How To Craft A Worship Setlist That Flows

[This post is part of a series on Your Guide to Selecting and Leading Songs for Worship. Check out the rest here.]

Ever force a family member or friend to ride a roller coaster they didn’t want to ride? And they hated you for it? Sometimes our worship sets are like a crazy roller coaster…that people are forced to endure. Up, down, spinning around, stop, go, headache, whip, punch-myself-in-the-face-this-is-so-awful.

Why? Because there’s no continuity – no flow. It’s simply a hodge podge of songs. I’ve been in worship services (and led worship services) where this was the case. I’d rather not do it again.

So how do we create a setlist that flows? One that is easy for people to follow?

1. Connect Your Songs by THEME

As a spiritual worship set architect (i just made that up) it is your job to take a congregation on a journey. If you want to go from your house to the grocery store, you take the most direct route, right? You don’t drive 10 miles the opposite way, do donuts in a parking lot, and then head to the store, right? You just go. In the same way, when crafting our worship sets, we want to group songs by THEME. We don’t want to go from singing ABOUT God to singing TO the Holy Spirit to declaring about the nations all at once. Craft your songs in sections and group them by theme.

2. Connect Your Songs by STYLE

In the same way you want to take your congregation on a THEMED journey, you also want music that flows. Fast to slow to fast to slow to medium to slow to fast just doesn’t work. If I’m planning an extended worship set for an hour of worship, I think in sections: 2 upbeat openers, 4 slow worship, 1 mid-tempo, 2 fast, etc. You not only want to build momentum thematically but also musically.

3. Connect Your Songs with MEDLEYS

When creating a setlist, don’t think of 5 isolated songs. Start to think of medleys. Ask the questions, “How can this song flow into another? Does the final tag of the previous song segue well into another?” This is definitely a skill worth developing because momentum can really happen when you begin to connect songs with similar theme and style. It’s more difficult for people to enter in when it’s constantly stop and go. Sometimes we’re more concerned with cranking out our awesomely arranged songs than we are about leading people in worship. Medleys assist in helping people worship on a deeper level.

4. Connect Your Songs with SPACE

I’m always a little irritated when worship leaders ride from song to song to song without any room for the spontaneous. Now, every song doesn’t have to be 15 minutes, long, and overly spontaneous for it to be effective. I have the audacity to believe that God can work through a short, isolated song as well; however, AT LEAST ONCE IN YOUR SET, allow room for spontaneous singing, declaring, shouting, or prayer. Your goal is not for people just to sing your songs but to declare truth over their lives and actively engage with the Presence of God. Get used to connecting your songs with space.

As a worship leader, think of yourself like a servant. You want to do whatever you can to create a meaningful experience for people. If you implement these three flow techniques of theme, style, and medleys, it will go a long way.

Question: What other things do you do to flow? How do you “serve” your congregation and create a meaningful experience for them?