New Song Series #6: The Goal and Purpose of Picking and Singing New Songs

What is the goal of introducing new songs? Is there thought that needs to go into it before they are picked? Yes. Does this song meet a need for your congregation? Is there thought that should go into rearranging them for your congregation? Yes! Some of the new songs that come out on the radio have a lot of cool parts that may be hard for some novice musicians to play, as well as too hard for the people to sing along. They may need to be adjusted to fit your congregation. There is nothing wrong with making a song your own or making it more playable and singable by making it your own.

Musicians need to be able to enter into the presence of God just like the singers and the congregation. If they are so caught up in concentrating on the technical parts of it the entire time, they might grow weary and or not enter in at all. Likewise, the worship team needs to feel ready and comfortable. Yes, a lot of practice goes into things behind the scenes, but we also need to make adjustments to fit personal needs so we can enter in. Music Directors may change the melody line to fit the vocal range of their group or have everyone sing a line in unison because it makes what is being sung feel stronger. It might be just what the congregation needs. After all, our true purpose in leading worship is to serve the local church.

The goal is for the new song to be sung so that the people can enter in and feel the presence of God. If you are thinking about adding new songs, listen to the arrangement. Seek to arrange for simple chorus and versus. Bridges are good too, but often the radio songs are very tricky and leave people wondering when, where, and how to sing. Sometimes we lose people when we go off and do some cool part. If we do that, we have missed the purpose of why we are there. We are not there to lead our people into the dust, but to let them come up to the high mountain of God of with us.

Remember to lay your pride down. What is best for the people? If the intro drags and the congregation does not respond, cut it and change it. What if you can’t play the intro like they do on the CD? Can you put your pride aside and adjust it for the people? That would be better than just cutting the song, a song that you picked because your people needed to hear and sing the lyrics to be encouraged and led closer to God. Do you sing songs because they are your favorites and you pick them without considering the needs of your congregation, then you need to pray about this too.

Sometimes we think the elaborate is what the people want, but often they want to be able to feel apart and join in like a camp fire sing along. When we all get together and sing and praise in unity, mighty things happen!