I need your attention, for just a few moments. If you are a worship leader, or a pastor in a small church, there is a tool that you should know about. Over just a few minutes, I’ll tell you about FLY – one of the most revolutionary worship tools to serve the church in a long time. I wasn’t paid to write this – in fact, I asked the folks at FLY if I could road test their product. I was curious. Here are the results.
FLY – What Is It?
FLY is a powerful new product from respected worship leader Brenton Brown (Everlasting God) and team that could revolutionize the small church worship experience. Imagine that you’re a worship leader in a small setting, equipped with only your guitar or keyboard. While the worship experience is strong and you are able to lead well alone, you long for the kind of energy that a well-rehearsed, well-mixed band can bring to a gathering.
Now, imagine that entire backup band is available to you in your laptop (via software), controlled by a simple pedal board (at your feet), and is ready to turn on a dime with you as you play through a set. With FLY worship leadership software and the simple pedal board that comes with it, that tasteful backup band you’ve dreamed of is now a reality. Just plug your laptop audio into any sound system, and you’re ready to lead.
FLY – What Itch Does It Scratch?
FLY is a “scratch the itch” tool designed specifically to serve the small church (or small event) worship leader. For an incredibly reasonable cost, you can now engage the sound of drums, bass, keyboards and electric guitar in a simple, tasteful, beautiful backup band experience. Or, pull the band back and go with a small acoustic sound (keys and bass) for that men’s retreat, seminar or wedding.
After literally decades of wishing I had a tool like this to lead from, it’s finally here. But, of course, everyone needs to hear how effective a tool is from someone who has actually used it. So, I road tested it. Armed only with a laptop, my guitar and a small sound system, I showed up at two events with FLY – ready to lead.
FLY – The Road Test
I road tested FLY in two unique events – one event was with a group of worship leaders, and the other was with a group of college students in a chapel setting.
In the first setting, I set up FLY through a Bose L1 system at an event I was running. As soon as I began to lead with it, 30 worship leaders were simply thrilled. Can you say “Itch officially scratched?”
I pulled up the song Better Is One Day, acoustic guitar in hand. Then, I led through the song with my “laptop band” (who were quite well-rehearsed, I might add), and showed them how it works. I started the band with my foot pedal, then looped a section that I decided I wanted us to sing again. (I chose the key of D for the tune, but it was available to me in other keys as well.)
Then, I said “Let’s sing that again, only this time, sweetly.” Another click of a foot pedal later, the full band dropped out to reveal just my live acoustic guitar accompanied by a sweet piano and light rhythm.
“I would use this at women’s retreats and in training sessions,” someone suggested. “I would teach all my new worship leaders to play with a band on this,” another worship chimed in. “I would teach my band how to play together with this as my example” was another idea. Finally, a small church worship leader said, “I would use this every single Sunday, the rest of my worship leading life. It will help me play better, too.”
There it is:
- Use FLY for small church and small event worship gatherings
- Train new worship leaders with FLY’s “band in a laptop”
- Train bands to play well together with FLY
- Rehearse with FLY and sharpen your timing and arranging
The point was proven. FLY just works.
In the second setting, with about 25 college students, I had my guitar out, ready to lead. When I brought in the band via FLY, you could feel the energy level rise in the room. I asked them later “Did it seem contrived, or like a backup track?” “No,” each student said, “It felt very natural and beautiful – and sounded very cool.” That’s all I needed to hear.
Once again, FLY just worked.
FLY – Time For Takeoff
So, I have officially have confidence in this new tool for worship leaders, and give it my endorsement. FLY is available on PC, and the Mac version is in the works (that’s very important to me). No matter your setup, FLY is going to fit in quite well in your worship leading tool kit.
Road-tested. Designed for small events and the small church worship leader. Ready for you to try today. Lead worship on the FLY. Contact www.FlyWorship.com.
Dan Wilt is a respected worship leader, conference speaker, author, and songwriter, and is the founder of www.WorshipTraining.com. He is committed to resourcing worship leaders and artists of this generation to serve the church, and impact the culture, of the 21st century.
