Choosing the Right Songs for Worship Services
I have had the honor of leading worship for 20+ years in various worship contexts. One question I get asked frequently is how I select songs for worship services. Here’s some practical insight on how I choose the right songs for worship services.
The Big Idea
When I’m planning the worship set for a service, initially I try to get a sense of direction and how the Lord is leading me. I attempt to discern what the “big idea” is for the worship set. I’ll ask questions like:
- What aspect of God’s nature or attributes are we emphasizing? (His power? Glory? Grace? Omnipresence? etc. etc… )
- What is pastor’s message about? What songs will complement the pastor’s message so everything points in the same direction? Is the pastor in a teaching series?
- What does God want to accomplish in this worship service?
Asking these kinds of questions help you pinpoint a direction and you can plan from there. I have lead worship sets that felt disjointed because the song themes were all over the place and didn’t complement each other. For instance, I would lead a song about God being an all consuming fire, then a song about Him being the water of life, then a song about His mercies, then a song about him fighting for us, then a song about surrender. All of these themes in one worship set don’t complement one another and it’s hard to build momentum in the atmosphere. You can utilize complementary themes like grace and mercy, truth and God’s promises, God’s faithfulness and His word in your worship set and that will set the stage for a seamless flow. When you establish the “big idea” first, it helps with song selection and in selecting scriptures you can incorporate into your worship sets to help the congregation connect with God.
Song Flow
I’ve learned over the years that songs need to be properly placed in the worship set in order for them to be effective. My philosophy as a worship leader is to initially get everyone in the room on the same page by “gathering” the people. That includes doing songs that are easier to sing and are familiar to the congregation. There are some songs that are inherently great opening songs. If you use songs that are great opening songs in the middle of the worship set, it may feel like you’re starting from scratch. There are some songs that are great “transition” songs to shift the tempo or into another theme. Then there are some songs that are most effective when a great flow has been established and they would be considered more “intimate” worship. When I’m planning a set, sometimes I sing the end of one song and see how it feels to transition to the next songs intro. Does the transition feel “natural” or forced? Do I have to rebuild momentum again when going to the next song? Becoming skillful in crafting the right song flow takes time to learn. Here are some things to consider regarding song flow:
- What opening song will get everyone on the same page? What is that song that is a “quick win” for everyone in the congregation? Start with that kind of song.
- What are the tempos of my worship set? Do the song tempos feel too choppy? (1 fast, 1 slow, 1 fast, 1 slow)
- What keys are the songs in and can I connect any songs with the same key signature?
- What’s a good song to use as a transition to a slower tempo (or faster tempo if you want to end on a high note)?
Prepardness
Let’s set aside what we would consider the “spiritual” aspect of song selection like prayer and look purely from a “natural” perspective. I really take into consideration how prepared my team is to execute the performance of the songs. If your team doesn’t sound prepared on a song, that is probably a song that you shouldn’t force into your worship set list. Some songs don’t go over well simply because they weren’t executed well by the worship team. If the musician’s are missing notes, the drummer’s timing is off on those accents, the singers can’t get the harmony on the bridge, etc., I highly recommend practicing that song until it’s ready. Every worship leader has had the experience of having their team nail a song at rehearsal, only to act like they never heard the song in Sunday’s soundcheck. I simply remove that song from the set list and call an audible. My advice would be to never perform a song that’s not ready because it kills momentum in a worship set, it can be embarrassing to the team, and…… most importantly….. your failed worship set can go viral on YouTube (*joke)
Theologically Sound
Some songs are just not biblically based. They sound good, have a great beat, wonderful melody, and beautiful lyrics that aren’t theologically sound. As worship leaders, it is our job to ensure that what the congregation is singing lines up with the Word of God. We never want to sing songs that can sow seeds of error or reinforce bad theology. This is dangerous and should be taken into consideration when choosing the right songs for worship.
Everything in this blog post has nuance to it and I encourage you to be lead by the Holy Spirit and to use your best judgement. I pray that you faithfully lead people to Jesus!
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