As worship leaders we have all realized in that last rehearsal before the service that we have too many songs or other elements planned. It became clear to our team that we were faced with this situation. With just a few minutes left before the service I needed to make some decisions on the flow of the service. Here are a few of the questions I asked and actions took to make the changes:

Rehearsal Preparation for Changes.

1. We rehearsed the service as planned.

2. During rehearsal I communicated clearly that there were probably going to be some changes to the order of elements.

3. As the rehearsal progressed I gave serious consideration to each element and its place in the outline. Much planning went into the selection and order of songs and randomly cutting a song might change the message that was trying to be communicated.

4. As the rehearsal came to a close it became pretty clear what could be eliminated without changing the message of the service. However I was not fully confident…

5. At the end of rehearsal I communicated what I thought might happen and told both the band and tech teams that I would use a verbal cue to make the changes during the rehearsal.

6. Lastly I told all the teams that if I did cut a song I was going to bring that song back to close the service. The words would work well as a follow up to the sermon.

During the Service…changes that we made that cut about 5 minutes

1. Cut one song…the band and tech teams followed my cues. They would not have been able to do so if I did not communicate the possibility of changes

2. Reshaped the welcome/fellowship time eliminating the ‘fellowship time.’ It became more of a welcome and communication of information.

Here are the two service outlines (setlists), the planned and the executed:

The Planned

Pre-service Music (3 minutes before service)

Because We Believe (Gordon, Harvill)

Song Set 1

Revelation Song (Riddle)

Hosanna (Brook Fraser)

Prayer

Love You So Much (Fragar)

Welcome

Song Set #2

Let the Church Rise (Houghton, Stockstill)

Somebody Tell It (Knight)

Sermon Set

Video Intro

Sermon

Invitation

Offering

As Executed