Click here to learn more about using song lists in worship planning and the why behind this song list calculator

WORSHIP SONG LIST CALCULATOR

To determine the number of songs you need on your song list, answer six questions.

Note: you will enter data in the upper left box of the calculator. The remaining data will auto-calculate.

Think about your weekly worship service. How many songs per week do you sing on average? Most churches use about the same number each week–choose the average for your church.
Think about CLASSIC WORSHIP SONGS–those songs that used to be popular in your church that still resonate with your people. Songs like Shout to the Lord, Blessed Be Your Name, or How Great Is Our God. Answer two questions:
1. How often is one of these songs included in worship? Perhaps you want to include one a month or one every two weeks. Choose the best answer from the drop-down menu.
2. How often is the individual song sung in a quarter? Think about the next three months. How many times would you want to sing that one song in three months. Once? Twice? Every month?
Answer the same two questions about HYMNS. These may be done in a more contemporary setting, but they still have the same melody and words (perhaps slightly edited) from their rich history.
Answer the question about how often an individual song will be sung for MODERN WORSHIP SONGS. These are the more current songs that probably get more use in your church. The calculator will determine the frequency of use by maximizing this number according to your use of Hymns and Classic Worship Songs.

This calculator assumes that you will be introducing NEW SONGS to your congregation. One new song per month is pretty much all that a congregation should sing to really be participative in worship. Therefore, the calculator defaults to you having three new songs in a quarter. This calculator assumes you will introduce the song one week and repeat the new song the next two weeks, lay off the next week and then sing the new song once each month following for two months. Following this procedure will have you averaging singing one of the three new songs each week. For more information on dealing with new songs, check out this article.

Learn more about how to use this calculator and your church’s song list here.

THIS LIST SHOULD BE UPDATED REGULARLY. Updates should happen minimally every three months. New songs will be moved to the Modern Worship Songs category while three of those songs will be retired (assuming all other parameters stay the same). Additionally, you may wish to retire some hymns and classic songs to replace with others. One new song per month should be added.

NOTE: December with Advent/Christmas observances usually will need a recess from the normal song list.

Check out the article that describes the use of this calculator and accompanying FREE spreadsheets for you to use in worship planning.