Beyond the Music: Developing an Intentional Devotional Plan for Your Choir Rehearsals

I grew up in a very small church. Our pastor was part-time, and every other position was filled by volunteers. When I was 16 years old, the chairman of our deacons called me and asked if I would be interested in leading the choir. Imagine getting offered your first position and you’re so young that you have to ask your mom if it’s ok! Trust me… I had done nothing to prove that I was ready for such a task, but I accepted the offered opportunity (once I got mom’s approval) and was excited to grow as a leader and choral director.

Due to my age and inexperience, and because I was leading adult volunteers, I shied away from sharing many devotional thoughts and mainly focused on the music. That choir was full of mature believers, many of whom had been lifelong spiritual heroes to me. I didn’t feel qualified to teach or lead them devotionally.

It saddens me to admit that I kept this same approach as I began my first full-time role as minister of music just a few years later after graduating from college. About 15 years later I stepped into an interim worship pastor role which included leading a choir that was hurting from a tough transition with a former leader. It was then that I felt the Lord speaking to me, saying, “These people need more than just music preparation.” At that first rehearsal, I came up with a plan to finish rehearsing the last song about 10 minutes early. As they were handing in the last anthem, I took out my Bible and said, “Before we wrap up tonight, I just wanted to take a minute and share some things the Lord has been teaching me in my quiet time this week.”

That night, I felt like I finally started leaning into what it meant to be a true pastor to the volunteers in the music ministry. A few weeks later, the choir filled out a survey to help the pastor decide what type of leader he needed in that role. The #1 thing the choir members mentioned was that they wanted someone who would teach them from God’s Word as a part of the choir rehearsal experience. The pastor shared those results with me. That was the day I started thinking more intentionally about how I wanted to shepherd and biblically prepare choir members.

Shortly thereafter, I started writing song devotions specifically designed for choir rehearsal. The goal was to take the text of an upcoming anthem (either presentational or congregational) and lay a biblical foundation for the lyrics. Almost immediately, I noticed the impact these devotions were having on the choir as they began to sing the songs from a deeper place and with greater confidence.

My song devotion format is simple and methodical. First, I always list the song title, the writers, and the lyrics in their entirety. There are a few reasons for this: depending on the arrangement, the choir may not sing all of the lyrics, so it’s good for them to have a chance to read it in text form. They may notice phrases that they never sing in the arrangement, especially if there’s a solo involved or if their voice part isn’t involved on a certain section of the song. Also, I find that I am impacted by the lyrics in a different way when I read them in text form and not just within the confines of the choral arrangement. Different phrases tend to stand out when I process them by reading them instead of singing them.

Second, I always include supporting scripture. Depending on the lyrics, this approach may vary. If the lyrics include scripture or paraphrases of scripture, it’s a priority for me to point that out. In a recent survey I created as a part of my doctoral research, I learned that biblical literacy and awareness among choir members will likely vary. With that said, even if you personally feel like everyone knows the lyrics are from scripture, it’s likely that someone in your choir is unaware. I don’t point this out in a negative sense at all. On the contrary, it’s a beautiful thing to lead a group of singers from different backgrounds with unique testimonies. I love looking out and seeing a person who’s been a Christian for decades singing next to a person who accepted Christ as their Savior a few weeks ago. The seasoned believer can be a part of discipling the new Christian, while the new believer can be a refreshing reminder to the seasoned Christian of their own conversion.

If the lyrics are not directly or paraphrased from scripture, I offer a passage of scripture that supports the theme and truth of the lyrics. Depending on the topic, I may include more than one passage. These passages give the choir members greater assurance that they are sharing truth as they sing. Finally, if the anthem is lyrically deeper than the average song, I will offer biblical support line by line. This is an especially helpful approach with hymn texts (old or new) and gives the choir member something to revisit between rehearsal and Sunday morning.

After sharing the printed lyrics and supporting scripture, I offer an application that attempts to answer questions like, “Why is it important that we sing this song?” and “How should I respond to the truth I’m singing in this song?” Since I am trying to share this devotion in less than ten minutes, these applications are not usually very long or numerous. I find that even a single takeaway with meaningful impact is better than sharing too much content at the end of rehearsal.

There are other elements that I will occasionally add to a song devotion. There are so many background stories about songs available these days. These are often helpful in adding support to explain why you chose this specific song. Also, one of the writers might have an interesting background story or testimony that gives more context to the song. Finally, once I land on an overall theme for the song devotion, I love to find quotes from theologians and pastors who are much wiser than I.

As much as I love pouring into the volunteers I’m privileged to serve alongside, preparing a song devotion also makes quite an impact on me personally as I’m preparing to lead worship. As we all desire to choose songs that are biblically sound and gospel sharing, devotional preparation can become a part of our vetting process. I have actually decided to replace an anthem as a result of studying the text more deeply. The song wasn’t necessarily incorrect theologically, but my devotional preparation convinced me that the song was too vague and lacked gospel clarity.

The songs we choose help us, the choir, and the congregation think rightly about God. Yes, a wonderful musical experience is always one of the goals as we sing, but I have found that laying a solid biblical foundation for the choir helps them sing these songs from a deeper place and with more confidence. Give it a try for a month and see if you can tell a difference!