The student-led worship team, Upper Room, is recruiting new members for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. As the 2024 spring semester draws to a close, five of the current team members will be graduating, which will open spots up for new members.
Regarding the potential applicants, Upper Room president Seth Robertson said, “Essentially we’re just looking for people who want to fill those roles, who have a strong faith in Christ, can articulate the gospel and have a connection with worship.”
For the time commitment required to be a team member, co-president and worship leader Shane Hughes said, “We try and do some team events throughout the semester, not many, probably two or three, and then Sundays, we have practice. If you’re on the team, it usually starts around 5:30 [p.m.].”
In addition, before Upper Room each week, Robertson said the team has business meetings where they prepare for the following week, choose the songs and work with the testimony speaker for the evening.
Hughes said for certain positions, specifically the prayer coordinator and testimony coordinator, the job would require some more outside work, separate from Sunday evenings. For the testimony speaker, this work may include collaborating with the testimony sharer throughout the week to help them refine their speech.
According to Robertson, the team members who will be graduating are Robertson, Hughes, Seth Fischer, Grace Ingram, and Anne Gaines. The available positions for the worship team will be for a female singer, a male singer, a guitarist and a drummer. Other open team positions include an additional member of the tech team and a prayer coordinator.
For the recruitment process, the application was due at 12 p.m. on Feb. 12, however, Robertson mentioned that the team would be willing to host additional tryouts if necessary.
Hughes said the process will continue with the current team reviewing the applications together. They will then schedule a team interview with the applicant to discern where their heart is and whether they would be right to fill the role they applied for.
Additionally, Hughes said the worship team applicants will attend an audition on Sunday, Feb. 18, where they will be given two songs each to play with the current band. Hughes also said the purpose is to see how they would fit in and whether they would be right for the job.
As for the attitude the team desires from new applicants, Robertson said, “The biggest and most important thing would be that the person understands that they’re in a different role than the role of a team member was a public one, and there is an element of leadership and social responsibility that comes with the position. Robertson said that because the goal is to glorify God, the group does not want a situation where someone would damage Christ’s reputation through their actions. “We’re representing Christ, so we want to do that to the best of our ability,” Robertson said.
Robertson also called for new applicants to “Be modest, be humble. It’s not something to lord over other people. In addition, be on time. And have a desire to worship, with a genuine desire to be a part of the team.”
“I would say for anybody that’s interested, Upper Room is a place of peace, not just because we’re here, but because Jesus is there, and we expect and pray for every night that God would show up in our worship and that the songs that we sing are not empty or vain but that they have meaning and that they impact people,” Roberton said.
Hughes said for new applicants, “Really, I just want them to have a strong faith in Jesus, and to really know the gospel and to be able to articulate the gospel and just to have a heart of service. I think us as Christians are called to be servants of the Lord and so I think that’s very important whenever you’re in a worship leader role; you are doing it for the Lord and not for any notoriety and fame.”
Robertson said, “For those students who maybe are seeking purpose or seeking joy or seeking peace or seeking comfort or whatever it is, I think that Upper Room can supply that, because Jesus is there with us, and he is the supplier for those things.”

To find out more about Upper Room and its application process, contact Seth Robertson at Seth.Robertson@student.waynesburg.edu and Shane Hughes at Shane.Hughes@student.waynesburg.edu.just being a student or somebody that just comes to Upper Room for worship.” Robertson said