Usher

The vision behind our Ushers. We want this to look like a mixture of a ballet and a fine dinning experience all at once.

If we go back to Will Guidaras book, "Unreasonable Hospitality" There is a spot in chapter 11, where he talks about the power of cues and looking for each other as a team.

We have to buy into the importance of getting things right. We want to have the details figured out.

Lets care for people where they are by being aware of the gaps that are created. Keep a keen eye on everyone else.

Usher Lead

Usher Leads are people that are great at running the room, seeing holes in the game and being able to spot potential disruptions before they even happen. They are often the most flexible, yet know how to direct

Without our Usher Leads we would be in a world of hurt. They almost act as quarterbacks of the whole day.

The Usher Lead is a person that is capable of rallying the troops, texting or calling people during the week to make sure the team is full and everyone has responded to the requests. They are also capable of rallying the team to serve for days that fall outside of normal weekend activities. For example, Church Conference, Good Friday...

Usher Leads are also responsible for making a contact point for each team member. They are the most direct contact that a lot of team members will have on a given weekend. You all make people feel loved and cared for.

Usher Leads:

  1. Check schedule by Friday night to ensure there is a solid team for Sunday

  2. Tell team members where they are stationed for the day and lead movements and seating accomodations

  3. Manage distractions, by being proactive and anticipating needs

  4. Train any new team members

  5. Address areas that might need retraining, especially if we are asked to tweak how we do things.

Central Ushers

Normally we try to have 3 ushers in the middle.

  • Our Usher Lead is normally here almost like a quarterback helping direct the flow.

  • Then we have two other ushers, one on each side that are there to help people to their seats down on the floor, especially for those that are in handicapped seats.

Family Room Door Ushers

Family Room door ushers have a few roles.

  1. They make sure people feel cared for by opening the door into the Family Room as people leave the auditorium

  2. Family room 2 side helps with the baptism doors

  3. During the sermon they help with crying babies on the floor level.

Opening Family Room doors

  • During worship we allow people to come in or out of Family Room 1 and 2 doors. I would say even anticipating people coming in through that door and opening it right before they reach for it.

  • During the message that door becomes exit only, so these ushers will not look for an opportunity to open the door as they see someone trying to come in. They won't hold the door, trapping them out in the family room, however they will not make it easy for guests to waltz in.

  • The reason for not allowing people to come in through those doors during the sermon is to make sure there is minimized light leaking in, or distraction with extra movement during the sermon. It is ok during worship because everyone is already standing.

Family Room 2 Usher - Baptism

  • During baptism this usher helps with opening the baptism doors along with one of our floater ushers.

  • You will receive the cue from the camera operator that is filming the baptism

  • Please look out for walkers, or wheelchairs of family members of the person being baptized. Move them if they are in an area that will impact how the camera operator captures the moment. Then please put it back where it was as long as it doesn't obstruct the walkways.

Crying babies

  • This is super helpful. We are in a time today where people are not always aware of how distracting their baby crying can be for others.

  • We love kids and families so much that we created multiple spaces for them.

  • Sometimes people might not understand that the call to go to the family rooms is for them. We don't want to be pushy. But if a little one is crying

Risers Ushers

  • Ushers up in the risers and on the stairs help with finding sections of seats for larger groups.

  • In case of emergency help locate the issue and pass it on to the safety team then step out and think about how to help usher the situation in the best possible way

Floater Ushers

  • These Ushers are often in a "fill the need kind of a role" so we look for these Ushers to be able to step in and fill a space or the person that an Usher Lead or Center Usher can handoff too.

  • This role is crucial because if a Central Usher decides to walk someone all the way to their seat, this person needs to step in and fill that void. We don't want to leave the center open.