Message Series: “Living the Anonymous Life”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“He is Faithful” – Jesus Culture – Key of D – Female 1 Lead
“Forever Reign” – Passion – Key of G – Female 2 Lead
“Cornerstone” – Hillsong – Key of C – Male 1 Lead
“Forever” – Kari Jobe – Key of G – Female 1 Lead

We opened with “He is Faithful,” which was a repeat from two weeks prior when we introduced it to our church. With new songs, I will do one of two things: If it’s an opener, I will rest it a week and then bring it back. If it is a mid-tempo or slower song, I will do it two weeks in a row, but just place it in a different spot in the set. This is to ensure our church learns and connect with the song rather than them just hearing the song. I’ve heard it said that it usually takes hearing a song three times before it sinks in.

After this song, while Pastor Devin gave a short welcome, we immediately transitioned to “Forever Reign.” We chose the Passion Band version of this song instead of the Hillsong original because of the intro. I preferred the lead line and extended intro they did in the Passion version, which we played underneath Pastor Devin’s welcome. I chose to have our second female lead sing “Forever Reign,” which was a great change from the traditional male led version in the key of C. Although doing the song in the key of C would have been an easier transition to “Cornerstone,” I wanted to take the risk of doing something a little different. It definitely gave a fresh sound to the song and a sweetness to the bridge lyrics, “My heart will sing no other name, Jesus, Jesus.” We also did an abbreviated version of “Forever Reign” for the altar time at the end of the service, where we started at the 3rd verse after playing the intro.

After, we transitioned via pad to “Cornerstone” and concluded with “Forever.” To transition into “Forever,” I read Revelation 5:11-13, which was a great visual set-up for the lyrics of this song. At the end of this song, Pastor Devin came up for a time of prayer and we then went into an extended time of worship with which we went back into the bridge and chorus to conclude.

Message Series: “Living the Anonymous Life”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“You Are Good” – Bethel – Key of E – Female 1 Lead
“At Your Name” – Phil Wickham – Key of A – Male 1 Lead
“Your Great Name” – Natalie Grant – Key of A – Female 2 Lead
“Revelation Song” – Gateway – Key of C – Female 1 Lead

Our opener for this week to kick off a new series was “You Are Good.” Super simple, yet our church loves this song. Without a doubt, we can always get the congregation clapping and participating on this song, and that half the battle. Following the opener, we transitioned to the key of A via pad using the midi keyboard, while Pastor Devin welcomed everyone. Our main male leader then led “At Your Name.” I personally love the verses to this song and how it paints the picture of the power of the name of Jesus. We ended with a down chorus to then transition to “Your Great Name” led by our second female leader. This song packs a powerful punch theologically and again, what a great description of the power of Jesus. We choose this song as our anchor song for the service and also came back to it for response time. We concluded with “Revelation Song,” which I consider to be a “throwback” for us. However, I believe it to be a modern-day hymn for our generation and a guaranteed win in any set list.

Message Series: “Restart: Everyone Deserves A New Beginning”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“He is Faithful” – Jesus Culture – Key of D – Female 1 Lead
“Here For You” – Chris Tomlin – Key of D – Male 1 Lead
“Never Once” – Matt Redman – Key of G – Female 2 Lead
“Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” – Hillsong – Key of D – Female 1 Lead

“He is Faithful” was our opening song and I believe a great invocation song, especially when looking at the chorus lyrics, along with a great declaration to sing during the bridge. However, we started with the drum fill and came in full band cutting the intro in half, rather than the just acoustic intro played on the album. We wanted it to start with more energy, since it’s coming straight out of a 5:00 minute countdown. From there, we kept the midi playing the key of D pad to transition to “Here For You,” while our Pastor was welcoming everyone. This song is also a great invocation song. However, it takes a while to build, so we bumped it to the second song because of this. Also, with this song you can easily end with a down chorus, which is what we did, to transition into a slower song. “Never Once” was then led by a different female leader, which I loved. I think it is nice to take a typically male-led song and have a female lead it and visa versa. It gives a fresh voicing and new life to it, especially if it a familiar song to your church. This is also the song we chose to come back with for response. It has a great message to put in the mouths of the people, “Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did You leave us on our own. You are faithful, God, You are faithful.” We then concluded with the song “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),” which like the song “Holy Spirit” from the previous week, is an anchor song for our church. I think it’s important to try to have at least one of these songs during a set if possible. It becomes an easy on-ramp for people to engage and participate if there is a connection to the song.

Message Series: “Restart: Everyone Deserves A New Beginning”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“Running” – Hillsong – Key of E – Female 1 Lead
“God Is Able” – Hillsong – Key of B – Male 1 Lead
“Holy Spirit” – Jesus Culture – Key of E – Female 1 Lead
“Lord I Need You” – Chris Tomlin / Passion – Key of E – Female 2 Lead

This set list for our team is a foolproof set. I believe every team should have a set or a couple of songs that can easily be played on the fly, hopefully from memory. Having a set like this comes in handy for when you as a leader are asked to lead a service on short notice or your pastor decides to go into an “extended time of worship” during a service. You will be glad your team has these in their back pocket.

“Running” was chosen as the opener for three reasons: its up-tempo, it has a great lead line (I’m a sucker for a good lead line) and the lyrics spoke well to the message we wanted to articulate, especially for launch Sunday. From that song, we used the midi keyboard to transition the pad from the key of E to the key of B, while the Lead Pastor welcomed everyone. This ensured no dead space and a smooth transition. “God is Able” was then lead by our male leader to give good contrast and unspokenly establish up front that I am not the only worship leader and a co-leader model is important to us, as previously explained above. Then, using the midi keyboard once again we transition back to the key of E for “Holy Spirit,” which has been a staple song for our church before we were even an official church. This song for us, as it is and has been for many congregations, is an anthem song. We concluded with “Lord I Need You,” (led by our second female leader) which was the core song for the message series and also the song we came back to for response time.