Oct 17 2009
Best Christian Music Played by Chris Tomlin
Best Christian Music Played by Chris Tomlin – "I Will Rise"
Small Group Worship – How To Choose Songs For Small Group Worship
Choosing songs for small group worship need not be a difficult or daunting task. There are three factors you need to always take into consideration in order to select songs for small group worship.
Factor 01: Know what songs are familiar to your small group.
Why is this factor important? Because in small group worship you are better off using at the most one song that is unfamiliar to the people in each worship session. In order to follow this guideline you need to know what songs are familiar to your group members.
If your small group is based at a local church (made up of members of the same church), this becomes a lot simpler. Pay attention to the songs are used for the worship service and take note of what songs regularly come up. These will be more familiar to your people. If your small group is a para-church group, with members from different churches, you will need to pay attention to what songs have been regularly used for the worship sessions in previous meetings. Looking out for this will give you a good sense of what songs are dependable and usable in your small group worship times.
Factor 02: Know what songs are sing-able and what are not.
Songs that are easy for the members to sing are a must. We measure the success of small group worship by the standard of the following Scripture passage:
2 Chronicles 5:12-15 – All the Levites who were musiciansAsaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relativesstood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as *with one voice*, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever."
Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God. (NIV, emphasis mine)
So if you want to make it easier to unify the praises of the people, choosing songs that are easily sung by your group members is crucial for your success.
Please don’t assume that what is used for your church service or 1000 heard in ‘worship’ albums will always be useable in a small group setting. Worship albums are usually created by people with a high level of singing ability and music skill. These people are therefore able to sing what the average church member can’t. This may not be obvious when a difficult song is attempted during a church service, since there are more people to cover up any problems, but it becomes painfully clear when attempting such songs at a small group meeting.
Factor 03: Know what your musician(s) skill level and work accordingly.
If you yourself are not a skilled musician, or if the musicians who volunteer to serve are not highly skilled, you need to choose your songs based on what your musicians can manage. It is very difficult for many amateur musicians to learn more than one or two new songs a week. If you only have a pianist in your group, recognise that it becomes tougher to attempt the guitar based songs. Likewise if your only musician is a guitarist, he or she may have more difficulty making a piano-based song work.
Be aware of this factor, and work closely with your musicians as you choose songs for your worship session. Communicate with them early about what songs you wish to use for the next meeting, so that they will have more time to practice and work out any kinks in the songs or the song selection.
Conclusion:
Choosing the right songs for a worship session is more than half the battle won, especially when in a small group setting. Remember these factors and keep them in mind, and you will find choosing songs for small group worship to be a simple and effective process!
By: Junjie
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Junjie is a worship leader, musician and trainer with more than 14 years of experience in a wide range of church settings. To find out more about his training and to sign up for his free e-course on worship ministry, go to www.invisibleworshipmusician.com
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