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4 Tips For Introducing New Songs To Your Church

There are tons of great worship songs written and released each month, many of which could be a great fit for your church. But there are few things worse than introducing a song that you’re very excited about and it doesn’t connect with the congregation. So, here’s a few tips to give your next new song a leg up.

 

  1. Introduce the chorus first

Another way to prime the congregation for the new song is to introduce the chorus or bridge a week before. For instance, if you’re church already sings O Praise The Name and you want to introduce King of Kings, try pairing the two up by singing O Praise The Name followed by a down chorus of King of Kings. Then, introduce the whole song the following week.

 

  1. Set up the song with a story or exhortation

There’s usually a reason the song has stuck out to you, whether a powerful lyrically line or a personal story that you connect with a song. Sharing these anecdotes with the congregation can help foster the same understanding and affinity for the song as well. So, try introducing the song briefly before teaching it to the congregation. Connect it to relevant scripture and explain why it’s important that we sing these truths.

 

  1. Preview the song before the service

There are multiple ways to preview a song before introducing it to your congregation. Some of the methods we’ve used over the years are to include the song in the pre-service playlist the month before, to have one or two of our team members record a stripped down version of it and post it on social media saying that we’ll be using the song that week, or to use it as a special offertory song or in a similar position.

 

  1. Give the song more opportunities

It can be difficult for a congregation to learn new songs. Previously when hymn books were used, the music was annotated which gave the congregation a closer idea of the melody. Now with modern screens which only display the lyrics, it can sometimes take a congregation a few tries before they are comfortable enough with a song to fully sing out. Because of this, it’s a good idea to try a song a few times before determining whether or not it’s a good fit for your conversation. The number of times we usually choose is 3; if a song still isn’t hitting after the 3rd try, it probably isn’t going to work for our specific congregation.

 

Use these tips the next time you introduce a song and see if they help your congregation adapt. Also, leave any missed tips in the comments!

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