89 – Choosing Hymns, Songs and Waiata: Starting to Lead Worship series
A weekly blog of Creative Ideas for Leading Worship
5 – Choosing Hymns, Songs and Waiata
Starting to Lead Worship
This is the fifth of 10 updated posts that aim to give people new to leading worship the tools and confidence to get started. Experienced worship leaders will also find useful information in these posts.
The first 3 posts explore What’s in Your Toolbox? The last 7 posts provide guidance for Constructing a Service.
This post offers a practical guide for worship leaders on selecting hymns, songs, and waiata that fit a service’s theme, engage the congregation, and balance tradition with fresh material. It covers sources for finding music, working with musicians, handling textual variations and inclusive language, choosing singable tunes, and placing hymns effectively within the service. I also provide tips on teaching new songs, and ensuring music is both meaningful and accessible to the congregation.
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Introduction
Worship leaders – do you sometimes find it difficult to choose hymns, songs, and waiata that not only fit your service’s theme but are also singable, meaningful, and engaging for your congregation?
Do you wonder how to strike a balance between traditional and new material, how to handle inclusive language, or how to collaborate effectively with musicians?
This post offers suggestions for selecting hymns and songs that enhance congregational participation, deepen the service’s message, and create an uplifting worship experience. We’ll also look at working well with organists, introducing new material, and approaching inclusive language carefully and thoughtfully.
The Purpose of Hymns, Songs & Waiata in Worship
In this post, I’m focusing on music sung by the congregation during the service – not items performed solely by a choir, singing group, or band.
Wellington composer and church musician Jonathan Berkahn puts it beautifully in the introduction to Festival Singers’ CD People of the Light:
“…church is one of the few places left where ordinary people – people who don’t consider themselves musicians – are still expected to sing, as a matter of course. …church is a place where people, also as a matter of course, wrestle with and reflect upon deep things: life and death, good and evil, justice and mercy. To enter church is to join a conversation that has been going on about these things for a few thousand years now.”
Singing in worship isn’t only about praising God – it’s also a way to explore the deeper aspects of faith. Hymns often use simpler, more direct language than sermons or liturgy, giving people an accessible way to engage with the service’s themes.
The physical act of singing together connects us emotionally and spiritually. A rousing hymn can unite and uplift a congregation, while memorable melodies help the words stay with us throughout the week.
Sources for Hymns, Songs & Waiata
Start with what you already have. Begin by looking through the hymnbooks and songbooks your congregation uses. Borrow copies and note hymns or songs that fit your theme or that are well-loved and familiar.
In our congregation, we often sing from the UK Methodist Hymns and Psalms (late 1980s) and the earlier With One Voice, which has a useful supplement of New Zealand hymns at the back.
· The New Zealand Hymnbook Trust
The Trust has produced four collections rich with Aotearoa hymns covering many topics: Alleluia Aotearoa, Faith Forever Singing, Carol Our Christmas, Hope is Our Song. These are well worth exploring – you can order them from us.
· Talk to your organist early
A week or so before your service, discuss your theme with your organist. They may suggest hymns or tunes that fit well and are familiar to the congregation.
· Local composers
Heather and I sing in Festival Singers, where we’ve performed many new works by composer Jonathan Berkahn, the choir’s accompanist. Several of his songs are suitable for congregational use, and we’ve successfully introduced them in our church.
· Write your own
If you compose hymns or songs, why not teach one to your congregation? It’s rewarding for both you and them.
· CDs, YouTube & other recordings
Great for finding new material – but remember, you’ll need to source or create lyrics, arrange the tune for your setting, and be ready to accompany it yourself. If you give them enough time, your organist or other church musicians may be able to help you with this
Textual Variations
If you’re using the hymnbook in the pews, there’s no problem. But if you source hymn texts from the internet to project or print in an Order of Service, you’ll often find variations in wording. Check the text matches the version of the hymn your congregation knows.
Tips:
- Hymnary.org is a great online resource, but their “Representative Text” may differ from your congregation’s usual version.
- Always read through and sing the text to ensure it fits the tune.
- If you adapt the wording, mark it clearly after the title, e.g. “(adapted).”
Inclusive Language
Where possible, I adjust gendered terms to be more inclusive:
“Good Christian men, rejoice” becomes “Good Christians all, rejoice”
“Close-binding all mankind” becomes “Close-binding humankind”
Sometimes a full rewrite is needed: “Brother, let me be your servant” becomes “Brother, sister, let me serve you”
References to God as male – such as “Father ” “He ” or “Him” – are harder to change effectively. I usually leave these unless a natural, meaningful alternative fits the rhythm and sense of the hymn
Choosing Tunes
It’s easy to assume your preferred tune for a hymn is everyone else’s favourite, but that’s not always the case.
If the accompanist plays a different tune, follow their lead and keep the singing going – don’t stop the service to argue for your tune. (Yes, I have seen this happen!)
As a courtesy, I email the organist my hymn list (with my chosen tunes) by Wednesday night. This gives them time to suggest a more familiar or better-suited tune.
If you’re introducing a new one, ask them to play a full verse and refrain before the congregation joins in.
Words or Tune – which is more important?
If a hymn text fits your theme perfectly but the tune is awkward or uninspiring, first check for another tune with the same metre. If you can’t find one, it’s better to drop the hymn than risk discouraging the congregation with a melody they can’t sing well.
Placement of Hymns in the Service
- Opening & Closing – Use rousing, familiar hymns with strong tunes, even if the language is a little dated.
- Middle – Ideal for introducing new songs once the congregation is warmed up.
Further Considerations
Think about vocal ability. Avoid tunes that are too high, too low, or contain difficult intervals or
tricky rhythms – unless you know your congregation can handle them.
Balance the familiar with the new. Include enough well-known hymns to make people feel comfortable, and introduce new material gradually, repeating it over several weeks.
Incorporate waiata thoughtfully. Introduce waiata respectfully, provide translations, and explain the meaning to deepen understanding.
Check licensing and copyright. Ensure your church has the right licences (e.g. from CCLI – Christian Copyright Licensing International) before reproducing or performing newer songs.
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Over to You
What challenges do you face when choosing hymns, songs, or waiata for your services?
Who can you collaborate with to help with music in your services?
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The full content of this series and lots more worship ideas are included in my book The Creative Worship Leader’s Toolbox, available in print and eBook formats.
Ngā Mihi
Philip