Raising up Drummers in Your Church
Jul 1st, 2008 | By Matt | Category: Drum Articles
It’s all very well having a drummer in your church playing in the worship team. What happens when that drummer has to leave or cannot drum anymore? Do you have other drummers, ready to pick up where he left off and even ready and willing to go further?
Having more than one drummer in your church is not a bad thing. Trust me. It’s a good thing, because you have talent that you can sharpen and train to ‘come up through the ranks’ in the worship team and become drummers of sensitivity, maturity and with hearts for worship.
Where have all the drummers gone?
You only appreciate what you have when it’s gone, so the saying goes. And, often, it’s true. You become so used to having that faithful drummer playing out those songs, keeping it all together so you can worship and sing to your heart’s content, that when the drummer is no longer there for some reason, it all falls apart! Somebody help, my Rhythm Captain has gone, my rock, my anchor, my timing so I know when to move my hips and clap my hands… what am I going to do??
Thinking ahead
Nobody will live forever, and people aren’t always in the same place forever. You must always think ahead. Moses did so with Joshua. Moses knew he wasn’t going to be around forever and someone would have to take over when he died. That’s why he let Joshua tag along, learn the ropes, get to know him better so he would be ready to take over and lead effectively.
Some worship leaders have a viewpoint of bringing guys in no matter what their skill level is, while others demand excellence. I believe there should be a balance.
If your drummer had some forethought, he would probably have started building relationships with other guys in the church who God also gave the gift of rhythm to. He probably would have been teaching them the things he had learned while playing in a team and given them some tips and techniques to use for different songs. He may have even gone so far as to pray with the guys, showing them the path to worship, teaching them the principles of worship, encouraging them to grow closer to God… that’s if your church drummer had some forethought!
What can you do?
If you are a drummer in your church worship team:
- Look for other guys that seem interested in drums and drumming, they’re not hard to spot (they’re the guys standing watching you as you play!)
- Get to know them
- Spend time and build relationships with them
- Invite them to come along to your team practices
- Give them chances to play on the kit and offer useful guidance if necessary
- Keep the relationships strong
- Tutor them if you can
- Pray with them, teach them what you have learnt
If you want to drum in the worship team:
- Get to know the drummer, introduce yourself and tell him that you’re interested
- Watch and learn
- Practice the songs at home that your church sings
- Go along to the practices and watch (and learn!)
What about skill?
Skill and maturity go hand in hand. I have not seen many young drummers who are also spiritually mature when it comes to worship drumming. I guess they are still just learning, as I did. All the more reason for older or more experienced drummers (skilled and spiritual) to teach them, to show them the dynamics of playing in a team and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. So, it’s not just the skill, it’s also the spiritual maturity you are looking for in a drummer. Sometimes you have to take the risk and bring a drummer in who might not be as spiritually mature or sensitive as you would want but, you know what, God’s grace covers that. He will learn and he will grow. I did.
I was 16 when I first started drumming in church and could hardly play, nevermind be spiritually sensitive! And yet, the worship team leaders saw that there was potential and allowed me to play so that God could mold me and teach me through experience. I was very fortunate though to have had two more experienced drummers ahead of me who were spiritually more mature than I. They imparted much wisdom to me and practice advice too. I am very grateful to them for their roles played in my life.
Some worship leaders have a viewpoint of bringing guys in no matter what their skill level is, while others demand excellence. I believe there should be a balance. The heart attitude is important and also the level of skill. I am of the opinion that if the heart desires to play and worship, then the skill will be raised very quickly because that’s where the person’s passion lies. It is up to the worship leader and lead elder (pastor/minister etc..) to make that decision.
Bring on the drummers!
Identify the guys in your church that want to play, get to know them and build good relationships with them. Show them that the gift they have can be used for God’s glory in church and outside of church too and encourage them to master their skills. It’s always exciting to see more drummers coming up, ready to worship and ready to go further than you did!
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hey, cool article , im 16, an played the bongos last night, there was only acoustic guitars, so the kit would have overpowered the guitars so they had me play the bongos, i can play the kit, never played bongos or played in front of people, but i think its a jump-start to playin the kit at my youth group
Matt, THIS IS GREAT!!!
Man, we SO do need to be looking to disciple younger drummers and expect to be discipled. Let me tell you about the first time i played at church… I was 15 years old and resented the worship band’s usual drummer who i knew (with the wisdom of a 15 year old male) that i was better than. The call finally came one saturday night “Drummer’s sick, can you play tomorrow?”
So I show up Sunday morning with all my shiny cymbals and ego and teenage need for approval and, unsurprisingly, i suck. I don’t know the songs properly, I’m too loud, I don’t know how long it takes me to rig my gear, the sound guy doesn’t know how I like my monitor mix, I don’t know any of the worship team other than by sight and they don’t know me so our communication’s rubbish.
I did not get asked back for quite a while…
I’ve heard since that this is not unusual. So many church musicians start their worship leading days like this and it’s often worst for us drummers ‘cause we’re harder to turn down!
