Phil Bowdle offers a checklist:

One of the most challenging things in service planning for pastors and communication leaders can be managing stage announcements. Without a system and strategy in place, you can quickly find yourself stuck in a rhythm of spending ten minutes on announcements at the end of the service, while not being effective with any of them.

Time is limited and stage announcements are not the answer to everything. Here are seven reasons why you’re not getting a stage announcement:

1. It doesn’t apply to at least eighty percent of the audience.

This is the most important question you can ask when deciding if something should be announced from stage. I do occasionally break this eighty percent rule for key ministry on-ramp events/programs, or when it’s a direct next step for what’s being preached about in the sermon.

2. It should be announced at your ministry event, not the whole church.

For example, if you need to communicate an event happening with student ministry, the most effective place to get the word out is at your student ministry gatherings. Same applies to other areas.

3. There’s no clear “why.”

If you can’t share the “why” associated with the announcement in less than thirty seconds, it’s going to be hard to communicate effectively from stage. It’s going to be even harder to get your audience to care.

4. The announcement sends them on a rabbit trail.

“Is there childcare?” “Do I have to register?” “Where is the event?” Without knowing the who, what, when, where, how and why of the announcement, you’ll quickly create more questions than answers and lose your audience in the process. Effective announcements have a clear next step involved for what they should do next. It’s okay to not mention every detail, but it’s crucial to communicate where they can find all the info they need. For us at West Ridge, we always communicate that they can get more information at our Help Center in the atrium or at WestRidge.com. If it’s announced on a Sunday, we include a link to that program/event on the home page so it’s easy to find for our visitors.

5. It’s not an effective time to announce it.

One of the keys to developing a communications plan is to be strategic about when you’re going to promote programs and events. Don’t waste bandwidth on announcing something before your audience can do anything with that information. For example, if you’re announcing Christmas service times, it’s more important to announce that in the two to three weeks before Christmas when your audience is making plans than it is in November when it’s likely too far off to do anything with that information.

6. It’s a band-aid to a short-term problem, not part of an on-going strategy.

Do you need two more volunteers in the nursery? There are two ways you can approach this.

Option #1: Announce from stage that you need two more volunteers in the nursery. You’ll likely find the volunteers, but you’ll create a precedent for every ministry to ask for stage announcements anytime they are a couple volunteers short. Also, your audience will think that the only place you need volunteers is in the nursery.

Option #2: You strategically and consistently announce to the whole audience that there are opportunities across the church to serve and make an impact. Through this, you’re encouraging everyone to take their next step in serving and building your volunteer base across all ministries.

7. There are too many things being announced already.

If you really want your announcements to be effective, pick one or two announcements that are most important for your audience to know and say no to the rest.

Marty Nystrom looks for worship trends:

CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International, Inc.) releases a semi-annual list of the top worship songs sung by churches throughout America.

A similar list is also published in Europe, Australia, South Africa, and the other far-flung locales where CCLI works with churches to “encourage the spirit of worship”. Each list is an indicator of the songs that have crossed not only denominational boundaries, but also the sometimes fuzzy lines between worship styles in different regions.

As a songwriter I’ve studied this list closely through the years. Not only have I watched it for worship trends but also for song elements that have remained consistent regardless of changing musical styles. Here are my “Top Ten Traits” that are important in the success of these favorite worship songs.

1. Universal Theme

A successful lyric will be an existing sentiment in the hearts of worshipers from a broad audience. A song on the top of the CCLI list is there because its theme remains true to worshipers regardless of age, denomination or cultural background. Lyric phrases such as “How Great is Our God” and “Your Love Never Fails” are relevant and honest expressions for all believers. A lyric should not require an in-depth Bible study before it can be appreciated.

2. Lyric Consistency

A strong song will have a theme that remains consistent through all of its sections. The lyrics in the verse will support or build on the topic stated in the chorus. A strong song will not wander from idea to idea. The second section of “Open the Eyes of My Heart” begins with “To see You high and lifted up.” This is an effective transition tying the sections together. The verses of “Blessed Be Your Name” bring more understanding to the message and encourages us to sing the chorus with even greater passion. A good question to ask is, “Can the theme be stated in a word or short phrase?”

“Prosody in song writing refers to the perfect marriage of music and lyric.”

3. Prosody

Not only should the music and lyrics compliment each other but should ideally bring out the best in each other. When heard alone, does the music incite the same emotion or message that the lyric expresses? Does the pitch, rhythm, tension and energy in the melody naturally fit with the lyrics? “Everlasting God” is an example of effective prosody.

4. Lyric Originality

The lyricist of a top worship song finds a fresh way to express an old thought. Lyrics like “You stepped down into darkness” and “He wraps Himself in light” paint a picture in the mind’s eyes making the message memorable without being overly poetic. A lasting song will include words, phrases, and rhyme pairs that have not been overused and that cause a lyric to be predictable and trite. A good lyricist will seek out scriptural truths and make them accessible to the worshiper.

5. Form

Right-brained creative types love to break the mold and free themselves from the restraints of musical structure. Before abandoning traditional song forms, writers should remember that their audience is made up mostly of “left-brainers.” Their minds will be seeking a clear picture of how a song is ordered. They will not be satisfied if it leaves them feeling unsettled or disjointed. All of the CCLI examples contain solid song forms and are built with sections that are so distinctive that there is no question where the verse ends and the chorus begins.

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Scott Swain offers advice for avoiding worship song fluff:

I have rarely (alright, never) been asked to give input regarding the weekly “worship set.” However, having witnessed Christian worship in local churches, Christian camps, seminary chapels, and other venues over the past 43 years, I have come to the conclusion that you could use some help.

I know you’ve heard complaints before about the excessive repetition, lack of depth, and over-realized eschatology that characterizes so many contemporary worship songs. I’m not writing to beat those old drums (though I could play them like Neil Peart). I want to address another topic.

Though I’m not an authority on this topic (no creature is), I do feel I am in a good position to say something about it. From my childhood I have been taught the Scriptures, which are able to make one wise on this topic. I engaged in formal graduate level study of this topic for eight years. And I have been teaching this topic to seminary students for the past thirteen years.

The topic is “Jesus.” Now I realize you may feel like you have some expertise on this topic as well since you regularly lead us in singing about it. However, I’ve noticed something over the past few decades that is cause for concern. The “Jesus” of which you have us sing is regularly used as the subject of verbs which describe actions that were neither assigned to him by the Father in eternity past, nor realized by him on the stage of history through his incarnation, public ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement at the Father’s right hand, nor are they actions that Jesus has promised to perform in the near or distant future.

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