Scope & Authority¶
Owner: Director + Pastoral oversight
Why Petra exists¶
Petra is a framework for the mundane.
Call times, swaps, input lists, lyric routing, rehearsal attendance, gear care — the repeatable stuff — lives here on purpose. When those decisions are already made, artists and tech are free to focus on leading worship and helping the congregation sing.
Petra is not a box, it is a skeleton. If a page starts micromanaging artistry instead of clearing the runway, rewrite the page.
What Petra governs¶
- Worship team culture and expectations
- Musician / vocalist / tech operating procedures
- Scheduling norms and swap rules
- Rehearsal and service run-of-show standards
- Music library, licensing awareness, chart conventions
- Equipment care routines owned by the worship/tech ministry
- Onboarding paths for band and tech volunteers
- Shared language (so we stop re-arguing definitions every week)
What Petra does not govern¶
- Full church employee handbook / HR
- Facility master calendar owned by other ministries
- Doctrinal statements (owned by elders/pastors)
- Child protection policy master text (we comply and point to it)
- Budget approval authority (we follow church finance process)
- Artistic calling in the moment — dynamics, prayer, spontaneous response, Spirit-led restraint or boldness within the plan and pastoral covering
Design rule for every doc¶
| Prefer | Avoid |
|---|---|
| Clear defaults and owners | Endless preference debates at downbeat |
| Checklists for repeatable risk | Scripts that kill presence |
| “Must” only for safety, care, or congregational clarity | Rules that exist to flex control |
| Exceptions with a named decider | Tribal knowledge |
Decision rights¶
Line of authority: Pastor → Director → team leads (Worship Lead, Song Selector, Tech Lead). The pastor has final say; responsibility and accountability for the congregation’s worship and the team’s health rest with the Director.
Who proposes, who decides, who is told:
| Decision | Propose | Decide | Informed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appoint the Director | Pastor | Pastor | Team |
| Songs / setlist titles for a service | Song Selector publishes the proposed set by the weekly deadline | Director confirms — the set is fixed once confirmed, or by the confirm-by time if the Director is silent (see Our Congregation). After that only a named exception changes titles | Worship Lead, Service Planner, Media, band |
| Keys, tempos, forms for a service | Worship Lead | Worship Lead (Director if sensitive); published by the keys/charts deadline | Band, Media, Song Selector |
| Arrange / cut a song section | Worship Lead | Worship Lead (Director if sensitive) | Band |
| Change call times permanently | Director | Director + pastor (or named delegate) | Full team |
| Appoint Worship Lead, Song Selector, or Tech Lead | Director | Director (pastor consulted) | Team |
| Major gear purchase | Tech Lead | Church finance / pastor process | Director |
| Exception to a policy for one week | Role owner | Director | Affected teammates |
| Exception to a song-selection avoidance (e.g. a Scripture chorus sung in God’s voice) | Song Selector / Director | Director with pastoral oversight, recorded on the setlist worksheet | Team |
| Edit Petra policy | Anyone | Director (or named delegate) | Team via changelog / announce |
Escalation path¶
- Peer / section lead
- Worship Lead or Tech Lead (domain)
- Director
- Pastoral oversight
Pastoral-care and safety issues skip the chain and go straight to appropriate pastoral / safety contacts.
