The Art of Worship Flow

Sunday morning services are like telling a story. The “story” takes you on a journey through high points and low points. The plot twists and takes its hearers to unexpected places. A good storyteller can build excitement to set up a major plot point and knows when to add a bit of humor to relieve a tense moment. He or she can paint a scene so vividly that the hearers can actually see the story unfold in front if them. Have you ever been to a church service like that? You could close your eyes and stand alongside the main characters. You could walk around in the scene; drawing new insight as you discover new vantage points to observe the story. You respond to God as if you were that woman at the well or that lame man who realized he could walk again!

As Larry The Cucumber of VeggieTales fame exclaims, “I laughed, I cried. It moved me, Bob.”

Too often Sunday morning reads like a stale novel. It’s predictable. The characters are flat. There’s nothing compelling about it to make you want to turn to the next chapter to keep reading.

Have you ever been to a church service like that?

As a worship leader, it’s our job to put the pieces together to help tell a compelling story. Another way to say this is: it’s our job to create a good worship flow. We have a palate of words, songs, music, videos, readings, prayers, testimonies, the sermon, communion, etc. to work with. All these elements fit together to help clearly communicate the overall message and how we should respond.

You can tell when flow works, right? The hearers lean in and turn their heads a bit to catch every word. Like a sponge, they soak in every phrase sung or spoken. Worship becomes more intense; more personal. I want that kind of worship every Sunday, don’t you?  I’ll be honest, that kind of worship can only come from the work of the Spirit of God. However, I want to share some tips I’ve learned to help eliminate the distractions and allow God to move!

8 tips to create a better worship flow

1) Keep groups of songs in the same key. If you are doing a block of up tempo worship songs, keep them in the same key and sing them straight through. No stopping! You may need to rehearse this with the worship team to nail those transitions, but it is worth the extra effort!

2) Pay attention to tempo. It kills me to see some worship leaders lead fast song/ slow song/ fast song/ slow song. I feel like I am in the car with a new driver who is hitting the brakes every few feet! Are there times when an abrupt and dramatic change in tempo is necessary? Yes. But use those sparingly. If you need to move to a slow set of songs, I would suggest a good medium tempo song as a transition between the two. It just feels right. This can also be achieved with a prayer or a video. The same is true when moving from slow to fast.

3) Let the songs help tell the same story as the teaching time. It is powerful to respond in worship with the same type of language you just received in the message, so choose songs that reflect a similar theme. I realize that you can’t force every song in a service to work in this way. In fact, I would never suggest getting every song to match perfectly. But there does need to be consistency in the message. And if you are struggling to make it all fit together, I believe that straightforward worship songs are always an appropriate choice.

4) Eliminate awkward silences. Unless the silence is intended for personal reflection time, do your best to avoid them. It is easy for people to disengage when these moments occur. Our postmodern brains usually jump to one conclusion: what has gone wrong? One of the worst offenses is this scenario: The last note is sung just before the scripture reading. Then, a few moments of silence. A figure from the back pew arises and begins to move to the closest aisle. Hundreds of eyes are now glued to the person as he or she is casually walks to the stage- ALL IN SILENCE. Do what you can do steer clear of this one.

This is a two parter. Stay tuned for tips 5-8!