3 Reasons Why You Should Put Lyric Slides in the Order in Which They are Sung

This topic is one that I am really passionate about. Lyrics are an important part of corporate worship. Lyric presentation connects the production team, worship team, and the congregation together. Solid lyric presentation invites the congregation to join in and take part in worship that is being led by the worship team and facilitated by the production team in the room.

Our goal is to invite our people into worship, so spending the proper time and effort in preparing for worship is a must. I have written a couple blogs and Carl has had me on the CHURCH MEDIA PODCAST to discuss some of my backend preparation work and format work. If you would like to talk about this topic with me I would be more than happy to have a conversation. Reach out to me by email or social and let’s get a conversation going.

Today the topic is 3 Reasons to put your slides in order. This may seem like a no brainer but maybe this concept is new for you. In this post I am just going to share 3 reasons I find this important. If you have more I would love to hear them.

1. Putting your lyric slides in the order they are sung SETS YOU UP FOR SUCCES

Maybe Sundays are really chill and slow for you, but for me they are a whirlwind of getting highly priced pieces of gear turned on and warmed up, ensuring everything is functioning correctly, running a production meeting, planning the morning, sound checking, and getting any last-minute content that needs to get on the screen.

Due to the “craziness” that we can find ourselves in on Sunday having the slides in the order in which they are sung sets you up to just hit the space bar and lead with your lyrics without having to try to keep track of where all you are jumping to and from. Why wait to do something in the moment when you can plan and prepare for it beforehand?

2. Putting the lyric slides in the order they are sung WILL ALLOW YOU TO PRESENT LYRICS ON TIME

So, let’s play this scenario out. If you choose not to format your lyrics in the way they are being sung then you will just have a bunch of different pieces in your pro presenter song file. So, as you are running the song you will have to remember the format:

Verse 1 / Repeat Verse 1 / Turn / Chorus / Turn / Verse 2 / Chorus / Turn / Bridge / Chorus / Chorus / Bridge

You will have to jump up and down throughout the song. This is going to slow you or your operator down. So, while this may save you time in not having to prepare the song form to match how the band is doing it, it will hurt you as you run your position on Sunday. There is also no possible way that you can jump to all the different parts in a timely manner with the lyrics. So more often than not you will find your lyrics will be behind.

Check the images below for a contrast of these two different methods.

However, taking the time to prepare for the song before we get to the worship service allows us to be engaged and just trigger the next slide up when needed. You can focus more on the music and leading the band and congregation in the song.

3. Putting the lyric slides in the order they are sung WILL SET YOU UP TO ENCOURAGE VOLUNTEERS TO ENGAGE IN YOUR MINISTRY

If you set your lyrics up to be ready for Sunday you will find it easier to train volunteers and set them up for success. Volunteers who are learning a new program, learning to lead lyrics, and learning to lead people in worship don’t need to bogged down with have to scroll up and down constantly.

Instead, you minimize the amount of scrolling and on the fly slide reading that is required to run a Sunday morning. If you set your ministry up to be a heavy amount of work being place on one person that is only going to create stress. By taking time to set this up for your volunteers they can be ready to come in and run the event and spend their time learning the music instead of just trying to figure out slide sequences.

Not only will this serve volunteers in your production ministry, this will serve the worship team who is composed of many volunteers. If you aren’t running your slides in order the worship team won’t see a consistent flow on the confidence monitor. By preparing the order and running your slides in the order they are sung the worship team will be able to see what’s up next in the song.

BONUS TIP

Doing this will prepare your position for when you are out (either expectedly or unexpectedly). There is going to come a day where you want/need a break or your unable to be present at your church on a Sunday. If lyrics are placed in their proper order you are setting your position up to be run by volunteers on the fly or maybe even your pastor (depending on the size of your church maybe someone who isn’t even trained on the program will have to cover your spot) for success. I always say, prepare for the unexpected. By using this method, you are doing the prep work for yourself and for those who might fill in for you during your absence.

The goal behind all of this setting yourself, your team, your church up for success. Spend the time and do the leg work so that Sunday’s and events can be as seamless and stress less as possible.