I tend to be on the leading edge of new worship music and so I introduce a lot of new songs to my church.  I have added 47 songs to our repertoire since may of 2007.  One of the main reasons I have introduced so many is because when I was hired there was really only 3 or 4 songs that were under 10 years old.

Q: How often is too often to introduce new songs?

A: That depends of your church, some congregations pick up on new songs really easily.  And if your congregation stays up on current christian music you will find it even easier.  The congregation at my church does neither of these things well as a group. (I’ll explain more in a later question)

Q: Where do you find your music?

A: I have a handful of artists that I follow, Hillsong, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Chris Tomlin, Lincoln Brewster, Israel Houghton.  I watch for new recordings, I follow many of their blogs and just general poking around on worship sites I visit frequently.

Q: Is the radio a good place to get new song?

A: In general…no.  In the music industry there are certain traits that make a song “radio friendly” and sadly for worship leaders these traits rarely translate to “worship (congregational) friendly.”  Some of the great worship song writers never see radio play: Hillsong, Tim Hughes, Paul Baloche, anything Maranatha, Soverign Grace Ministries.  I once saw a quote from Reuben Morgan where he basically said that his song I Give You My Heart he originally wrote as a ballad but to get it radio play he changed it. (Here is the original way he wrote it)

Q: How do you introduce new songs to your congregation?

A: When I am going to introduce a new song I will usually do it 3 weeks in a row so that the congregation really gets used to it.  On the first week I will teach it by playing a verse and the chorus (sometimes the bridge) with just my voice and the acoustic guitar.  This way the congregation really hears the melody and it doesn’t get lost in the harmonies of the other vocalists and the music.  On the second week we’ll just sing it normal in the service.  On the third week you can introduce another new song if you are trying to infuse a lot of new music into you repertoire.  After you have done it 3 weeks in a row you can shelve it for about a month or more so that it doesn’t get old.  Then just do it like you would do any other song.

Ask your questions in the comment area.