Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Welcome to the creative team talks podcast for Hillsong Creative.
[00:00:18] Hey everyone, Chad here. Just a few thoughts and hopefully a helpful guide for when it comes to putting gather a song list or a plan to lead worship for a service at Hillsong Church. I'll base this guide on an average 20 minutes or four standard songs plan I think it's an important thing to consider before going through the process of selecting songs for a service is simply just reminding ourselves what the key functions and responsibilities are for a worship leader. These may vary from church to church and will be informed by church leadership or the senior pastor, but for the purposes of this segment, I'll focus on what we teach our worship leaders here at Hillsol.
[00:01:00] The primary role of a worship leader is to lead people into the action of exaltation of God, and although there are many other functions and responsibilities within the purview of a worship leader, we'll use this one in particular to inform this guide.
[00:01:17] Okay, so song one.
[00:01:20] I like to keep it joyful, keep it light. Just remember, people are still coming in, they're finding seats.
[00:01:27] Also, people can be a little self conscious when they first arrive, so a Christ centered song that is joyful and fun is perfect. Songs with call and response or some other form of crowd participation can also have a positive impact on the engagement of a congregation.
[00:01:48] Song number two, I like to keep it magnifying or Jesus glorifying, or maybe songs that focus on being thankful. Songs that fixate on the character of Jesus, confess the gospel, the truth about Jesus, songs that remind people of who he is. These songs I call faith builders. They declare his sovereignty and goodness. And these songs tend to cause people to remind themselves that God is God and we are not, which is an amazing thing to consider.
[00:02:21] These songs are also powerful because in a service, the congregation are in agreement regarding these things, and they sing and declare gospel truths together.
[00:02:33] Okay, song three in a four song plan. This is where I tend to put songs that have Bible narrative or they're prayer and petition type songs. I'm talking about the songs that aren't necessarily direct exaltation of God, but are designed to encourage the individual towards God or a greater sense of trust or faith towards God. Songs that sing about miracles or breakthrough or salvation, sometimes an encouragement to bless God despite adversity. One of my favorite examples of this type of song is new wine, which paints a fantastic picture of the parable of the old wine skins.
[00:03:17] Song number four.
[00:03:19] This spot in the song plan is reserved for high praise, the how great thou art type, direct and vertical praise songs. Be mindful of songs that sing about our own exploits for God in this moment. The songs that say we will see miracles when we praise. They are faith inspiring, but it doesn't quite compare to singing I exalt thee if you get what I'm saying.
[00:03:45] There you have it. It's just a little guide to planning for a service. One last thing before I do sign off, remember that your favorite songs for your quiet time or times of personal ministry may not be suitable in a corporate church service worship time. Songs that speak to you and encourage you in the season that you are in can be really helpful and encouraging for you. But perhaps you can use this guide to decide whether or not they fit. When you lead our church in worship this Sunday.
