ABOUT THE POSITION

Lavon Drive Baptist Church has a rich history of vibrant music, with Sunday morning services led by a full choir and orchestra featuring a blend of old and new songs, presented in a high-energy style with modern arrangements. The two Sunday morning services are identical and typically feature an anthem from the choir and orchestra that range from art song (e.g., Dan Forrest, Craig Courtney, etc.) to high-energy Gospel choir and contemporary power ballads (e.g., Cliff Duren, Bradley Knight, Brooklyn Tabernacle, etc.).

Because of the wide variety of music we perform, the applicant will need to have wide-ranging skills, including:

• Congregational Worship
  • Be highly proficient and have significant experience playing various congregational styles of music on a professional level: traditional, blended, contemporary
  • Be able to easily read and improvise from a lead sheet or chord chart
  • Be able to create a supportive congregational accompaniment from hymnal vocal parts
  • Be able to create improvisatory underscores during sensitive portions of the service
  • Be able to modulate seamlessly between songs with different key signatures
  • Be able to confidently lead a rhythm section and provide instruction to instrumentalists as needed to enhance musicality
• Accompaniment
  • Have strong accompaniment skills (as opposed to piano solo performance, though the latter is also a plus)
  • Be able to sight-read church anthem accompaniments across many styles
  • Be able to play vocal parts in rehearsal, as well as parts with light harmonic structure
  • Be able to run a choir rehearsal if the director is absent

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

• Sunday service pianist for 9:00 am & 11:00 am worship services (each 75 minutes in length). Includes a Sunday morning sound check from 7:45 – 8:30 am
• Rehearsal pianist for choir rehearsals, Wednesdays from 7:00 – 8:30 pm
• 3 – 4 Saturday rehearsals annually in preparation for major productions
• 3 – 4 major productions annually including conferences, special concerts, guest artists, and seasonal productions
• 5 weeknight evenings annually for Vacation Bible School (usually in mid-June)
• Average 7-10 hours/week, but negotiable according to the candidate’s skills and ministry’s needs

NON-MUSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• A genuine love for God and relationship with Jesus Christ
• A passion for worship and the role that music plays as an expression of corporate and individual worship
• A commitment to join the membership of Lavon Drive and make this place your home.  The pianist at Lavon Drive is a core member of the Music Ministry team, and it is important that this church be YOUR church, not just a job.

ABOUT LAVON DRIVE’S MUSIC MINISTRY

Our Music Ministry is led by Music Pastor, Ryan Johnston (13 years on staff) as well as Instrumental Director, Scott Copeland (10 years on staff).  Both are full-time positions.  In addition, our children’s music program (Praise Kids) is led by a part time director, Britnie Copeland (6 years on staff).  Our Christian School, Garland Christian Academy, has a very strong music program, led by Fine Arts Director, Amanda Bright, who is also an integral part of the Music Ministry leadership.

Our previous pianists include Dove award-nominated composer/arranger Todd Billingsley as well as nationally-acclaimed and best-selling composer/arranger Heather Sorenson and Dallas-area educator and clinician April Rodriguez. Composition capabilities are not a requirement of the position but will certainly be considered. 

The Music Ministry is comprised of a 30-voice adult choir (rebuilding following COVID-related shutdown – 50 members prior to COVID), 15-piece orchestra, and 50-member Praise Kids program (children’s worship arts, including singing and drama).  The Music Ministry has hosted and performed alongside numerous special guests over the last decade, including David Phelps, Mark Lowry, Selah, Babbie Mason, Larnelle Harris, Greater Vision, the Singing Men of Texas and others.  The choir has performed Mozart’s Requiem with a festival chorus at Carnegie Hall, and has produced two CDs (Because We Believe and Jesus, What a Savior).

Instruments at Lavon Drive include two magnificent 9-foot Baldwin Grand Pianos (main piano is an SD-10 and the secondary piano is an SD-5), as well as a 4-manual Allen concert organ, one of the largest models ever made by Allen.  The campus recently underwent a $10-million renovation that was completed in December, 2020 and included a completely new stage, audio, video and lighting systems, as well as new rehearsal spaces for Choir and Orchestra, backstage space, and music ministry storage.  

ABOUT LAVON DRIVE BAPTIST CHURCH

Lavon Drive Baptist Church has served the north Garland community and surrounding areas for over 60 years. It is a multi-generational, multi-ethnic congregation with ministries in English and Spanish and a goal to be offering services in 5 languages over the next 10 years.  Its 13-acre campus along with 1000-seat worship center and numerous education and athletic facilities are home to the church’s many ministries as well as its K4-12^th Grade Christian school, Garland Christian Academy, Launchpad Learning Center (childcare for birth – 6th grade) and Awaken Coffee House (open M-F to the community, 100% of proceeds donated to missions).  Additionally, the church operates a bus center just down the street which houses the ministry’s 20-bus fleet, utilized to bring hundreds of children and adults to church each Sunday.  Lavon Drive supports nearly 100 missionaries and mission organizations worldwide, contributing nearly 1/4 of its operating budget toward local and global evangelism efforts.

See who we are!  Check out our livestream page to review past worship services and get a feel for who we are!  Then send your resume to Music Pastor Ryan Johnston