Sunday Teams!

Hello from your DCE [Director of Christian Education]! 

If you worship at Lazarus Church -- and especially if you call it your home church -- this is an important email for you to read. It’s long but it’s very, very important for the worship rhythm of our church!

Did you know that by gathering in a school for our weekly worship, we are able to release thousands of dollars annually for ministry? This is all thanks to our Sunday Teams.

Without our Sunday Teams, you wouldn’t be able to:

• Grab a cup of coffee

• Sit in a chair

• Send your kiddos to Lazarus Kids

• Take your child or grandchild to the play area

• See the signs welcoming you in

All of this is because of the work of Sunday Teams members. 

If you currently serve on a Sunday Team: Being on a team is a big commitment and you know how much we value and encourage Rest as a rhythm of discipleship at Lazarus. Consider prayerfully whether you should rest or “re-up” for this year. We truly believe that God desires for us to work from our rest; if you’ve served several years in a row and feel He’s calling you to step back and be refreshed, start identifying & training a candidate who could do what you do! If you don’t want to step back for a full year, consider signing up for a Substitute position. God has put so many amazing people in our church -- we can do this together.

If you do not currently serve on a Sunday Team: Everyone can find a way to serve on a Sunday Team because there is such a diversity of ways to serve! Please take a look at the list of roles below and see if there is one that could match your gifts and strengths. Reply or catch the signup clipboard on Sunday. 

One last thing… if you have never served on a Sunday Team, please do so this year. I consistently hear from people that they look forward to this every week and I guarantee you will get to know folks in a different way when you get to spend some time serving shoulder to shoulder with them each Sunday! 

<>< Laura

Sunday Teams: September 2026 - August 2027

Team members make a yearlong commitment to serve on Sundays when they are in town and block out dates when they are out of town using our user-friendly scheduling software, Planning Center Services. 

We ask folks to make a yearlong commitment to serve as a “regular” or “substitute” because it benefits the individual and church in the following ways:

• Serving is part of your routine, not an interruption to it.

  • Everyone makes a yearlong commitment to a specific role.

  • The same few people serve every week (adding blockout dates when unavailable).

  • Substitutes will always be on standby.

  • Simplified scheduling means I can divert scheduling time to other ministry.

• Greater opportunity for leadership to multiply.

  • Individuals grow in proficiency through serving for a prolonged period of time.  

  • Proficiency instills confidence to teach others.

• Relationship with Jesus and His people strengthened.

  • You will serve the mission of Lazarus Church in an indispensable way.

  • You will build deeper relationships with the 20+ people on the team. 

  • You will challenge & grow your faith by regularly participating in Circle Time.

TEAM OPENINGS:

• 8:30 Crew - This team arrives at 8:30 to unload the trailer and set up the “bones” of our worship space (chairs, A/V equipment, tables, kids stuff, coffee). You can serve on this team and on another team as well.

• Band - One change to band this year is that we will be asking “Band Leader” to arrive early to help set up the more technical stuff. Everyone else will need to be ready to go with their instrument plugged in and tuned to sound check at 9:00am.

• Audio / Visual - These team members run the ProPresenter, livestream, and audio for the service. We need these folks ready to help with sound check and be ready to go at 9:00am.

• Lazarus Kids - Like musicians, teachers also invest time during the week preparing for their lesson. Some teachers like to arrive early to set up, others like to do most of their prep work at home. We trust you and both are okay! You will need to be 100% ready to go at 9:30am.

• Welcome Team (NEW) - As our church family grows, we will need to be even more intentional about making new people feel included. This team will include people who do everything that has to do with making sure Lazarus is a great landing spot for a new person. Different rolls will be available for different skills and abilities (for example, we’ll need people greeting at the Start Here table like usual but we also need people who are designated “chair getters” and “safety checkers” each Sunday).

All Sunday Teams members will be ready and able to participate in Circle Time at 9:30am. Even our youth helpers! Remember, too, that we need substitutes on each team so you can make an annual commitment to fill in when we have some folks out of town.

If you read that list and thought, "Wow, [that aspect of Sunday mornings] is important to me" then please spend five minutes praying about it. If God is asking you to serve in this way right now (as a regular OR substitute), please reply to this email. If not, please pray for the people who will be serving.

<>< Laura

P.S. If you have small children and live near the school: Because we have so many young families in our midst, it won't be sustainable to only rely on families with older children. Talk as a family about if this is a commitment one adult in the household can make. Mark and I are familiar with this challenge so I KNOW how big of an ask this is. It's not a small thing for one parent to get the kids out the door without backup. If this is a sacrifice your family is willing to make this year, talk about it, pray about it, then let me know.