Set List Survey from Tim Hughes

From Tim Hughes' blog at Worship Central...

Do you ever find you get to the place where someone starts a song in worship and you think; 'if I hear that song one more time I'm going to throttle someone!'

Recently at HTB/SPOS we've been thinking about the songs we use in our times of worship on a Sunday. We have 7 services on a Sunday and for the last 3 months have asked each worship leader to send through their set lists. Our intern and budding mathematician, Beth Coulson has collated this information and come up with the graph below.

It's been a really useful exercise for us as a team. As you can see the songs we've been playing lots include, 'Mighty to Save,' 'Love came down,' 'Never let go,' 'Everlasting God,' 'Great is Your faithfulness,' and 'Happy Day.' Because these songs work really well they end up on the set list all the time. However we've definitely got to a place where we've overdone these songs and are in danger of killing them off once and for all! As a result for the next 2 months we've decided to rest, 'Mighty to Save,' 'Love came down,' 'Everlasting God,' and 'Great is Your faithfulness.'

One of the reasons for doing this is that it forces us to think more creatively when choosing a set list. Sometimes it's so easy to pull out and rely on the classics. Now we're having to find other songs that perhaps we haven't used as much. We're on the search for some new material. All of this brings a freshness to the church. Also it means we don't kill the songs off for good. In 2 months time it will be great to re-introduce some of these songs again. People will enjoy singing them having not sung them for a while."

Read the rest of this post at Worship Central and take a look at the graph...

What songs are you singing a lot and in danger of wearing out?

Comments

[Glenn]

In light of the article concerning using our worship favorites all of the time, wouldn't it be great to have some way of posting our Orders of Worship to see what others are using as their "set list". When we see a song we are curious about, we could email that person and ask about it. Try as we all might, there are still songs that are being used by God that are escaping the mainstream. I love traveling somewhere and finding a "jewel".

Besides the above benefit, it would also gve us some ideas we may not have ever thought of. I know I wouldn't mind if someone took what I did and used it "as is". It's all good when it is used to bring glory to God. The best creative ideas don't come TO me - they come THRU me...and you! Might as well share them.

Just a thought.

This site already has the infrastructure to make this happen. So, I hope someone notices this post and gives it some thought. I need some more great "top of the set" openers and creative ways to do the older hymns. Probably I am not alone in this.

[Heather]

I think as worship leaders we sometimes have to remember that the congregation is not yet sick of many of the songs that we are sick of. This is due to the fact that we are sometimes leading for several services in a week, practicing the songs during the week, etc. This certainly doesn't mean that songs can't be overdone, but a better gauge of whether or not a song has been overdone may come from a worshiper in the congregation who attends only one Sunday service or a Sunday and a mid-week service each week.

At my church for a little while we got in the habit of introducing TOO many new songs because we (the worship team) were sick of so many of the old ones. The congregation needed familiar songs in order to relax enough during worship to experience God's presence. In the end we accomplished the opposite of what we had hoped because the worshipers were concentrating on the new words and tunes they needed to learn instead of enjoying their time with the Lord.

Unfortunately, we have also gotten stuck in a rut in the past, so sometimes it's difficult to know. But, finding someone in the congregation who will tell you the truth (not just what they think you want to hear) is important, in my opinion.

Love, Heather