How We Select Worship Songs
Few things in church life draw out personal preferences as much as music. Styles, tempos, and song choices can feel deeply personal—and that’s okay. But corporate worship is bigger than individual preference. We want for our church family to sing to God (and to one another) with hearts and minds engaged. While there is a lot that goes on in the song selection process, here are a few things you should know:
Worship as a Teaching Ministry:
Our songs teach as much as our sermons. When we put lyrics on a screen and invite the church to sing, we’re shaping hearts and beliefs. That’s why every word must be true, clear, and helpful. In some ways, the lyrics in the songs we sing deserve even greater scrutiny than those in the sermons we preach. This being said, while the worship team will certainly have a lot of say in the songs we sing, the elders of our church are primarily responsible for worship song-selection.
Here are some of the criteria we consider when adding songs to our worship setlist:
TRUE - Biblically-Grounded Lyrics Our first priority is to ensure that the lyrics we sing are biblically true, clear, and testable from Scripture. If a song does not clearly pass this first test, we won’t consider it for our setlist. We also recognize that songs often use poetic language and a measure of artistic license, so we aim to discern whether the intent and meaning remain faithful to God’s Word.
GOSPEL-SOURCED - Rooted in Faithful Ministry This is often one of the trickiest parts of song-selection. Every song carries a message, and every message comes from somewhere.
The reality is, no two churches share exactly the same theological views and convictions in every detail—nor would we expect that! For this reason, we evaluate sources with tons of grace and benefit-of-the-doubt. This process involves prayer, study, and discussion—and we acknowledge it will never be perfect. Our heart is to extend generosity toward fellow believers and to avoid making decisions based solely on what we hear or read on social media.
When the elders of our church determine that the source of a song appears deeply unfaithful to the gospel, we will not include it in our song list. Our heart is not to judge others, but to guard our people from teaching or influence that could lead them away from the truth.
At the same time, we reject the notion that singing a song written or popularized by a certain group or artist means we endorse everything they have ever taught, every song they have ever produced, or the beliefs and practices of every leader or church they are connected to.
Our hope is simply to receive God-honoring and church-edifying songs—without being overly stringent. We trust God in this process, and we trust our people to exercise discernment.
SINGABLE - Built for the Whole Church Some songs, while beautiful and true, just work better for personal worship than for a big room of people. Others might have a style or range that’s tough for most voices to follow. And sometimes the lyrics—though right and rich—are a little too wordy to sing together easily. Our goal is to pick songs that help everyone join in with confidence and joy, so the whole church can sing together as one.
MEANINGFUL - Songs that Move the Heart
As with the Psalms, our music should shepherd both the head and the heart. Our goal is more than just saying true things; it is to stir deep affection for God. And so, we’re after songs that carry both solid theology and real emotion; songs that speak to where we are, remind us of truth when we forget it, and help us express what’s happening in our hearts before the Lord.
FAMILIAR - So the Church can Engage When people know the song, they can focus on worship, not words on a screen. Since our music is part of the teaching ministry of the church, we also want our songs to be repeatable—easy to remember, and still running through your mind during the week, reminding you of truth. We’ll introduce new songs on a regular basis, but we’ll also be mindful of how often we’re asking the church to learn something new.