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Top New Christian Worship Songs For Small Church Worship Teams

Small churches have different challenges than large churches when it comes to worship teams and even the choice of worship songs.

If you’re in a small church, you know that every popular worship song doesn’t translate well into your congregation. Most of us are familiar with at least a few of these challenges:

  • A small band or no band
  • Novice musicians and singers with limited skill sets
  • Lack of a drummer (or guitarist, keyboardist, or ________ ) on any given Sunday
  • Older congregations that aren’t familiar with newer songs

So, the monthly songs I choose here work with smaller bands, novice musicians, and intergenerational congregations. In addition, I give tips for extra success in developing your team and enhancing worship.

If You’re Not The Worship Leader …

I know many of you LOVE these posts for the songs I pick –– and you aren’t the worship leader or even on the worship team!

I’m happy to oblige! … But would you do me a favor? Please share this post with people you know who ARE in small churches and DO help with the worship teams! They need some resources just for them –– and this is a great one!

April Edition: Top New Worship Songs For Small Churches

Although I usually try to give you one song from each tempo category every month (fast, medium, and slow), this month you are getting two similar-tempo songs (both upbeat with a slow clap) plus one slow song. Before we jump in, I want to answer a question I often get:

“Why Do You Change The Key Of The Song?”

In my song picks, I suggest a musical key to sing it in. This key is sometimes different than the recorded version.

My team occasionally gives me grief for changing the song keys because they like the original key better. In addition, it’s much easier to learn a song in the key in which it’s performed. And that’s totally true.

So here’s why I do it: Sometimes, when worshippers aren’t singing, it’s because they can’t reach the notes. If a song is out of range, whether too high or too low, energy falls aside and you’ll get lots of blank stares. So pay attention to the key a song is in and set aside the ones that have the vocal range of Mariah Carey.

The song keys I recommend are in a range that is singable for most congregations.

So, let’s jump in because I can’t stand waiting any longer! Here are my 3 awesome picks for this month:

1. House Of The Lord (Phil Wickham)

  • Tempo: Medium-fast
  • CCLI Song #: 7168995
  • Phil Wickham | Jonathan Smith
  • My chosen singable key: E
  • 2020

“House Of The Lord” Will Be A Great Worship Opener!

This song is rather addicting! I’m loving it as it loops through my mind.

Even though “House Of The Lord” will be a great worship opener once your congregation falls in love with this song, they need to learn it first.

When introducing new worship songs, it’s great practice to sandwich them between more familiar songs. If you try to open a worship service with a brand new song, well, expect little energy, weird stares, and tentative singing. But once your worshipers have sung this one a few times, it’s going to be a fabulous welcome song!

Chorus:

We worship the God who was

We worship the God who is

We worship the God who evermore will be

He opened the prison doors

He parted the raging sea

My God He holds the victory yeah

Use “House Of The Lord” When Your Band Is Thin

With such a strong (and singable) melody, “House Of The Lord” is also a great choice when a few band members are MIA. Although it’s super fun with a full band and building percussion, this song can easily start acapella with a strong clap.

Enjoy experimenting with instruments on this. If you have a budding percussionist, let him or her have some fun. This recording models some great variety going from super simple to more complex.

Pair “House Of The Lord” With “Song In My Soul”

Design your worship order with a good flow in mind! Starting with some energy and bringing the tempo down for reflective worship is typical in worship because it makes sense for us humans; it works with our distracted minds. But even that can feel very rote week after week without adding some variety.

Pairing similar beats for an entire worship service can be a way to set a Sunday apart with a different flavor. There are so many pairing options with “House Of The Lord,” but if you haven’t introduced your worshipers to “Song In My Soul,” also Phil Wickham, I suggest you check that one out too! (If you give it a listen, we do it a bit faster than the recording.)

2. Power (Chris Tomlin / NEEDTOBREATHE)

  • Tempo: Medium-Fast
  • CCLI Song #: 7117452
  • Pat Barrett | Ed Cash | Chris Tomlin
  • My chosen singable key: E
  • 2018

Thanks, Chris Tomlin, For Bringing In NEEDTOBREATHE On This One!

While the copyright says 2018, I definitely didn’t hear this one in 2018. All the recordings I can find are a lot more recent. And wow, NEEDTOBREATHE! What a great mix for this song.

I’m listening to it as I type here, and I can’t really sit still. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Lead into this with Job 26:7-14 –– a great declaration of God’s great power:

God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds don’t burst with the weight. He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with his clouds. He created the horizon when he separated the waters: he set the boundary between day and night. The foundations of heaven tremble; they shudder at his rebuke. By his power the sea grew calm. By his skill he crushed the great sea monster. His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent. These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?”

