Let all things be done decently and in order. –1 Corinthians 10:31
Have you even stopped to consider how the smallest details of your order of service can communicate importance to the congregation? Did you know that even a simple detail like how you begin the service can set the wrong tone for the service? Specifically, have you considered that the way you package and present the music in a service reveals what you believe about the role of music and worship in the church?
Students often ask, “How should we structure an order of service?” More often than not, these students are looking for the smoothest flowing order that results in no dead time, smooth transitions, and a streamlined service. While I am certainly against wasting time, flow can be the very thing that hinders the worship service.
The greatest hindrance I’ve seen in an order of service is when corporate worship is frequently interrupted by announcements, offerings, hand-shaking, or other activities. Equally hindering is the use of music for transitions or fillers. The worship rituals like the physical offering are so routine (and often meaningless) that we have to occupy our ears with a piano solo or special number.
I’m certainly not saying any of these things are wrong in and of themselves, but they should not distract from the meaning of the worship ritual. There are two premises to this post: (1) that the worship service is primarily for believers to gather, worship, hear the teaching of the Word of God, and edify one another, and (2) that there are specific “worship rituals” that the church ought to perform regularly, if not every time it meets. These include praising (primarily in song), praying, preaching, and providing (for the work of the ministry and/or the needs of the poor). You can read more about this here.
This is not a philosophical post. Rather, I’d like to offer some practical ideas for retaining meaning while increasing flow. Here are a few “detail” ideas that can help you achieve a meaningful flow to your service.
1. Have a definite call to worship.
There needs to be a clear signal that the service is beginning to allow members to prepare. For years we did this with a choir opener. The choir would enter, signaling the imminent start to the service, and would sing a short opening number before the congregational singing begins.
I’ve heard of other churches that begin the service with announcements, ending that time with a word of prayer to commence the song service. This is a model we began to follow for chapel services at West Coast Baptist College. We give the announcements, pray, read a Scripture related to the topics of the songs for that service, and then commence in congregational singing.
This should not be a congregational song. You know what it’s like when the song leader comes to the platform and introduces the song while people frantically scatter to find their seats (after of course they finish their conversation, sometimes lasting into the second stanza).
Remember, we have gathered to worship together. There is nothing special about singing a song if the entire congregation is not involved in offering the song of praise to God.
2. Move the announcements out of the primary worship service.
There are several GREAT ideas floating around to make this possible. At Lancaster Baptist, we have the “UpNext Video” at the close of the service to cover all relevant announcements just before dismissal. This works well, but an obvious issue some people have with this model is that it often displaces the message they just heard.
Another option I’ve not seen done (but I’m sure someone does it) would be a pre-service and post-service announcement video. I imagine this video would play at the 5-minute mark before the service, signaling the start of the service and encouraging members to begin finding their seats. I imagine the video could end with a statement like, “Please find your seats and silence your phones. The service is about to begin.”
If you don’t have the personnel/resources for videos, a repeating PowerPoint running screen announcements is a good alternative (if done well. No clip art. Sorry). Anything is better than 10 minutes of monotonous announcement reading.
There are many other great ways to utilize social media, church apps, email, and websites in order to remove announcements from the main service.
3. Package each worship ritual instead of breaking them up.
In other words, don’t scatter congregational singing between prayers, offerings, special music, and announcements. Despite what you may think, most congregations can handle standing for 15-20 minutes of singing. They don’t need to stand for two minutes, sit for five minutes, stand again…etc.
Instead, group all your congregational songs together in a meaningful package. This package can be based on the sermon series, sermon topic, or even the Christian calendar (a neglected resource for worship leaders, but a topic for another post). Song arrangements work wonderfully in this kind of a package and such arrangements can be very engaging to the congregation. Why should the choir get to sing all the great music?
Song arrangements work wonderfully in this kind of a package and such arrangements can be very engaging to the congregation. Why should the choir get to sing all the great music? Accompaniments, key changes, added instrumentation—all these can significantly improve the singing of the congregation if employed creatively and tastefully.
One obvious area of potential overlap is the offering. Perhaps sing a hymn about God’s provision or our joyful giving. There can be better ways to keep the congregation engaged in the meaningful ritual of giving than have a special number. Many congregants don’t mind talking or checking their emails during an offertory.
Package the music, a time of prayer and perhaps Scripture reading, the sermon and response, and baptism. The goal, once again, is to retain meaningfulness despite the repetitiveness. It can also greatly improve the flow.
4. Don’t be afraid of structured silence.
The only reason we fear dead time in a service is that we overthink how our visitors might feel. If the service was for them, our concern would be justified. As I said in the introduction, however, the service is for the believers. The guests are bystanders and observers at best. It’s most important that they see a congregation of believers authentically and passionately worshiping their God (Psalm 40:3).
There is a way to seamlessly transition from one ritual to the next, but sometimes the most meaningful response to a song, Scripture, or prayer is simply silence.
Our church members’ lives are busy. They’re used to going from one appointment to the next in a relentless cycle. Some of them may sincerely wish to “be still and know that [He] is God” every now and then.
5. Train, communicate, practice, and repeat.
There is nothing insincere about rehearsing a service. Most of us use volunteers in areas of music, media, sound, etc. These volunteers need to be coordinated and trained. Musical train wrecks, stuttering worship leaders, unbalanced sound, slides that don’t advance at the right time—all these can be a serious distraction and hindrance to the flow of the service.
Here are some ideas for rehearsing a service:
- Have a pre-service warm-up, especially Sunday morning. This can save you from calling volunteers in other days of the week. Ask them to come a little early, run through the cue card, and check the sound.
- Use a system like Planning Center Online to plan your services, notify your team, keep performance notes, and more.
- Plan and communicate the service elements at least a month in advance. You can email your team once a month with the upcoming month’s schedule or create a Google Doc for sharing and planning. This allows you to plan out further than just the upcoming services.
- Provide training for the members of your worship team. Take them to a conference or send them to a local module in sound technology. There are SO many cheap and often online resources for training. You just have to look.
Preparation is key, whether you’re a singer, speaker, preacher, sound man, or camera man. The less you prepare, the more you improvise. The more you improvise, the more time you waste by saying/doing more than you need to.
We want to have a service that flows but also engages the congregation in meaningful ways. What are some ways you have improved the flow or the engagement of the congregation in your services? Leave a comment below!
