Message Series: “Love One Another: Part V”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“Only Your Love” – Kari Jobe – Key of E – Female 1 Lead
“At Your Name” – Bethel – Key of B – Male 1 Lead
“Always” – Kristian Stanfill – Key of D – Female 2 Lead
“Place of Freedom” – Highlands Worship – Key of D – Female 1 Lead

This was our second week of Connect Group sign-ups. So, again we did not have a response song. However, we did introduce a new song, which I like to do about once a month. I think when you do more than once a month, it is difficult for the congregation to “keep up”, especially if people miss a week. One of our goals as leaders is to make it as easy as possible for people to enter into worship. It seems people do this better, when they are familiar with the songs (lyrics & melody). With that being said, let’s get to the set.

For our opener, we repeated “Only Your Love,” which was the new song we introduced at the beginning of February. Because of the long melodic intro, I read a passage from Psalms after welcoming the congregation and inviting them to stand for worship. I can’t quite remember what the exact passage was because I chose it last minute before rehearsal, which I highly recommend you not doing. I hadn’t calculated the length of my welcome ahead of time to know that it was too short for the intro. However, I believe Psalm 100:4-5 was the verse, with the emphasis being on “unfailing love.”

Concluding this song, Pastor Devin welcomed everyone and gave an invocation prayer as we softly played the intro of “At Your Name.” We ended this song with a down chorus and let it breathe a little before transitioning via pad to the key of D, where we stayed for “Always” and “Place of Freedom.” Our second female leader, led this song beautifully and it was perfect for her range and suited her really well. Finding the right songs and style for your other leaders is so important. It is part of the developing and empowering process. Remember, you want to set them up to win when they are leading. The right song in the wrong key can be a disaster and visa versa, so don’t be afraid to try them out in rehearsal with different songs before having them lead the perfect one for them on platform.

Our concluding song was the new song we had chosen to introduce. After introducing an opener last month, we really needed an intimate, more worshipful song melody and feel wise, but one that didn’t lose its congregational nature. We absolutely love Church of the Highlands, their leadership, their messages and their worship. The song “Place of Freedom,” a Highlands original, is a powerfully moving song that instantly connects the hearts of people to the presence of God. If you haven’t introduced this song, I highly recommend it. Our church grabbed onto it pretty quickly because of the simple melody and patient dynamics and it really challenged us to go to a deeper place in our expression of worship.