True worship is the only kind of worship that transforms lives. Every Sunday, my prayer is that all who attend First Baptist Dallas, myself included, will be different when they leave than they were when they came; that they will have met with God during the service and as a result be more like Christ.
Before I write another word, I want to clarify that God is the only One who can transform a life. If you’re a worship pastor or member of the music ministry, you play a role in leading worship and engaging the congregation to participate—and that’s very important! But it is the work of the Holy Spirit that changes hearts.
With that said, those of us who plan worship services will make decisions that will either engage or disengage the congregations we lead. It’s good for us to feel the weight of that as we pray and plan. Someone who doesn’t even participate in singing to the Lord will not experience all that God has for them in that worship gathering. What a tragedy!
So, the words that follow are practical applications to consider as you strive for the entire congregation to be fully engaged this Sunday morning.
First, the congregation needs to know most if not all of the songs you’re leading. As a rule, I never introduce more than one new song in a worship service. The congregation is likely to hang in there for one new song, but they need to sing songs in the service without simultaneously learning. Too many new songs can be a distraction from the reason we’ve all gathered in the first place. If you’re like me, you have a song list filled with songs you love and would like to lead. We are living in an era where there are so many great songs available to us. That’s a good thing! The challenge for us is to narrow that list down into a reservoir that is appropriately attainable by the congregation we lead. One way to do this is to ask these questions:
- What songs do we as a congregation currently know?
- Which ones are timeless?
- Which have served their purpose for a season and need to be removed?
- In light of these answers, how much space do I have to add new songs to the repertoire?
I highly recommend writing down the answers to these questions. Some of you just got excited about the opportunity to create a spreadsheet. Go for it! It can be a spreadsheet, a page on your Notes app, or a good ol’ sheet of paper. Use whatever you need to really work through these answers and create a list that you can refer back to as you plan each week.
If possible, you should answer these questions with a trusted team—especially when you get to the third question. Removing songs is as hard as throwing away your kids’ crafts they made in elementary school that have been in your closet for ten years – sorry, kids! We all have a propensity to be song hoarders, but it is very difficult to effectively add new songs without removing others. Think of packing a suitcase: at some point, there isn’t room for one more shirt because of everything else you’ve packed. If you want that shirt to make the trip, you’ll have to decide what to give up.
Why is this process so important as we’re thinking about engagement? Introducing new songs must be intentional and methodical. Here are some realities that are out of our control: first, every congregant will not attend every week; second, people need repetition to really know a song. These realities are why we need to be intentional about how we introduce new songs as well as how often we introduce new songs.
Every week, our church sends out a playlist of all the songs we’ll be singing the next time we gather—new and familiar. I have found this to be a good way to introduce a song before you gather. Obviously, you can’t force everyone to listen, but you can at least provide the resource for those who want to show up prepared on Sunday. Similarly, it always helps if the song you’re introducing is being played on Christian radio. This doesn’t mean you should only select new songs from radio playlists, but we’re fortunate to have great new worship songs showing up as radio singles these days—and that’s a great thing for congregational engagement!
Aside from these possibilities, it’s important to think about how you’re going to introduce a new song in the worship service. If your choir sings a presentational anthem each week, or even periodically, that can be a great initial introduction of a new congregational worship song. It gives the congregation a chance to process the song before singing it. And it seems very simple, but I will often tell the congregation that we’re about to teach them a new song. Sometimes that’s all it takes for them to lean in a little more and focus more deeply on the song.
Another important element is repetition. When I introduce a new song for congregational singing, my goal is to use that song three times over the course of the next month or so. It’s been my experience that the song becomes brand new to the congregation all over again if I wait several weeks between the first few times it is used in the worship service. Also, this exercise keeps me from introducing too many new songs. Finally, I find that I am more carefully considering new songs if I’m committed to using it so often in such a short period of time. I’ll find myself asking, “I like this song, but do I like it enough to use it three times in the next month?”
There is another effective way to engage the congregation to sing both new and familiar songs: making sure your leaders are prepared. This is true in any context—one that uses a choir, one that uses a worship team, or even one that only has a single vocal leader. The goal is never to survive a worship service—it is to lead with confidence because you are musically and spiritually prepared. What does this look like practically? Beyond learning correct notes and rhythms, make sure you rehearse the songs enough to adequately prepare your vocalists to lead from memory.
Another practice I have found to be highly impactful is teaching devotionally on the lyrics of a new song as we’re learning it in rehearsal. This typically includes laying a biblical foundation for the song by providing supporting scriptures, along with application. Try to answer the question, “Why is it important that we sing this song?” Leading with musical confidence is one thing, but leading with biblical confidence takes engagement to a whole new level. Since I started this practice years ago, every week I find our choir and worship team leading from a place of deeper conviction and assurance. The end result is a congregation being even more inspired and motivated to sing to the Lord!
