Planning a worship set-list is a week-in/week-out task. Another Sunday service is always right around the corner. For most worship leaders that means it's easy to get behind in your set-list planning. It's hard to move out of your comfort zone and onto new things when that happens. In the end, you find yourself just picking songs on a week by week basis simply because you need to and you don't have any real plan for how you do it.
Here are 3 keys to strategic worship set-list planning:
1 | Plan in chunks
When you plan for multiple weeks at a time in one planning session, it helps you see the bigger picture. In contrast to planning on a week by week basis, planning for multiple weeks let's you craft a deeper vision for your worship gatherings. If your church is in a particular series, you can pick songs that allow your congregation to respond to the truth that you're learning in a deeper way. Planning in chunks also allows you to see how often you're repeating songs. Maybe you're doing a song too much or maybe you could do it for a few more weeks - you'll never know if you don't look at the bigger picture.
There's always push back when it comes to planning in advance. Most worship leaders say, "My pastor doesn't know what they're preaching on until Saturday night." What can you do? You can still plan in advance and leave some flexibility for the song coming out of the message. A plan that changes is better than no plan at all. Often times, you'll find your plan doesn't change nearly as often as you think it will.
2 | Think about what your church needs to learn
One of the ways your congregation learns is through the songs they sing. Obviously that means you want to pick songs with strong theology. But, it also means planning out WHAT you're going to teach your church. Ask yourself the question: what is going on in the life of my church and what truth of God do I need to highlight this month? Then, pick songs around that truth.
3 | Get a second opinion
You don't have to plan your sets alone. Work with someone else - your pastor, your worship team, etc. Other people will see things that you miss. We are better together!
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