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.

Message Series: “Love One Another: Part IV”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“Open Up The Heavens” – Meredith Andrews – Key of B – Female 1 Lead
“God Is Able” – Hillsong – Key of B – Male 2 Lead
“Your Great Name” – Natalie Grant – Key of A – Female 1 Lead
“Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace)” – Hillsong – Key of G – Female 2 Lead

We wrapped up our series on loving one another, which was centered around the purpose to encourage people to engage in community and ultimately join a connect group. Because one of the goals of the service was focused on pointing people to the sign-up and group leader meet and greet time following service, we did not have an extensive response time at the end where we concluded with a worship song as normal. Rather, we really wanted to give people extra time before they needed to pick up their kids, etc. to mingle and spend time with community. (Trying to remove any obstacles or excuses they might have not to sign-up for a group.)

Having said all this, we kept the worship set pretty simple, yet ensured lyrically, it was impactful. Therefore, we began with “Open Up the Heavens,” a newer favorite of our church, and continued in the key of B for “God Is Able,” which was lead by one of our male leaders. We ended with a down chorus, smoothly transitioning to the key of A via pad for “Your Great Name.”

We again ended with a down chorus, tagging “your great name…” to move swiftly to “Broken Vessels” in the key of G, led by another female leader. I really don’t recommend changing keys as much as we did with the last three songs, because it just creates opportunity for a seen and heard abrupt transition. However, in this case, we ran transitions several times and really focused our energy in making them seamless, since there was the added element of a key change. Remember, the goal is to not just minimize, but hopefully eliminate any possible exit ramps people might take to disengage from worship.

Message Series: “Love One Another: Part III”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“He is Faithful” – Jesus Culture – Key of D – Female 1 Lead
“Here For You” – Chris Tomlin – Key of C – Male 1 Lead
“Our God” – Chris Tomlin – Key of C – Male 1 Lead
“Forever” – Kari Jobe – Key of G – Female 1 Lead
“My Heart Is Yours” – Kristian Stanfill – Key of A – Male 1 Lead

This particular week we only had two leaders/vocalists, one female and one male. For my preference, I’d like at least three, possibly four for the fullness of the sound, energy, look, etc. However, sometimes adjustments and compromises have to be made when you have people out of town at the last minute. It’s called adaptability and flexibility, two qualities that are necessary to have, develop and maintain as a leader but are never fun to cultivate.

Because we had only two vocalists, we didn’t attempt anything too complex or complicated such as a Hillsong Young and Free song or a song that requires a wall of vocals. We kept it simple. Our opener, was one of our staples, “He is Faithful.” It has a great solid, theologically sound message and perfect opening lead line to really bring the energy and engage the congregation right away.

We then transitioned to the key of C via pad where we landed for the next two songs, which our male leader led: “Here for You” and “Our God.” These two songs are also ones that our church is extremely familiar with so it was almost guaranteed participation. Again, helping fill in the sound. We ended with a down chorus and then transitioned to the key of G for “Forever.” We intended this to be more of our ministry/power song. It ends more celebratory with a big chorus so it provides an easier atmosphere for the pastor to come and transition us to meet and greet without too much of a drop in energy.

For response after the sermon, we chose “My Heart Is Yours.” With the continuation of the theme of love, this is the perfect prayer and declaration of surrender. Also, because it is a fairly high energy song as far as intensity goes, it keeps your congregation engaged and leaving on a up note. So, it checks all the boxes: it is theologically sound and brings a challenging message, as well as facilitating a reflective moment without losing the encouraging feel. Overall, a win.

Message Series: “Love One Another: Part II”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“This is Amazing Grace” – Phil Wickham – Key of E – Female 1 Lead
“My Heart Is Yours” – Kristian Stanfill – Key of A – Male 1 Lead
“Forever Reign” – Hillsong – Key of C – Male 2 Lead (response song as well)
“Revelation Song” – Gateway – Key of C – Female 1 Lead

In continuation of our “Love One Another Series,” I selected songs that really fit thematically with the idea of love and relationships. We opened strong with “This Is Amazing Grace,” which from past sets you know is one of my favorite openers because of the contagious lead line and high energy feel (along with the message of course). We then transitioned via Ableton pad to “My Heart Is Yours,” which re-enforced this subject well. This particular week we had two female and two male vocalists; my preferred combination. I think it gives a really nice balance and good variety to the sound of the set.

We again smoothly transitioned via pad to the key of C where we stayed for the last two songs: “Forever Reign” and “Revelation Song”. This was one of my favorite sets because of the progression of the feel and message of the songs building on each other. With each song, our pace slowed but we also went deeper with facilitating more worshipful moments. We ended “Forever Reign” with a down bridge and made our way into the intro of “Revelation Song”. We concluded “Revelation Song” with a big chorus that resolved into a real moment of celebration, which I felt was necessary with where the set was leading.

In worship, even if you are planning a ministry moment with prayer, etc. to conclude, I think it’s good to end more uplifting than reflective. Of course the reflective moments can/will be happening during the actual set, at the end of the set or the end of the message. However, as a personal preference ending those moments, I think transitions work better if you lead towards celebration.

Message Series: “Love One Another: Part I”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“Running” – Hillsong – Key of B – Male 1 Lead
“Only Your Love” – Kari Jobe – Key of E – Female 1 Lead
“Holy Spirit” – Jesus Culture – Key of E – Female 2 Lead
“Lord I Need You” – Hillsong – Key of E – Female 1 Lead

Kicking off the month and a new sermon series, we kept it pretty basic. We did three staple songs (which I have broken down in previous set list posts) along with the newly introduced “Only Your Love” from the previous week. When introducing a new song we more often than not do it two weeks in a row and then give it a week off before repeating it for the third time and then resting it. This is simply to get the song from a place of unfamiliarity (melody & message wise) to a place of familiarity and comfort with the church. The first time generally people are learning the song, the second time they are able to actually engage and sing along, and the third time they are getting it in their spirit and really absorbing the message.

We had our primary male leader lead the opener, “Running” because I knew I would be leading two other songs in the set and we could maintain good transitions with them all being in the key of E. In knowing this, I didn’t want to lead three songs by taking the opener as well. Again, not necessary with the other talented leaders we do have. Plus, having three female led songs following the opener needed to be broken up with a male voice if possible. Along with this, it is good for other leaders to get more comfortable and experienced with opening the service with a greeting and directing/engaging the congregation. People won’t learn if they don’t practice. They can’t practice if they aren’t given the opportunity.

With that being said, one thing I would have changed looking back is the arrangement of the leading of the songs. Instead, I think I would have led “Only Your Love” and “Holy Spirit” and then had our second female leader lead “Lord I Need You.” The reasoning for this would be that while exchanging who leads can help people engage better, if done too much, can be counterproductive. I used to feel that leading two songs back to back wasn’t good because I do want to empower other leaders and stress the multi-leader model. However, I realized through studying and watching other churches such as Church of the Highlands and Gateway, main leaders lead two songs back to back almost every Sunday. It helped me understand how this can create stability and consistency, something that is just as important as empowerment.