You've heard it said before - "work smarter not harder." It can be hard to plan a worship service. There are a lot of decisions to make and a ton of different variables that come into play. Maybe you find yourself just putting it off until the last minute and then on Saturday night you pick a couple songs out.

What if there was a smarter way to plan?

Here are 3 smarter ways to plan a worship service:

1 | Do it in advance

Don't wait until the last minute to plan. Good ideas always take time to develop - this is the marination process.

If you only let your ideas marinate from Saturday night to Sunday morning, there's really not enough time for the idea to develop. But, if you start your planning on Monday or even a few weeks before, you'll come up with the initial idea and then it'll have time to marinate throughout the week. Your mind will have time to subconsciously work out that plan that you've come up with. Over time, that idea will only become better and better as you refine it.

2 | Work WITH your pastor

Don't plan in isolation! Get a team around you. A great place to start is by simply coordinating with your pastor. Ask them where they sense God is leading your church on Sunday. Then, use that information to plan a cohesive set list that ties into what your pastor is preaching on.

3 | Ask these questions!

Systems make things easier. It's hard to start any planning process with a blank page in front of you. So, fill it up with a system that can guide you.

A great place to start is by answering these questions as you plan every week:

Where are we going?

This is the question you work with your pastor to answer. Where does God want to lead your church on Sunday?

How are we getting there?

What are you specifically going to do during the service to lead people where God wants them to be? (Songs, scripture, special elements, etc.)

What does my church need to know?

You'll have a lot of information to sift through - not all of it needs to be communicated to your church. What are the specific things your church needs to know?

What does my church need to do?

This is the final draft. What are you specifically going to do on Sunday?

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