Excellence is love toward the congregation. Our job is not to draw attention to ourselves but to create a distraction free space where people can focus on Jesus instead of what is happening on the platform.
Philippians 2:3-4Excellence requires listening to the music, to each other, and to God. Every service is different, and preparation frees us to stay attentive to what He is doing right then.
Matthew 18:19-20Excellence is built on trust and unity. When we come prepared, communicate well, and receive feedback humbly, we become a team that can confidently follow God's leading.
Psalm 133:1We pursue excellence because God is worthy of our best. Excellence is not perfection, it is faithful stewardship. We will make mistakes, but we don't want to be careless. Our prayer is that every rehearsal and every service would point people beyond our music and toward Jesus!
Every part on the platform falls into one of three roles: foundational, rhythmic, or melodic.
Here's the most important thing to understand: these are roles, not identities. Your instrument does not permanently live in one category. A guitarist might play foundational in a verse, rhythmic in the chorus, and melodic on a hook, all in the same song. The question is never "what does my instrument do?" It's "what does this song need from me right now?"
Usually: keys (pads and sustained chords), bass, drums (kick and backbeat), sometimes acoustic
Foundational parts are the canvas everything else is painted on. Sustained, harmonic, consistent. If your part is foundational, you're establishing the harmonic center and the low end so the rest of the band has something to sit on. Foundational playing is mostly invisible when it's working and painfully obvious when it isn't.
Vocals: background vocals sitting on sustained harmony function this way, filling out the chord rather than moving.
Usually: acoustic guitar, drums, sometimes bass, sometimes electric (muted or percussive parts)
Rhythmic parts create the pulse and the energy. This is what people feel in their chest and what makes a room move. If your part is rhythmic, your job is the groove and the drive.
Keys: rarely purely rhythmic. When keys drive rhythm, it's through a repeated melodic figure, an arpeggio, or a pulse rather than a strum.
Vocals: rhythm still matters. Consonants land on the beat, and phrasing either locks with the band or fights it.
Usually: lead vocal, electric guitar (lead lines and hooks), keys when playing a defined line or riff
Melodic parts are the line the ear follows. This is the part people hum in the car. If your part is melodic, you're carrying identity, and the rhythm of the melody matters as much as the notes.
Vocals: background vocals with moving lines, counter-melodies, or ad libs are melodic, not foundational, and they need to complement the lead rather than compete with it.
Drums are the one part that is genuinely foundational and rhythmic at the same time. The kick and backbeat anchor the song while everything else in the kit drives it.
Vocalists often assume role language is for instrumentalists, but it applies directly. The lead vocal is almost always melodic. Background vocals shift between foundational and melodic depending on what's written, and knowing which one you are at any moment is the difference between a stacked, unified vocal and three people all trying to be heard.
Most band problems are not skill problems, they're role problems. Two people playing rhythmic when someone needs to be foundational makes a song feel cluttered and small. Nobody playing melodic makes it feel like something is missing. Everyone playing melodic makes it a fight.
The goal isn't for everyone to play as much as they can. It's for every part to have a purpose, so that together it sounds like one thing instead of six.
Your face and your posture are part of what you offer. You do not have to perform an emotion you are not feeling, but stay engaged rather than buried in your chart, pedalboard, or the confidence monitor. Preparation exists so that by service you can look up. When the room sees a team that is genuinely worshipping, it gives them permission to do the same.
Each position below covers three things: what the role is, what we naturally expect from that instrument on our platform, and resources to help you grow in it.
The drums provide rhythmic foundation and dynamic movement that help the entire band play together with confidence and unity. Through intentional playing, the drummer supports the emotional and spiritual direction of each song without distracting from the congregation’s focus on worship.
Bass guitar plays an essential foundational and rhythmic role within the musicality of the band, connecting the rhythm and harmonic elements of each song. A great bass player serves the song by creating groove, movement, and dynamic expression with intentionality and creativity.