Guys (and ladies) if you are the current regular drummer, get along side the younger players; DON”T LET THEM GET DROPPED IN IT!! Invite them to rehearsals and sound checks so they know how to behave, introduce them to the rest of the team so when you’re off sick they’re not playing with a bunch of strangers. Ask them to prepare to play a worship song at the next practice and talk to the worship leader about letting them play it.
If you’re currently not the regular drummer, show the usual guy this article and ask to come to some rehearsals. BE HUMBLE! It took me years to realize that the drummer who I resented brought more to the table than just how complicated his fills were (not very!). He was an amazingly sensitive and intuitive player, very experienced, had a great working relationship with the rest of the worship team and knew God well. Worship drumming is about a lot more than chops!
If you feel that God has called you to this worship drumming lark then serve! Jesus washed his disciple’s feet to teach us about leadership.
Nice one Tom!
Hey guys this is all fantastic stuff. Matt, this is a great article and Tom’s experience testifies to it’s validity. Jon, you are spot on that this is a jump start for you. Make yourself available and take every opportunity to play in whatever the situation is. Get yourself the best teacher you can and apply what he gives you but also seek out the creativity God has put in you.
Blessings
Mick
True, church needs to find more drummers for all different occasions and talents. But lets not stop at young drummers, there are plenty of mature drummers that can bring a whole new feel to todays music and worship.
Great idea, and a must. It just seems more difficult in a more rural church (like where we are), because there are not so many people. The guys pitch up to be trained as drummers, but loose interest very quickly (it takes discipline…). I gues, I need to ask God to send the right ones, to raise them up, to put passion in them, etc. I realise now that God can raise up great drummers out of any situation… mmmm…. We have not, because we ask not…
Wynie, just be faithful to the calling of being a drummer. Be open to teach whenever you can and build relationships with those around you. Even if there is no-one, you just be the best you can be!
Our church has the unfortunate problem of having no adult, experienced drummer. However, God has seen fit to give my 8 year old son the ability to play the drums. My wife and I were a little reluctant to allow him to play for the church as he is only 8 and has never had any lessons. Our fear was for his feelings, that there may have been some older members who would not take kindly to this 8 year old child on the platform “banging” on the drums. Our fears couldn’t be farther from what actually happened. The church gave him a chance to play one Sunday for a service they set aside childrens’ church/youth service for the general congregation. They were so pleased that they invited him to start attending the practices for the worship team. After a practice or two they asked him to start playing with them on a permanent basis. He has been playing for about 2-3 months now and is doing quite well (considering the churrch drums are very old and in desperate need of replacement). Due to the fact that he is only 8 though, I am sitting on the front row every Sunday and trying to keep him under control. Meaning that I have set up some hand signals to tell him when he needs to quiet down, stop playing for acca-pella, and listen to the piano for a few seconds so he can establish the beat in his head and get back in time. I agree that having an experienced, spiritually mature drummer would be much more effective in teaching him to be sensitive to what is going on, however, our church doesn’t have that. In conclusion, don’t let the lack of a experienced drummer to teach you keep you from using your God-given talent. There can always be work-arounds. God isn’t going to give you a gift and not allow you to use it, however, if God gives you a gift and you refuse to use it, he may take it away.
Wow! 8 years old and he’s drumming in church.. fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing that with us, I am very encouraged that and it seems that age does not matter anymore in church and serving in the music teams! I wish you and your son all the best. Send us some pics for the site if you want!
That’s a really cool story Tommy and you’re completely right about the God given talent stuff. Right now i’m praying for your son that the Lord give him extra anointing. I’m in total agreement with Wynie too - we have a right to ‘pray in’ what we need, we just have to remember to ask. So pray that your son will cross paths a more experienced drummer who can offer some technical tips, pray in finance for lessons and a new kit. God loves you both and has only good things for you.
Man, if i’d started when i was 8 i might be good by now….
Blessings, Tom
Hey guys I just found this site, I drum at a church here in central NY we have three drummers and we rotate, I play guitar as a main instrument but you know how it is, we have 50 guys who play guitar and we gotta share hahaha. Anway, on this subject, I feel that just about anybody can be taught to play the basics for most contemporary worship. My chops for lack of a better word stink and I get complimented on my drumming from time to time. The real thing that new drummers need is faith and confidence. I play loads better when the stress is off and I keep it simple, and that is how people like it. When I started, we had a great drummer (also a guitar player ahaha) who was moving out of town so the church was desperate. I got thrown in too fast in my opinion and so the kinks had to be worked out. I have been keeping my eye out for other drummers, we are a young congregation and we have plenty of college students from IC who could be music majors so I feel like there are a lot of potential drummers in the church. The easiest ones to spot are the air drummers : )
Im rambling anyway but I feel if a person has the drive they can be a decent worship drummer. Afterall most members of the congregation will never know what a ghost note or flam is anyway. if the drummer can keep time, distinguish a verse from a chorus, and hit the crash on a need only basis, people will clap, groove, generally have a good time. I guess my point is that those who have a heart for the lord and enough rythm to clap in time can learn to drum for church with enough guidance. I am glad that we all are willing to invest in these souls. God will only give to those who will also give, it is our duty to try to pass this joy to others.