Beyond Sunday Worship

Worship Podcast & Blog

11 Effective Ways To Introduce New Songs To Your Congregation

New songs.

If you lead worship, you’re always on the lookout for that next “worship hit” that will work with your congregation.

But new songs can be tricky.

They need to be introduced well. Sometimes a great song misses the mark because it wasn’t set up properly. Or because the rest of the worship set was too unfamiliar for people to engage.

Worship leaders find themselves caught in this tension between the old and the new…all the time. We want to be fresh, yet familiar. Simple, yet innovative.

But being new, fresh, and innovative can leave church goers staring at the screen, wondering what just happened.

11 New Song Tips

So here’s a list of effective ways to introduce new songs:

1. Set it up and teach it simply

2. Program it as “special music” during the offering

3. Sandwich it between familiar songs

4. Include it in a video the week before you teach it

5. Attach the “chorus” to a hymn or familiar song

6. Sing it at the end during altar ministry

7. Make it the “theme song” of your sermon series

8. Tell a story behind the song

9. Program it as a “special song” in the middle of the message

10. Sing it more often than you think…people are still learning it

11. Teach them the easiest part of the song and let them sing on their own

Two Questions: What is your favorite new song you’ve been leading? How did you introduce it to your congregation? Let the comments roll.

Comments

  1. Brandon says

    Last week, I lead At Your Name by Phil Wickham. It went over very well! We sang the verse and then the chorus a few times before actually going through the song…so that helped!

    We are doing it again tonight!

  2. Michael Perkins says

    I just want to say that as a pastor I appreciate your blog. I’m not gifted musically and often don’t understand what goes through the mind of a worship pastor because I’m not wired that way. You’ve been really helping.

  3. Arny says

    I haven’t lead in a while…but I always liked to do number 11.

    and our church introduces at offering pickups…

    or the first song we play for about 3 weeks…then move it in a regular rotation in the set…

    I say the first song is best, cause people are just settling down. people still coming in late…

    That way…the familiar songs will be there when most of the congregation is there and you don’t lose traction as they worship…

    great list David.

  4. Jason says

    I think the most common thing we do is play the song during offerning or communion to introduce it. We do other things as well, such as just playing the chorus, tag, or bridge so that the song isn’t completely new. One thing I may add is something I think we ran into this past service.

    We introduced a song a little while back, but we haven’t played it again in some time now. So, while it wasn’t completely new, it isn’t well known yet. nothing went wrong necessarily, they really liked it and it went well and all that, but they are still unfamiliar with the song. Would you recommend playing the new song 2 or three weeks in a row, or every other week for a while so they get used to it or what?

    And how does getting a congregation familiar with a song fit into, other new songs you’re trying to introduce? It would seem like a vicous cycle of “Here’s a new song. Here’s one we’re still getting familiar with. And here’s a hymn to tie the old to the new.” Pretty soon it could get to be very formula driven perhaps. Sorry it’s so long, but I’m just thinking ‘out loud’ haha. Or do you just not introduce songs until you feel ready or that God is telling you?

    I didn’t realize I had so many questions haha! Thanks David, you’re awesome!

    • David Santistevan says

      I introduce around one new song a month. Typically I’ll lead that song 3 out of those 4 weekends. While I may be sick of it, the congregation is just learning it and making it their own. I would say do it for two weeks, take a break, then do it again. To answer your other question, I wouldn’t try to introduce too many new songs at once. Space them out. It also depends on who your congregation is. Younger people can typically learn songs quicker.

  5. Rob Rash says

    Great suggestions David.
    There are a couple of things we do that have been very helpful…

    1.) I try to make the song available via streaming from our church website or facebook page and direct folks there to listen and get familiar with it.

    And 2.) We’ll make sure to do the song 2 or 3 weeks in a row, give it a week off, and then do the song one more time. This helps it become familiar and helps us know if the song is going to become a regular!

  6. Lee says

    Great list – we use 2,3,and 7 a lot when we introduce a new song, and you are 100% right – do a new song often the first month or two. The new songs we are loving right now are One Thing Remains, God is Able, and a recycled version of Brenton Brown’s 2001 song Holy. Great work David!

  7. Ryan Gordon says

    These are some great tips, David. I haven’t done several of them before, so that gives me something new to try out.

    Matt Redman’s Never Once has been a huge hit at my church. We did it every week as part of a sermon series a couple months ago and it has been well received.

  8. Becky says

    These are some great suggestions on how to introduce a new song to the congregation. We usually use number 2 and also sing it a couple weeks in a row.

  10. Raul says

    I like numbers 1, 5, and 10, and just like you said as well, When the team gets sick of it is usually when the congregation is just catching on. I also stream the songs online. I use grooveshark and make a playlist for the setlist and put a link up on our twitter/facebook page to let people know what we are singing. I got the idea from another churches website. I have got a few people that told me they liked to be able to hear the songs before sunday. Now I have a few more ideas to try out, thanks

  11. Chris Gambill says

    Great ideas, David. I’ve done most of these. I’ll play a song during pre-service music for a few weeks ahead. People may not be conscious of what they are listening to, but it seems to help them catch on faster when we actually start singing it. I’ve also emailed out links to new songs on Youtube and asked people to watch/listen to the song. I’ve gotten positive feedback to this as it helped people catch on faster.

Trackbacks