Job 26:7-14

I love to vary the reading of scripture in worship. Instead of letting the reading of scripture feel stale or routine, mix it up with these ideas:

  • Responsive reading: Worship leader reads part; people read part.
  • One reader: A new voice to read can awaken your worshipers to scripture. (Don’t put the words on the screen for this one.) And don’t limit your choice of readers to your best readers. Invite a child or someone in your congregation who is not usually “chosen” as a reader. This is a great place to practice the Body of Christ –– with different gifts and different offerings.
  • Congregation reads together: Display words on the screen and read aloud.
  • Print the scripture: Print scripture on a card distributed on seats to take home. In the worship service, hold a time of silence and direct worshipers to read their scripture quietly and pray over its meaning.

Whichever way you choose, Job 26:7-14 is a fabulous lead-in to the song “Power.”

Try To Listen Without Tapping Your Foot!

If the verse doesn’t thrill you, don’t stop listening. I needed a full listen through the chorus and the bridge to fall in love with this one!

If Someone Can Clap, “Power” Can Be Done Well With A Very Small Band

If you’ve followed me at all, I know small bands. While it’s fabulous to have some talented musicians, it’s not always the case for small churches. If you are blessed to have ONE solid vocalist or ONE person with great rhythm or ONE person who is willing to grow and develop, don’t discount what you can do.

I’m loving all the stripped-down worship songs that are currently making the rounds. This is one of them. Play with it; make it your own; use the strengths YOU have in your small church.

Remember, it’s not about duplicating the recording. It’s about leading your worshipers to connect with the amazing God we serve!

Use The Bridge To Teach Vocal Harmonies In 3rd Intervals

The bridge of this song screams for harmony! If you have a few vocalists on your team, definitely maximize the impact here by adding harmonies in the bridge.

Bridge:

I lift my eyes to the mountains the mountains above

You are – You are where my help is from

I lift my eyes to the Maker of heaven and earth

You are You are where my help is from

If you have no idea what an interval is, it’s okay! Most worship leaders in small churches are learning as we go! But you may want to google it … and when you do, you may discover you naturally have been singing harmonies in 3rds.

Most worship team members want to get better and have fun learning new things. So take some time to help them develop. Teaching harmonies in 3rds is easy & fun. And “Power” is a perfect training ground!

Note: Harmonies in 3rds is not the ONLY way to do harmonies, and it doesn’t work on every song. However it is a standard technique to keep in your back pocket and have some fun when it fits!

3. Highlands (Song Of Ascent) (Hillsong United)

  • Tempo: Slow
  • CCLI Song #: 7122399
  • Benjamin Hastings | Joel Houston
  • My chosen singable key: D
  • 2018

Full Disclosure: “Highlands” Almost Didn’t Make The Cut!

If you’ve followed my worship picks for a while, you know I don’t often choose Hillsong. While I love worshipping to many of their songs, they tend to have complicated melodies, which are harder to teach, and often have a crazy wide vocal range, which makes them not so easy to sing in a small church.

HOWEVER … I also believe it’s vital for a worship team to stretch a little, learn some more difficult songs now and then, and even mix up the types of songs we sing.

PLUS … the chorus of this song just “gets me” … in the gut. With everything going on in our world, as well as in our personal journeys, the truth that God is “no less God in the valleys” just needs to be sung.

So, if this song is a stretch for your team, I encourage you to embrace it.

Take some extra time to learn it. Utilize it as a special offering song if you need to without the congregation joining in. But I think the effort of learning this one will deepen your experience with our great God.

So … enjoy!

Add “Highlands” To Your Personal Playlist

If you choose not to teach this one to your congregation, I hope it speaks to your heart and encourages you.

It’s tough being a worship leader … to be “on” when you don’t always feel like it … to worship in the valleys not in the quiet of your heart, but on a stage (and now, often being broadcast over the airways too).

I’m praying that God renews you and fills you. That these worship song picks each month are not only a tool for worship leading, but also a gift to your spirit.

Chorus:

Oh I will praise You on the mountain

I will praise You when the mountain’s in my way

You’re the summit where my feet are

So I will praise You in the valleys all the same

No less God within the shadows

No less faithful when the night leads me astray

(‘Cause) You’re the heaven where my heart is

In the highlands and the heartache all the same

Read More

3 New Worship Songs: March

Worship Leading In A Small Church: 4 Keys To Wake Up Your Worship