If you're new to worship planning, some of the terminology that people use might seem foreign. Musicians sometimes talk about a "setlist," which is just the list of songs that they're going to play or sing. A "worship set" is more than a setlist.
One simple definition of a worship set could be a group of songs that work together for a common purpose within the service. A worship set might include breaks for scripture reading or prayer, but usually, it has some kind of musical accompaniment throughout. The common purpose might be several different things. All the songs might center on the same theme, helping the worshipper be focused on a certain topic. They might move in succession from a higher energy and faster speeds to slower, more gently music so that people can engage differently in worship. Or, you might have a worship set that begins with songs that are about God and moves to ones that are sung as a prayer to God.
If your church normally sings one song at a time, you might want to experiment just adding one more to create your first worship set. Try it and see if anyone notices!
Pastor's Worship Questions is a series of blog posts designed to help the small church pastor, non-musician or anyone else who's been asked to lead worship in their congregation. If you've got a question for us, post it in the comments, and we'll answer it in an upcoming blog post!
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