Electric guitar adds texture, color, and musical movement that enhances the emotional and dynamic direction of a song. The player uses tone, effects, and musical sensitivity to complement the band and create space for the worship leader and congregation.
Keys provide harmonic and textural support that helps create a full, cohesive sound and unifies the musical elements of the band. The keys player uses tone, dynamics, and musical sensitivity to support the worship leader and serve the direction of each song.
Acoustic guitar provides rhythmic and harmonic support that helps establish the feel and movement of a song. The acoustic player should complement the rest of the band with intentional strumming, dynamics, and musical sensitivity, creating space for both the worship leader and congregation.
Vocals lead and support the congregation by clearly communicating the message of each song. Vocalists use their voices with unity, intentionality, and sensitivity to support the worship leader, serve the song, and create an environment where the congregation can confidently engage in worship.
These are tools, not rules. Find what works for you.
If this feels overwhelming, start simple: listen, chart, refine. You don't need everything at once. Start with the skeleton and add muscle from there.
Before you touch your instrument, listen to each song all the way through. You're looking for the roadmap before the details. Ask yourself: what is the overall dynamic journey? Where are the biggest moments, and where does it pull back?
Grab a pen and start marking the things that matter most for your instrument. You'll be surprised how many avoidable mistakes disappear once things are on paper, especially entrances and exits, melodic lines, walk-ups, dynamics, and your personal red flags.
Another thing to try is writing your own chord charts. It forces you to listen deeper. Write out the song order, marking where each chord change lands. You can also add lead lines within measures (with counts), counts for hits, and anything else the band needs to follow along.
This is where good notes become useful notes. It's not about adding information. It is about clarifying what actually matters.
Everyone takes notes differently, and the best system is the one that makes sense to you. That said, there are a few things worth capturing no matter what you play.
Also watch for red flags, questions, and trouble spots, whether they are specific to your instrument or just something you personally struggle with.
Every player should be charting entrances and exits, dynamics, complementary instruments, and big moments. Beyond that baseline, focus here first.
Good notes create space to serve the song, the team, and the presence of God with clarity and confidence. When we prepare well, we free ourselves from distraction so we can be fully present, attentive to the Holy Spirit and to our worship leader. Let your notes be a tool that leads you toward excellence, unity, and wholehearted worship.
We have added a tool called RehearsalMix to Planning Center for instrumentalists! Similar to the mixdowns we've provided in the past, but it creates more consistency and better mixes of your part. Vocalists, you have another resource to equip you here too.
Here is everything you need to get started.
You have two ways to reach your mixes. Use whichever fits how you already practice.
You'll get an invite from us to set up your account, so watch for that. Central covers this for you, so there's nothing to purchase on your end. It will use the email address we have on file for you at Central. If it does not recognize you, that is a quick fix on our end, not a problem with you. Just reach out to Sadie.
You'll see your Up Mix, meaning your part turned up, and it plays right there in Planning Center, same as our old mixdowns did. Want the Minus Mix to play along without your part? That one lives at multitracks.com.
You will see a few different options. Here is what each one is for.
Your part, turned up
Start here. Your instrument or voice sits louder in the mix while everything else stays in place. This is how you learn what you are supposed to play, in context, with the whole band around you.
Your part, taken out
Once you have the notes, switch to this. Your part disappears and you fill the gap. It is the closest thing to playing with the band from your living room, and it is where you will find out whether you really know it.
The full recording, as released
Exactly as released, in the key we are doing it in for that weekend. Good for getting the overall feel and the arrangement in your ear before you dig into your part. This does not have CUES or CLICK included in it.
A few things can go wrong within Planning Center, and they have different fixes. Knowing which one you are hitting helps us help you.
This is a permissions setting on our side. Nothing you did. Let us know which song and we will get it opened up for you.
This usually means your license has not been assigned or linked yet. Also nothing you did. Let us know and we will sort it out.
