What Song Should Your Choir Sing? How Do You Choose?
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Sometimes when you have unlimited options, it is hard to make a decision. There are so many wonderful, worshipful songs, how do you pick one or two to teach your choir? Here are some tips as you are starting out. They work for a brand new choir preparing to sing their first song in the worship service or the more established choir.
1) Pick Songs That You Know And Love
If you are excited about a song, the kids will notice. If it is a song you already sing around your house, then at least YOUR kids will know it, so that helps the overall learning curve for the choir. This tip is especially helpful for people (like me) who can’t really plan an instrument and can’t really sing all that well (you can read more about my abilities, or lack thereof here). You will be able to teach a song that is imprinted in your mind and voice better than one that you don’t know well.
2) Pick Songs That Are Sung In Your Corporate Worship Service
Keep a running list on your phone notes app of the songs that your church regularly sings. Children will start to feel like real singers and real worshipers if they can belt out a song with the adults of the congregation.
3) Pick Songs With A Repeated Refrain
This gem of a tip is a great one for choirs that are on the young side, without many fluent readers. Repeated refrains will increase the length of time that the group is actually singing, but decrease the burden of memorization a long song.
4) Pick A Song Based On A Bible Verse
You can also use the time you have with your choir to work on scripture memory and have the Sunday School teachers drill the memory verse, too. When you present what you’ve been working on, the children can sing and recite a verse to the congregation. I have compiled a list of songs and memory verses that go with them.
5) Tie It What Your Church Is Teaching/Preaching
Ask your children’s ministry coordinator or your pastor if there is a particular concept that will be taught in class or will be preached on and pick a song that reinforces that message. Many churches have their religious education and their preaching calendar planned out a few months ahead of time. So if the children’s ministry is focusing on “missions” for three months, you can pick a song about missions like “Christ For the World We Sing”. Or if the pastor is preaching a series on Psalm 23 or on the concept of Jesus as a shepherd, you can teach “Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me” or “Savior, Like A Shepherd, Lead Us.”
6) Pray About It
This really should be bullet number 1. But the Holy Spirit would love to lead you as you ask for discernment about what songs to teach these children. Ephesians 5 says “Be filled with the Spirit…singing and making melody in your heart.” God really does care about the tiny details of your children’s music ministry.
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