Sweetwater recently hosted its third two-day workshop for worship leaders, technicians, and musicians, called “Worship Connect.” Featured artists included Jeff Sandstrom, FOH Engineer for Chris Tomlin, Passion, and North Point Community Church, as well as the members of Chris Tomlin’s chart-topping worship band, with guest artist Christy Nockels and worship pastor Todd Fields.
“Worship Connect” is designed to help all those involved in worship music to become more knowledgeable leaders and artists within the worship community, providing exclusive training by world-renowned artists at Sweetwater’s amazing Performance Theatre on its Fort Wayne, Indiana, campus.
The event was sold out, with churches from across the US in attendance. Worship Connect was co-sponsored by Waves, Bose, Shure, PreSonus, Roland, Digital Audio Labs, Ableton, MultiTracks, RemedyLIVE, The
Church Collective, All Pro Sound, Brotherhood Mutual, iConnectivity, and Cornerstone Media.
Attendees were asked to fill out a questionnaire and here are some of the responses:
Worship Connect topics included:
Connecting the Stage: Effective preparation allows your entire team to focus on worship, and everyone on your team has a role. Jeff Sandstrom and Todd Fields shared best practices for stage prep, inputs and patching, line checks, sound checks, rehearsals, building a mix, managing dynamics, and avoiding feedback.
Connecting the Set: Planning a worship set can be challenging. Todd Fields, Christy Nockels, and the team demonstrated ways to build cohesive worship sets that make sense and tell a story and that effectively direct the music and lead the congregation well.
Connecting the Music: Musicians are often challenged to link songs to maintain a sense of flow throughout the worship time. Matt Gilder and the band explained how to build workable arrangements, organize seamless transitions, choose proper sounds, and tastefully blend tone to complement each other’s parts.
Connecting the Team: It’s crucial to nurture healthy relationships between the FOH and the stage. Jeff Sandstrom, Todd Fields, and the band shared personal stories and practical advice on how to lead with humility, effectively resolve conflict, and build trust across the entire worship team.
Connecting Our Hearts
In this final session of the event, the key points were summarized from each of the general sessions, with questions and answers, and an overview of how to make a meaningful time of worship.
Other breakout sessions were titled: Songwriting, Navigating the Changing RF Landscape, Reproducing Leaders, Maximizing Your Mix, Choosing the Right Sounds, Digital Mixers You can Afford, Guide to Ableton & MultiTracks, Building Relationships with Other Teams in Your Community, and more.
PreSonus gave attendees a sneak peek of the now-released StudioLive 32 digital mixing console. MultiTracks announced their new subscription-based option.
The next Worship Connect event at Sweetwater is scheduled for April 27-28, 2017, and will feature artists Shane & Shane.
Photo 1: Todd Fields, Christy Nockels, and the Chris Tomlin band lead a performance at Worship Connect.
Photo 2: Jeff Sandstrom and the Chris Tomlin band share how they connect as a team.
Photo 3: Todd Fields and The Church Collective discuss how to develop leaders in the worship community.
Photo 4: Daniel Carson talks gear and his approach to playing guitar.
Photo 5: Attendees at a Worship Connect general session in Sweetwater’s Performance Theatre.
