Why Your Church Doesn't Sing... and What You Can Do To Fix It (Part 3)

Today’s guest post comes from Jason Hatley, Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey Church in Boca Raton, Florida. Jason is the Founder of WorshipLeaderInsights.com and author of two books as well as over a dozen worship leader personal and ministry growth resources.

Want to know a sure-fire way to keep your church from singing this Sunday?

I didn’t think so 🙂 But the truth is, if you’re making one of these THREE BIG MISTAKES you in fact are keeping your congregation from singing.

Recently I kicked off this new series about what has become one of the major issues facing worship leaders and churches today: the decline of congregational singing.

And whether or not you believe your church is experiencing this right now, the recent trends point to the fact that more and more congregations are singing “less and less”.

Today we’re going to tackle the second reason for this decline in congregational singing, as well as what you can do about it in your church.

REASON #2: THE MUSIC IS TOO HARD

Have you ever been to a church service where the band is fully engaged in worship, but a significant percentage of the audience is sitting back, watching, checking their phones and wondering when the set is going to end?

The band may be well-rehearsed, musically excellent and have genuine hearts for the Lord, but if the songs they’re leading are too complicated the congregation is going to check out.

Remember… the average person in your church is not a trained musician. What comes easy to you does not come easy to them. So, do your best to exclude songs that require large interval jumps or complex rhythmic, melodic and harmonic lines.

And watch your language, too (no… I don’t mean it that way). Be aware of the phrasing and type of language used in a song. If the song is completely me-focused, it’s likely not a good corporate song choice. If the lyrics are overly specific about certain life experiences, you may alienate a significant portion of your congregation who can’t relate.

If the lyrics are difficult or feel more like a solo than a congregational song you’re likely to create spectators rather than worshipers.

The truth is many of the songs being written and released for churches today are wonderfully written and theologically sound, but they’re simply too hard for the average person in your church to sing.

Does this mean they shouldn’t be written… that God doesn’t use them… or that we should not purchase any music that isn’t “congregation friendly”?

Of course not!

But it does mean that as worship leaders we must choose wisely the songs we lead on Sunday. Just because a song is on a “worship” album doesn’t mean that it’s right for your congregation.

When we select songs that the congregation can sing we are doing our part to help the church fulfill this command and sing worship to the Lord.

Click here to read the full article.

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PS – This series of articles on Congregational Singing was inspired by a leadership talk that I gave to my Worship Leader Gold network recently called, “Seven Ways to Help Your Congregation Sing (Lessons from John Wesley)”.

Now – you can have complete access to this exclusive leadership session, AND receive two additional Coaching Sessions, two Equipping Interviews, over $813.20 in FREE bonus resources immediately, plus much, much more (see below for the exhaustive list of what you’ll receive in this new network) when you join Worship Leader Gold today!

Jason Hatley is the Pastor of Worship Arts @ The Journey Church and the Founder of WorshipLeaderInsights.com. You can receive his free weekly “Tuesday Morning Insights” by clicking here.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.