That happens. The catalog does not cover everything, and songs we have written or arranged ourselves are not in it. They also will not be in there for any planned tags, and we will talk through the structure of those in rehearsals. If a song has no RehearsalMix files, most times we'll have our normal mixdowns there instead, unless it's meant to be a tag.
The multitracks.com side of this is another resource for you. Some of you will build it into your normal prep, while others will continue to just use the RehearsalMix files in Planning Center. Both are great! MultiTracks is a good backup if Planning Center isn't working, and vice versa.
Your access is tied to you personally, so please do not share your login. If someone on the team mentions not having access, direct them to reach out to Sadie and she'll get them set up.
Saturday is a single afternoon. Sunday is a two-part commitment: Tuesday rehearsal, then Sunday morning. On both days, you're done once the final worship block of the last service is complete.
Call time. When you arrive and start getting ready. Gear set, in-ears plugged in, music loaded.
Downbeat. Go time. Whatever we're starting (devo, rehearsal, run-through, service) begins now, and you should already be in position and ready.
One afternoon. Rehearsal and service the same day.
| Time | What's happening |
|---|---|
| 1:00 PM | Call time and line check |
| 1:30 PM | Downbeat / Devo |
| 2:00 PM | Band and vocals split |
| 2:45 PM | Band and vocals together |
| 3:15 PM | Run-through |
| 3:45 PM | Prayer |
| 4:30 PM | Service |
Two days. Tuesday night, then Sunday morning. The Sunday team plays all three services.
| 6:30 PM | Call time and line check |
| 7:00 PM | Downbeat / Devo |
| 7:30 PM | Band and vocals split |
| 8:15 PM | Band and vocals together |
| 9:00 PM | Wrap |
| 6:30 AM | Call time |
| 6:45 AM | Downbeat / Run-through |
| 7:15 AM | Prayer |
| 7:45 AM | Break |
| 8:15 AM | Service 1 |
| 9:50 AM | Service 2 |
| 11:30 AM | Service 3 |
Any changes to these schedules will always be communicated ahead of time.
Planning Center Services is where everything lives:
You'll receive a Planning Center welcome email with a link to create your account. Once you're in, download the app so you have everything on your phone: iPhone | Android
New to Planning Center? This walkthrough covers the basics: PCO Services Introduction
Blockout dates tell us when you're unavailable so we never schedule you on a weekend you can't serve. You'll get a monthly reminder email to update them. Because we build two months at a time, get your blockouts in as soon as you know them. Please continue to add your blockouts even after the initial schedule is sent out, because we'll reach out as needs arise.
We schedule based on regular rhythms rather than filling slots week to week. It helps us plan ahead and helps you know what to expect. Schedules are built two months at a time. In August, for example, you'll receive both September and October. You'll usually have your serving dates several weeks out.
Fill out the availability form so we can build your rhythm thoughtfully: Worship Team Availability
Accept or decline scheduling requests in Planning Center within 24 to 48 hours. If you can't give a firm answer in that timeframe, let us know so we're not left guessing.
Life happens, and we understand. If you've already accepted and need to decline, do two things:
Declining in Planning Center alone is not enough. It doesn't notify us in a way we'll catch in time, so the message is what actually gets your spot filled.
Vocalists: message Becca
Band: message Gaby
Serving in both areas on the same team: message both
The earlier you tell us, the easier it is to find someone. A last-minute decline leaves a hole we may not be able to fill.
What we wear on stage matters. Not to draw attention to ourselves, but to reflect unity as a team and keep the focus where it belongs: on Jesus. Please take a moment to read through these guidelines, and feel free to reach out with any questions!
We require all team members to provide their own set of in-ear monitors (IEMs) for use during services and rehearsals. If you're looking for recommendations, here are options at various price points to get you started.
Browse the full shop at alclair.com/monitorshop
Use code centralsf10 for 10% off on all Alclairs.
Still not sure? Ask any of us. We would rather answer a question twice than have you guessing.