It is awesome you instill the Word of God into the Ministry.
I have a few suggestions for you to pray about:
Request for Ministry outside the church - ask for a letter from the organization requesting and submit it to your Pastor for approval.
Rules/Regulations - set guidelines regarding your concerns. If more that a set number of rehearsals are missed, they cannot minister. Must attend a Bible study. etc.
Old Members coming back and new members - Have a "introduction packet" to give them which has information about the ministry of dance, Biblical aspects of dance, your dance ministry goals and objectives. Have the prospective dance ministry pray about their "calling" to the ministry and have them sit out at rehearsals for at least a month.
Hope this helps.
: Hello Everyone,
: I am new to this website and have found it to be an invaluable treasure. As well, I am fairly new to ministering as a praise dancer and am in need of some expert help.
: In late January of '07, I joined the praise dance team, which was under the leadership of my pastor's wife. About a month after I joined, Pastor and wife asked me to assume leadership of the dance ministry stating that she would be taking some time off. This was especially difficult on the team since they had emotional attachments to her as the First Lady as well as the leader of the dance ministry. Additionally, we were preparing an African dance that had not been completed. The news of her departure was delivered at the last rehearsal prior to the actual ministry moment. Thanks be unto God, I was well received by the team. However, their pain was very tangible; hence, I inherited the task of trying to maintain a healthy ministry while the true reason for our leader's departure was still dancing on the team.
: As I type, I'm reminded of how faithful God was during those times and how awesome He remains. Since that time, Pastor has divorced and some of the old members have left the dance ministry. The latter I consider an answer to prayer!! I purpose to teach the women from the Scriptures before every rehearsal. My saying to them is "There is no ministry without the Word". As a result, we are growing more and more spiritually. Needless to say, it shows during ministry moments. That's good and I'm really glad about it. But, my concern now is that we have no structure. The ladies are wonderful to work with; however, I think we need to develop rules and/or policies to govern the dance ministry but I really don't know where to start. How do you handle requests to minister at other churches or functions, missed rehearsals, old members who want to return, or even new people who want to join? These are just a few queries. Your help and that of your readers would be greatly appreciated.