I'm sure every worship leader has a process for putting together a worship service. Our church has moved into a format that uses fresh expressions of worship when it comes to style, but follows the ancient pattern of worship when it comes to content and structure. This type of service requires a different type of planning. Here is what works for me currently:
1. Lot's of prayer! I pray for inspiration, creativity, and direction. It is always amazing to me how this prayer is answered when what is planned takes on a spontaneous life of its own in the services. Ultimately the Holy Spirit must guide everything and then must breathe life into what was planned and created ahead of the service.
2. Look at lots of pieces and possibilities. Whether I'm doing this on my own or with a creative planning team, I begin to look at many pieces that could form a basic theme or "storyline" for the service. After all, worship tells God's story so I start by trying to understand what aspect or angle of the story needs to be told this week. I look at the pastor's sermon and discuss it with him/her. I then look at the Revised Common Lectionary . I read and meditate on the passages and prayerfully look for the common thread(s) that run through them. I look at other liturgical resources to see what other thoughts and elements are out there. Some that I regularly look at and use are:
The Revised Common Lectionary. This where I find the scriptures for the week.
The Work of the People. This is a company that creates some really good liturgical video.
GBOD Worship. I usually look at "Worship Planning Helps" on this site.
Abingdon Worship Annual. This is a CD Rom with liturgical prayers for various parts of the service.
3. Write a theme. In a short blurb of no more than a few sentences, I try to capture "the main thing" for Sunday's services. I do this based on all I have done up to now.
4. Select music and other elements. I go into my own data base of songs which I have arranged into folders that are for each part of the service. For instance, I have a "Call to Worship" folder with songs that are appropriate calls to worship. I am constantly searching for new music as well. When I come across a good song, I usually add it to my files. I usually select the following songs:
- A Call to Worship (A song that encourages people to gather to worship such as "Come, Now Is the Time...")
- An Invocation (A song/prayer that invites the Lord to be present such as "Meet with Me")
- A Confession (A song/prayer that admits our need for God's grace and cries out for His mercy)
- A Song of Praise (A God centered song of Praise, such as "How Great Is Our God")
- Responsive Songs (Other songs that are sung in response to the reading of the Word)
Along with planning songs, I also select any other elements that will be woven in such as video, drama, dance, etc.
5. Write the Liturgy. I write out the whole service (with the exception of the sermon). I create a document that includes song lyrics, prayers, scriptures, and responses of the people. I tend to re-write, or write liturgical prayers and responses in very contemporary language so that it is understandable and is poetic without being stuffy. When it comes to scripture readings, I look at various contemporary versions to see which one is most understandable, but also does justice to the passage.
6. Create Visuals. In this day and age, it is important that there are visual metaphors used, mainly on the screen to help tell the story. So I search for stock photos and video clips that can be used.
7. Create a Service Plan. This is distributed to everyone involved so that everyone is on the same page come Sunday morning.
So there you have it. That is my process for putting together a worship service that is a fresh expression of an ancient tradition.
1. Lot's of prayer! I pray for inspiration, creativity, and direction. It is always amazing to me how this prayer is answered when what is planned takes on a spontaneous life of its own in the services. Ultimately the Holy Spirit must guide everything and then must breathe life into what was planned and created ahead of the service.
2. Look at lots of pieces and possibilities. Whether I'm doing this on my own or with a creative planning team, I begin to look at many pieces that could form a basic theme or "storyline" for the service. After all, worship tells God's story so I start by trying to understand what aspect or angle of the story needs to be told this week. I look at the pastor's sermon and discuss it with him/her. I then look at the Revised Common Lectionary . I read and meditate on the passages and prayerfully look for the common thread(s) that run through them. I look at other liturgical resources to see what other thoughts and elements are out there. Some that I regularly look at and use are:
The Revised Common Lectionary. This where I find the scriptures for the week.
The Work of the People. This is a company that creates some really good liturgical video.
GBOD Worship. I usually look at "Worship Planning Helps" on this site.
Abingdon Worship Annual. This is a CD Rom with liturgical prayers for various parts of the service.
3. Write a theme. In a short blurb of no more than a few sentences, I try to capture "the main thing" for Sunday's services. I do this based on all I have done up to now.
4. Select music and other elements. I go into my own data base of songs which I have arranged into folders that are for each part of the service. For instance, I have a "Call to Worship" folder with songs that are appropriate calls to worship. I am constantly searching for new music as well. When I come across a good song, I usually add it to my files. I usually select the following songs:
- A Call to Worship (A song that encourages people to gather to worship such as "Come, Now Is the Time...")
- An Invocation (A song/prayer that invites the Lord to be present such as "Meet with Me")
- A Confession (A song/prayer that admits our need for God's grace and cries out for His mercy)
- A Song of Praise (A God centered song of Praise, such as "How Great Is Our God")
- Responsive Songs (Other songs that are sung in response to the reading of the Word)
Along with planning songs, I also select any other elements that will be woven in such as video, drama, dance, etc.
5. Write the Liturgy. I write out the whole service (with the exception of the sermon). I create a document that includes song lyrics, prayers, scriptures, and responses of the people. I tend to re-write, or write liturgical prayers and responses in very contemporary language so that it is understandable and is poetic without being stuffy. When it comes to scripture readings, I look at various contemporary versions to see which one is most understandable, but also does justice to the passage.
6. Create Visuals. In this day and age, it is important that there are visual metaphors used, mainly on the screen to help tell the story. So I search for stock photos and video clips that can be used.
7. Create a Service Plan. This is distributed to everyone involved so that everyone is on the same page come Sunday morning.
So there you have it. That is my process for putting together a worship service that is a fresh expression of an ancient tradition.
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