Home Worship & Creative Leaders Articles for Worship & Creative Why Your Church Needs to Think Beyond the Worship Set

Why Your Church Needs to Think Beyond the Worship Set

Before the music begins, have the service leader give a few words of instruction or exhortation to set the song(s) in context. This interpretation of what is about to come is invaluable not only for believers, but also for unbelievers who may not know what to make of the music they’re about to hear. (See 1 Corinthians 14:24 on the priority of making the service understandable to non-Christian visitors).

Yes, it might feel a bit wooden and awkward to have a few remarks before the singing. But even this speed bump in the service is a good thing, because it engages the congregation’s minds and inhibits the passivity that an entertainment culture thrives on.

3. Also, keep the main lights turned up.

Darkness, smoke machines and spotlights all scream that the focus should be on musicians up front. In contrast, bright lighting and modest staging—even placing the musicians off to the side if possible—convey that what really matters here is not the choir or the worship team, but the content of the songs and the whole congregation’s participation.

4. See silence as a friend, not an enemy.

If there are a few moments of quiet between a song and a prayer, or between the offering and the sermon, it’s not a disaster. After all, this is a gathering of Christians for praise, not a TV production. In fact, allowing silent space in transitions can refresh people’s mental palates and allow the church to reflect on what has come before in the service. In addition, use planned moments of silence for reflection and prayer. Sitting in a room with dozens or hundreds of other believers and simply being quiet before the Lord is bracingly countercultural in our noisy, distracted age.

More tools in the toolbox.

In all of this, I’m not trying to make the worship set a bogeyman. It’s a useful tool. But for these three reasons, I don’t think it should be the only tool in our toolbox. And if we do use a worship set, we should do so in a way that unifies rather than divides the order of service, that highlights rather than downplays other elements of worship, and that promotes awe before God rather than an entertainment experience.

When it comes to planning a worship service, there is much freedom with regard to the forms and circumstances in which a congregation reads the Word, sings the Word, prays the Word, hears the Word preached and sees the Word in the ordinances.

I pray that as pastors and music directors think beyond the worship set, God would give us wisdom to lead our congregations in offering him an appropriate sacrifice of praise. I pray that our churches, filled by God’s Spirit, would increasingly delight in God’s Son, the one who gave himself for us that we might be worshipers of him.