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For 30 years, I lived my life in big church. My neighbour invited my sister and I out to a kids program at a church when I was 7. Since then, God & faith became my whole world. Big church is a whole dynamic – many people show up to do the work at a building that has a main purpose of doing church, with all the equipment already set up. Even if only 20% of the people were doing 80% of the work (like volunteer life once was), the work still gets done. For a season, I never batted an eye at the responsibilities we had as volunteers – there was always a team of people around.
Then one day, big church changed to small church for us. What was once show up and focus on your individual duties became all hands on deck. We no longer had our own building with everything set up – we have to show up and transform a banquet hall into a church within 2 hours, then tear it all down again after the service. I’m not going to talk about our process today (let me know if you’re interested though), but due to this process, there are things that I have to bring back and forth to church every week. If you know me, you know that I always want to find the most organized way to do something – even if it means weeding through many different ideas and products. So, what’s in my bag?
My first hurdle was actually finding a bag strong enough to handle the equipment I was lugging around, large enough to fit it all, easy enough to maneuver, and fashionable – cause there’s no need to be boring! I started with a rolling suitcase (and I actually still use it for our check-in/registration items), but last year I found a bag that I love! It fits everything (including my 40oz water cup), it is very durable, and the best part – it’s super cute! My bag is from a brand called Poppy & Peonies and I am absolutely sold on it! It fits everything I need on a weekly basis.
First things first, I have to bring my laptop, tablet, and phone with me. I use my tablet for chord charts when I’m playing keys, to see the order of service for announcements, and I also use it for my preaching notes and Bible. I also have my concordance on there, so if I need to check on something mid-preaching, I can. My phone is used for communications (like texting my MD mid-service to say ‘impromptu end of service song – be ready!’) and mixing my IEMs. The laptop is mostly there for anything that may come up on the fly. I’ve also been connecting it to our sound board so I have a copy of the mix that I can refer back to during the week.
IEMs. In ear monitors. These are the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you’re not on the worship team, these are the headphones we use to hear the music mix in our ears instead of having a wedge monitor on the floor of the stage. I won’t get into much on these, but they help keep the stage noise clean so our audio engineers can mix from a good starting point. I was using the KZ ZSN Pro X from Amazon for a bit, but in 2024 I went to Florida and found an incredible pair that I love (they have an ambient filter, so I can still hear the real world around me).
Obviously, when you’re toting around electronics, you need to have a pouch to keep all of your cords and memory cards/sticks organized. I have this one, but I will likely need to upgrade to a larger one like this. I pack this with a charging block, a few different types of charging cords, a backup charger, usb drive, and my watch charger (I feel pretty lost without my watch on Sunday mornings).
Water is a staple and in big church we had water fountains. In small church, we have to bring our own water, or fill up in the bathroom sink (no thanks). When you’re singing/talking for 4 hours straight, you need a lot of hydration! I have tried many water cups (except a Stanley), and this 40oz Simple Modern one keeps my ice and water perfectly. A little hack I use for hydration is adding Electrolytes powder to my water. It tastes like pink lemonade and is very refreshing when you’re exerting so much vocally – and 40oz will last me during the service.
Speaking of vocals, for a short time our singers were struggling with vocal fatigue, sore throats, etc. We eventually realized that it was an attack from the enemy (let me know if you ever want to talk on the attacks of witchcraft). We fought that spiritually, but in those practical moments we used some great products to help keep us powering through. I found this great throat spray and cough drops that are very soothing. They have a permanent spot in my bag, regardless of the state of my voice.
Another thing I need in my bag is admin items. With small church, the pastor wears many hats, and one of my hats is administration. So boring, I know. I’m constantly needing to bring documents for people, so I keep an accordion file organizer filled with envelopes and pens.
Doing small church over the last 4.5 years has been an incredible learning curve, but it has been an amazing experience. Remembering to charge everything and pack it all up every Saturday evening is probably the biggest challenge. Bringing things, setting everything up, tearing everything down, keeping it all in order has been a hidden blessing. Week after week, we watch our team work together in unity, each one doing their part and more to serve in the house of God. Toting things back and forth to the church – it’s worth every moment.
Rowena Francis 