If you’re ministering in a small church like I did you’ve probably found you have a bunch of average musicians (the mega down the street has most likely hired all the great ones) and, as a result, you have an average (or below) sound.

I had a small pool of vocalists I could rotate on the praise team – none of them were bad and they could all hold a tune. However, they were all either classically trained or choir singers (me included) and I could never seem to get that contemporary sound. Singing more modern, syncopated songs were out of the question (the one rehearsal we tried a Crowder tune ended in complete disaster – they literally could not sing the notes.)

Then, out of nowhere, ONE terrific, contemporary vocalist showed up at church. He was a former burned-out worship leader I knew who needed a break but still wanted to be on a praise team. He came to rehearsal one night and WOW. I couldn’t believe it – with the addition of ONE great vocalist the other average vocalists on the praise team sounded 100% better – more powerful, confident and contemporary.

With ONE “ringer” the other vocalists, used to blending in a choir, finally could blend with (and mimic) a pop singer. Oddly enough this all happened immediately and without any coaching from me. After rehearsal I praised the sound up and down and explained what was going on to reinforce good behavior.

If you have that ONE you might want to help them understand their unique role in your ministry: they’re not divas or “stars” – they’re ministers and musical leaders who can help the rest of the team grow vocally.

I learned this “ringer” trick years ago in Nashville. Soon after I moved there our church choir along with another local choir were invited to sing backup on a big CCM recording. You had about 60 average vocalists in the studio along with a hired professional session singer in the middle of each section.

I remember one of the “ringers” for the ladies was the beautiful and mind-boggling-talented Melodie Tunney (from First Call) and Guy Penrod for the men. As we rehearsed the song before recording the man next to me could not sing a right note to save his life (how do these people worm their way into the choir lol?) And of course, the more off-tune a person is, the more they feel the need to belt out those wrong notes like their life depended on it.

Mr. Penrod, who was standing right in front of us, kept turning around and glaring at ME as if I were the tone-deaf offender. Finally, right before the tape rolled, he yelled in frustration to the producer (all the while keeping one eye firmly planted on me) “Let’s make sure we’re ALL singing the right notes!” Mortified, I wanted to crawl under the riser but at the same time wasn’t about to yelp “it’s not me!” The pitch-challenged perpetrator must have taken the hint because I didn’t hear a peep out of him during the recording.

The “ringer” solution can work with your praise band, too. Although I have seen a terrific keyboardist or guitarist improve the quality of a band, you’ll get the most musical mileage out of a solid “ringer” drummer. That steady, strong tempo will typically transform an entire amateur band into something special.

Recently I visited two services at a huge mainline church. Their early contemporary service, overflowing with young families, met in what appeared to be a large banquet hall. The later traditional service – in the gaping, gorgeous main sanctuary – was populated by a sea of gray heads. “I wonder how long this will last?” I chuckled to myself.

While megachurches have sprung up all over the country and are booming in buildings designed for contemporary worship (with proper staging, lights and sound), traditional churches have tried to get in on the action. However, I’ve seen many a traditional church in a traditional building hang a “Contemporary Service!” sign out front indicating the (stepchild) group meets in a stinky gym or dingy basement, whilst the implied “real” worship service meets in the plush main sanctuary.

I think we’ve reached the tipping point – those contemporary services are starting to take over the church and the sanctuary.

Back in 2014 Greenville, SC’s venerable Christ Church (dating back to 1820 and one of the largest Episcopal churches in America) experienced a Worship Service Switch – their contemporary service was held for the first time in the main sanctuary and the traditional service has moved to a smaller chapel. (Read more about it in the local paper.)

The health of their contemporary service is no mystery – where there’s life there’s growth, and when I visited on that transition Sunday I heard heart-felt music and a Bible-centered sermon (you’ll also hear more Scripture in one liturgical service than you’ll hear in sixth months of megachurch services.) What a wonderful opportunity for them to set the pace for blending contemporary styles in a breath-taking, traditional worship space.

Over the next few years, churches with traditional worship spaces will face challenges as they experience the Service Switch. They’ll need to figure out how to transform a chancel into a stage by tastefully adding enhanced lighting, sound and projection to sanctuaries built for choirs, organs and hymnals.