How to Run a Songwriting Session at Your Church

Aug 6

Written By Leading Worship Well | Spencer Cormany

how to run a songwriting session at your church

Your church has a unique voice. Part of that is stylistically - what works in worship - but it also includes the songs that can be birthed in your church. Songwriting is a great way to respond to the unique circumstances that are happening in the lives of your church members.

Here are 5 essentials to running a songwriting session at your church:

1 | Come with pieces ready

There's nothing scarier than a blank page. You can remedy this by coming with pieces of a song already ready to go. Have team members bring at least a chorus, bridge, or verse the day of. That way you have a starting point for your song.

2 | Training

Especially when you're just starting a songwriting group in your church, you need to lead them well. Equip them so they can succeed. Before you actually start to write, do a quick 15 minute training. Show them some strategies for writing a song. Communicate the importance of writing congregational songs instead of personal songs. Etc.

3 | Build a culture of co-writing

Co-writing just makes songs better. Don't write in isolation. Get a group around you. This let's you bounce ideas off of each other and come up with a better song in the end. Different people hear things in different ways so allow other people to speak into your songs.

4 | Ask those who you wouldn't normally think of

There are probably non-musical people in your church who are great at songwriting. Look for people who write well - that mom who blogs, that person who is really into poetry, that middle school kid who is half-decent at rapping. Don't just rely on your worship team - songwriting can be about more than just musicianship.

5 | Don't rush introducing the song

When we write a song we think it's the best thing ever for about a week. There's something exciting about a new song. Then over time one of two things happen: we continue to like the song or we realize it's not as good as we first thought. Give your song time to settle before you introduce it to your church.