Vineyard East Worship

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@ daniellefry: I like your style.

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First I have a little talk with God and ask Him what songs He’d either like to use, or like to have sung over Him. To add to that, sometimes the Pastor will give me a theme, which helps greatly. Once I get a feeling for what the ‘powers’ need, then I start gathering songs, usualy 2X as many as needed, and over the next few days weed them down. Things I take into consideration are:

God’s nudging
Pastor’s theme
Congregation size and age range
Who is on the team that week (full band or acoustic group)
Keys of songs for transitioning between them
Are we having communion?
Do I have a song that was new last week that I want to repeat?
What went well last week

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wow! it seems like everyone is very intentional about the song selection process. that’s awesome!

one of things that i like to consider is liturgy and movement. where are people when they come in? where do we want them to be when they leave? i like to start with a call to worship kind of song, then take people to a place where they are singing to God without being very “me”-centric (like what andrew wrote), then move to intimacy, which often tends to be more “me”-centric, then perhaps move to celebration/thankfulness, which is kinda like a response to the intimacy.

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@Eric: we repeat for two reasons:

1. Continuity – Not for continuity’s sake, but because there is something valuable in people feeling they are moving through the weeks and months identifiably. That today is connected to yesterday and will be connected to tomorrow. This was one of the benefits of the liturgical calendar in many traditions. Giving a sense of continuity week to week provides a sense of purpose, meaning and movement. It also helps provide time itself a bit of definition, so that we move through it with some markers. We celebrate Advent and Lent, Easter and Pentecost at our church every year. This repetitive quality acts as a stabilizer to much of our thematic progress through the year on a macro level, the same can be said for the repetition of songs. What God said and did last week did not happen in a vacuum. It should still be affecting us this week.

2. Accessibility – One of the Vineyard’s worship values is accessibility. Repetition means that if you came last week, we’re going to do a song you heard again. This helps as a guest or new convert is beginning to “get a feel” for what our church is like and provides an easy on ramp for them every week.

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Hey Andrew, Why repeat?

Just curious.

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Total set list is 4 songs.
We make sure we are using AT LEAST one song from the previous week’s set every Sunday. That takes care of one song selection fairly easily. If we introduced a new song the previous week, then that song gets repeated by default. A second song could be repeated, if appropriate.

Generally 3 songs left.
I think about what songs have been in heavy rotation over the last couple of months. I keep track of the set lists week-to-week that each band has played in order to be sure. I’ll choose a song that has been “working” in our congregation. Keeping track week-to-week is a great way to identify trends. Have we simply played a song too much? Is it in danger of getting overplayed? This is important to consider as we generally want to avoid over-using a song just because it happens to be the latest worship song fad. You know, “old wine, new wine skins” principle at work here.

Two songs left.
Based on the two previous selections, I think about tempo, subject matter, style and key. I want the last two songs to round out this list well. Are the previous two songs all about me? I, I, I, I, I, I? Where is the Gospel in this set? Does it clearly communicate who Jesus is? How, if at all, does it connect to the subject matter of the series we are currently preaching through? Are either of the two previous songs appropriate for ministry time at the end of the service? These are questions that run through my head that help me to narrow down the final two song selections.

Not terribly involved, and not terribly complex. And, since I don’t have a “God wants us to play this song today/this week” theology, I don’t kill myself during the song selection process. I don’t stress out about it, and I don’t believe that there is a ton riding on my decisions about which songs we include/exclude on Sunday mornings. They just need to work.

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OK, somehow Rich’s profile got mixed with mine… that was really SPring, not Rich dressed as me! LOL! Think I’ve got it fixed now!

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I usually have no idea what the topic is for Sunday. During the week, as I think ahead for the following Sunday, a song sometimes comes to mind and sticks there for a few days. I take into account any new song I am wanting to introduce, and then sit down at the piano to worship and see where it takes me. I worship from one song into other, whatever comes to mind, also praying for the service as I go. This method always makes for the best flow for the worship service for me. When I don’t have the time, or if I feel unable to really get anywhere, nothing comes to mind, I will pray as I go through my binder and see if something grabs me, and then use that as my starting point. Ninety percent of the time, what the pastor speaks on will tie in with something we sang, even though I didn’t know his plan ahead of time. God is so cool!!

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I start by getting the topic and bible passages from whoever is teaching that week. Then, I ask God to show me songs, I let it marinate, then refine. I like to have a full week for this.

I also try to work on the transitions between songs so as to create a full, connected worship set. Not always easy to do.

Great website!! Sorry, but us West Coasters are going to crash the party.