By Ashton Harat — April 12, 2023
Hi folks! I was recently reading a blog post about the selection of songs for congregational singing. It was very interesting and helpful. One of the quotes stuck out to me:
Because music plays such an important role in our worship services, you should give it the attention it deserves. One thing is for sure, it can’t be planned in half an hour.
David West, Grace For All Publications
Now, his overall premise is entirely correct, and I agree that—ideally—song schedules should be assembled with great care and attention to detail. And doing it well in advance is usually best. I try to select songs a month at a time so we can be well-prepared for them. Unfortunately, though this is ideal, it’s not often practical. Often, music gets the short end of the stick when folks are prepping for services.
However, that is not to say that an effective service cannot be selected last minute. Let me show you a method of choosing songs that can be done in mere minutes, yet result in a meaningful time of worship for a congregation.
Step 1: Choose a song that says “I will worship God” or “I must worship God.”
Songs such as “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name,” “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship,” “O Worship the King,” “I Will Glory in My Redeemer,” “Crown Him with Many Crowns,” “O Magnify the Lord,” etc., are excellent to open a service. Think of this first song as a Call to Worship. Also, pragmatically speaking, this song should a bit louder and faster than the rest of the songs.
Step 2: Choose a song that tells me why.
In other words, You’ve called me to worship God, now tell me why I should. God wants our worship to be informed by knowledge of Him. The most meaningful worship of God will result from a deep knowledge of Him. This song will usually describe the nature or attributes of God or His acts in history, or in our own life, testimonially. Songs such as “And Can It Be?” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “He Leadeth Me,” “A Mighty Fortress,” “God of Heaven” or “God of the Ages” works beautifully here.
Step 3: Choose a song that is a response to this knowledge of God.
Basically, you’ve said, “I must worship God. This is why: He is holy, sovereign, He has given His only Son to save the world from sin, He has saved me and led me and kept me from falling. Now, I must respond.” These are typically songs of consecration or testimony such as “A Passion for Thee,” “Just As I Am,” or “My Jesus, I Love Thee.” Or maybe a song like “For the Sake of His Name” or “From My Heart.”
This schedule of songs makes up an incredibly powerful unit of worship. Try out this mindset the next time you’re picking music for a service—you won’t be disappointed.
(As a music director, I have developed all sorts of music selection processes. This is the one I use most commonly. In a future post, I’ll tell you about some of the other models and strategies I’ve used.)