Worship Leader Agreement and Application
David's Tent USA
24/7 Worship on the National Mall
www.davidstentdc.orgThank you for your interest in adding your voice to our perpetual love song to Jesus at David’s Tent USA. We are excited to see the beautiful diversity of the Church come together on a common stage to exalt Jesus! This letter lays out the logistics and, more importantly, the heart of leading worship at David’s Tent USA. We require that every worship leader and team member read and agree to these points.
Loving Jesus is our only agenda
David’s Tent USA has the very specific focus of loving on Jesus from the highest point of our nation. We are not protesting anything. We are not lobbying for anything. We are not seeking political change. We are not promoting any social or political viewpoint. We are simply seeking to give Jesus the love and honor that He deserves from this city and nation.
Everything that comes from the stage should be in an attitude of worship, thanksgiving, and adoration for Jesus. We ask that there be no preaching or political opinions shared from the stage.
We are happy to be here!
This is a celebration of the goodness and beauty of Jesus, who has opened up the way of salvation for all people. That’s good news! We want to offer up so much love to Jesus that He just can’t resist bringing His presence to our city and nation in a greater way than ever before. There are more than enough beautiful things about Jesus and what He has done to fill countless worship sets. We ask that worship leaders choose their songs from this perspective, focusing on songs of praise and adoration.
Protect our values
When we give you the stage at David’s Tent, we are in some measure putting our reputation in your hands. Please read our core values and statement of faith. We need to be able to trust you to embody and protect these values that define who we are. These values should guide all of your actions at David’s Tent, both on and off the stage.
https://www.davidstentdc.org/core-values/https://www.davidstentdc.org/statement-of-faith/We are all volunteers
No one is making money from David’s Tent. We do not offer pay to worship leaders or anyone else working at the Tent. Further, we do not allow the selling of any merchandise at or near the Tent. The terms of our permit on the National mall specifically prohibit any commercial transactions.
Plus, this helps protect our core identity as a freely-offered love song to Jesus rather than a worship concert venue.
Come prepared
This is an outdoor tent, so make sure you watch the weather and come prepared! In cold weather, fingerless gloves for musicians, a thermos of hot tea for singers, and lots of layers for everyone can come in handy as the tent may be unheated. In wet weather, rain boots are highly recommended as the area around the tent may be muddy. Port-a-potties are available. Any food or drinks at the tent can be brought from wherever you are coming from.
Musical competency
God loves every voice and each unique song is a priceless offering to Him when brought with a sincere heart. We give God our best and recognize one person’s best may be different than another’s. We celebrate our stylistic differences and varying degrees of skill! However, David’s Tent is also a public, corporate worship service, and therefore requires skills from the worship leader beyond those of secret place devotional worship. The worship leader sets the atmosphere in the tent for everyone to encounter God, both individually and together. Our desire is that those who walk into the tent would instantly feel the weight of Holy Spirit and the invitation to meet with Jesus, without hurdles or distractions. At a minimum, those leading from the stage at David’s Tent should be able to set an atmosphere of worship in the tent that does not distract from people meeting with Jesus, and invites participation and engagement. Worship leaders should be able to play basic chords correctly and in time, sing on-key, transition between songs smoothly, and have an on-stage manner that builds rather than disrupts the atmosphere of worship in the tent.
David’s Tent Menu of Worship Formats
24/7- 365 – David’s Tent DC lifts this love song to Jesus. To reflect our beautiful diversity, we invite worship leaders from around the nation to play their part and sets in a variety of formats.
1. David’s Tent Classic: A team or individual leads songs of praise and worship unto the Lord. Scriptures and short prayers may be mixed in.
1 Chronicles 16:4 * Psalms 96 * Revelation 4:8,11
2. Harp and Bowl: Worship, scripture, and intercessory prayer intertwined. Led by the Holy Spirit, musicians convert prayers and scriptures into spontaneous songs.
Revelation 5:8-10 * Isaiah 56:7
3. The Selah: A purposeful hour of silence for contemplative prayer. The song doesn’t spiritually stop - we make room for Jesus’ songs of deliverance. Please get approval from David’s Tent leadership before scheduling a Selah hour.
Psalms 46:10 &11 * Zephaniah 3:17 * Psalms 32:7
4. Instrumental Prayer: Hosting the Holy Spirit in instrumental song. Fostering an atmosphere of prayer, including small group prayer and personal meeting with God.
2 Kings 3:15 * Psalm 150:3-5
5. Bible Revival: Reading the Bible aloud with instrumental music. Declaring the Word of God in the spirit of prayer to heal our land.
Nehemiah 8:1-7 * Hebrews 4:12 * Isaiah 55:11 * Psalm 107:20
Off menu items approved only upon specific request to the directors of David’s Tent.
David’s Tent seeks to remain free of political or personal agendas. When praying for our leaders in accordance with 1 Tim 2:1-7 we pray the prayers that are equally applicable to all. No matter the party or platform we pray they would all know Jesus more intimately.
We encourage prayer to be in small groups, “rapid fire” prayer lines, or other formats that encourage all in the tent to be participatory and not simply watching one person pray on the mic on stage. We also encourage prayer to be scripturally based when possible, with those scriptures read aloud serving as a prelude and inspiration to prayer.
We encourage those praying from the mic to refrain from sharing lengthy prophetic words, backstories, personal opinions, or messages. Keep it brief. Stick to the prayer conversation between you and Jesus, and when in doubt, avoid addressing the congregants in the tent. We desire to fix our gaze on the one we are praying to and hearing from!
