Territorial Worship Collective Weekend
Chicago, USA Central Territory
By Josh turner
The Territorial Worship Collective (TWC) is a new initiative made up of talented, next-generation praise band members ages 13-25 in the Central Territory who play in their corps and/or divisional praise bands. It’s purpose is to develop corps leaders and musicians, strengthen existing praise bands, equip new praise bands, share ideas, and foster a larger community of musicians across the territory. On March 8-10, 2019, with enough interest to form two groups, the TWC met for the first time, and spent the weekend together developing their skills as worship leaders. The weekend was filled with group rehearsals, individual practice and spiritual renewal.
Simon Gough, the Contemporary Music Specialist from the Canada and Bermuda Territory, came as a special guest for the TWC weekend to offer his insights in rehearsal strategy and praise band leadership. Simon, who is originally from Australia, has over 20 years worship leading and teaching experience. He serves around his territory; teaching, resourcing, inspiring and equipping other worship leaders to hone their craft of being a servant worship leader. The TWC was also assisted by our territorial praise team, The Singing Company, who mentored our young worship leaders and provided leadership within the weekend.
The TWC weekend started with rehearsals on Friday night, followed by a worship service in which Lt. Colonel Philip Maxwell reminded us that God still loves us in spite of our brokenness, failures, or missteps. After the worship service, the TWC and the Territorial Youth Chorus joined together for a time of fellowship and games. On Saturday morning, the TWC continued rehearsing music, learning new songs, and also learned how to arrange for their praise band, regardless of the size and combination. There was also an opportunity to showcase what each group was working on. In the afternoon, Simon Gough walked delegates through two curriculum that he helped develop called Worship Together and FLOW. These curricula assist any worship leader, giving them opportunities to work and develop their skills beyond their current ability. Both of these resources are available for free at https://www.samagacb.com/worship-leaders. Saturday evening, the TWC and TYC enjoyed a concert by TobyMac at the nearby Sears Centre, and on Sunday morning they came together to worship and spend time encouraging and praying for each other.
Whether the delegates were rehearsing for the first time together, listening to a devotional by Lt. Colonel Maxwell, or participating in a small group, the Territorial Worship Collective took its first step in encouraging and developing our future worship leaders. It is my hope that TWC will grow from two groups, in this initial year, to more than five groups in the coming years. Let us all encourage our musicians to strive for excellence in worship ministries. In Psalm 33:3 it says, “Sing a new song to the Lord, play skillfully before Him, and shout for joy.” I pray that all of our worship leaders throughout the territory grow in their own spiritual development and strive for musical excellence.
Josh Turner