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Brothers and Sisters,
This Sunday, we’ll be learning a new song together. More accurately, it’s a new-to-us song — one that may be familiar to some but not yet part of our regular worship.
I want to take a moment to share my heart with you about why we sing the way we do at Fellowship.
And let me say up front: serving alongside our worship team is a tremendous joy. I’m so thankful that, in His providence, God has given us people with spiritual gifts to help lead us in song. I’m especially grateful for the extra time and care our team devotes to bringing their very best before the Lord.
Cailee Holloway has brought a great deal of organization and excellence to our worship ministry, and I count it a joy to work with her in selecting songs for our church to sing.
Three Key Questions We Ask About Every Song:
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Is it Biblical?
Does the song align with Scripture in both message and tone? We want to sing truth — not just emotion.
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Is it Congregational?
Can the gathered church sing it together? Worship isn’t a performance — it’s the voice of the people.
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Is it Singable?
Is the melody accessible? If the average person can’t sing along, they won’t — no matter how powerful the lyrics may be.
When talking with guests about our services, I often hear encouraging comments like:
“You all REALLY sing.”
“I don’t hear the music over the voices.”
“You have a good balance of new and old songs.”
These words are a blessing — they affirm that something good is happening among us in worship. They also reminded me of a great article I recently read called "10 Things I Did Not Do That Improved My Congregation’s Singing" by Scott Connell. In it, he shares 10 counterintuitive practices that helped his church sing more fully:
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I did not turn down the lights.
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I did not turn up the sound.
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I did not try to sound like the YouTube video.
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I did not try lengthy or frequent instrumental solos.
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I did not try the newest worship songs.
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I did not try to get rid of their old favorite songs.
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I did not try to greatly expand the song library.
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I did not try rhythmically challenging melodies.
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I did not try too many songs in a worship service.
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I did not have my band play on every verse and chorus.
One final key we consider is this: do we understand the song?
Take, for example, the classic hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". It’s beautiful — but what does “Here I raise my Ebenezer” even mean? If we don’t understand what we’re singing, we won’t connect our hearts to it, no matter how rich the history.
With all of that said the song we will be singing this Sunday is All Sufficient Merit
Listen to this song and focus on the lyrics so we can sing this song together this Sunday. I will be taking some time to explain this song before we sing.
May we continue to be a church that sings with joy, clarity, and conviction.
God is doing great things at Fellowship
MAKE HIS NAME KNOWN
Travis Smith
Servant of Jesus Christ
Lead Pastor
Fellowship Baptist Church
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