Any time you are reading scripture, please give the reference so those in the tent can follow along. Read slowly and clearly so people have the opportunity to absorb the meaning.
For the Bible Revival format, we encourage long sections of scripture as readings as opposed to scattered selections.
Whether preaching, speaking, or ministering, we ask that there be minstrels to minister to the Lord instrumentally through it all. We desire to honor the Lord’s call on us to be a 24/7 tent of incense to God in keeping the song going, with live worship for a living God.
As a concession, if a live musician is unavailable, we do permit recorded instrumental music to be used as background for prayer or scripture reading, provided a live person is still the primary component of the watch and ministering to the Lord at all times. A recorded track is not a replacement for a live minister.
Instrumental tracks are also permitted as an addition to other worship musicians. However we ask that vocalists not sing solo or dance teams perform only accompanied by a track, as it creates the appearance and atmosphere of performance.
Logistics
Time slots: We schedule in 2-hour blocks. Worship is amplified with a full sound system from 7am until 9pm. A city ordinance requires that we be unamplified until the next morning. (We have a baby grand piano, acoustic guitars, and hand drums for use through the night). We give scheduling preference to worship leaders who are able to commit to a regular time slot, especially during the unamplified hours of our “night watch.”
Parking: The tent location is at 800 Madison Drive NW on the corner of Madison and 7th. We are directly in front of the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden facing the National Mall. The closest commuter train (“Metro”) stop is L' Enfant Plaza Metro Station or Smithsonian Metro Station. Street parking is limited during the day on Madison and 7th. Additional parking opens up in the evening and overnight on both Madison and 7th. Wherever you park, read the signs carefully and set your alarm! If you have a smartphone, there is a free app called “ParkMobile” that you may find helpful with refilling your meter remotely.
Load-in: Any equipment you bring will have to be carried by hand from the Metro or wherever you park. For your convenience, please use as much of the house equipment and instruments as you would like.
Arrival: If this is your first time leading worship at the tent, please arrive an hour before your scheduled time. This gives you time to prepare for your set, join the ongoing worship, and center your heart on Jesus. If you have played at the Tent before, we ask you to arrive at least 20 minutes before your scheduled time. Please check in with our staff when you arrive. We would love to pray with you before your set!
Set-up: We strive for a seamless hand-off between worship sets (we keep the worship going without stopping). Please have everything tuned and prepared as much as possible off-stage, then begin setting up on the stage during the last ten minutes of the set before you. Your sound check will be done live as your set starts. And please be gracious to the group after you, who will be setting up during your last ten minutes.
Equipment: To ease transitions between sets, we do not allow teams to bring their own keyboards or drum sets. Beyond this, you are welcome to bring whatever you need, including your own snare drum, if you wish. We encourage you to use as much of our equipment as possible for smoother transitions between sets. Here is a list of equipment that will be at the Tent, ready for your use:
-Behringer x32 digital mixing board with wireless router
-Yorkville PA system (mains and subs)
-5 EV monitor wedges (seperate mixes)
-4 acoustic/electric guitars: Martin, Taylor GSmini, PRS, Yamaha classical
-Electric guitar: PRS SE
-Electric guitar pedalboard including: Strymon Bigsky reverb, Strymon Brigadier analog delay, Strymon Dig digital delay, JHS Double Barrel v2 overdrive, Donner tuner
-Guitar amps: Fender Hot Rod Deville, Orange CR 120 with separate cab
-Keyboards: Yamaha CP300
-Bass guitars: Ibanez SR500, Fender Jazz Bass
-Aguilar Tonehammer Bass amp head with Mark Bass cab, SansAmp Bass Drive DI
-Full DW standard acoustic drum kit with Zildjian cymbals
-Hand drums: 1 djembe, 1 dumbek, 2 cajons, additional hand percussion
-Logjam stompbox (kick drum emulator)
-7 SM58 vocal mics, 2 SM57 instrument mics, 2 SM87 condenser mics, DI boxes, cables, music stands
-Baldwin Baby Grand Piano (for the unplugged night watch hours, 9pm-7am)
If you have a qualified audio technician familiar with digital mixing who is able to run sound for your team, that is a huge help to us! If not, our staff are available and have a basic knowledge of the board.
Be flexible: Because of our location, the National Park Police and other law enforcement agencies have the authority to inspect your belongings at any time. The National Park Police also has the right to evacuate the Tent at anytime with no notice in case of emergency or security concerns. But that won’t stop our worship! Please be prepared to unplug and do an impromptu acoustic set outside the security perimeter. Your scheduled time slot will remain the same regardless of any disruptions.
FAQ's:
Q: Will I get a sound check?
A: We do not have sound checks, in order to keep the worship continuous. Sound adjustments will be done on the fly. Transitions between bands, program segments, or even between songs should be as quick and seamless as possible. We try to eliminate all “dead space.”
Q: Can I bring my dance team or painters?
A: We love worshipping Jesus through dance, painting, or other arts and your team is welcome! However, for the above reason, drama or dance teams should be accompanied by a live band.
Q: I know the sound system is turned off overnight, can I bring my keyboard that has speakers?
A: From the hours of 9pm - 7am we are not permitted to amplify whatsoever. This includes on-board speakers in keyboards. A grand piano and acoustic instruments are available, and we can be as loud as we like acoustically!
Finally, don’t forget that a heart that is connected to Jesus and clean of known sin is what moves the heart of Jesus. Before you come, please spend time individually and as a team centering your hearts on Jesus and asking the Holy Spirit to take you to deeper levels of intimacy with Jesus.
Thanks for reading all that! If you wish to apply to lead worship at the Tent, please provide the information below
