Close Singing
Just under a month ago, worship leaders, pastors, and teams from 22 churches in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, gathered to learn about some foundational aspects of worship.
Now, all the breakout notes and audio recordings, videos of the main session, and even chord charts are available for free download at https://www.adlibmusic.com/events/lancaster-april-18-2026. And do not miss the hilarious Brett Lovern in the Five Faders caricatures.
(If your church attended, we’d love you to fill out the little survey.)
We ended the day with an exercise called “close singing.” The last time I had experienced it was at a Kent Henry conference in St. Louis in the early nineties. I was so impacted that I tucked it away in my mental folder under “do this someday when you lead a conference.”
It’s not a revolutionary idea, but I do think it was a bit of a revolutionary experience for those in that tight group. Basically, we invited everyone to pack in (closer than they were comfortable standing) up front, and we sang a song a cappella.
Here, take a look.
The reason I wanted to do this exercise is to put front and center the most important sound we can hear in corporate worship: the congregation’s voices. I want you to seek to highlight that sound more than any cool guitar riff, drum fill, bass groove, BbMAJ7 chord on the piano… there’s nothing quite like our voices raised in song.
At our church, I can always tell when the song is hitting (and when we’re playing a cool song that they are clapping along to and singing some of the words) - the congregation is almost louder than the band.
Here are three things I keep in mind as I make song and arrangement choices to maximize the congregational voice.
Song Choice
Once they learn it, can they belt out at least one part of the song, like the chorus or bridge? I lead a lot of acoustic sets in smaller settings and lean toward anthems - songs written to be able to throw your head back and sing at the top of your lungs.
Make Space
In the Five Faders, in the chapter on “How I Debrief After Leading,” I ask, “Was the music so ‘center stage’ and constantly full that it, tragically, made us feel like we weren’t even needed to sing?” In other words, I want to create space for the congregation’s voice to be NEEDED.
Requests
As worship leaders, it’s amazing how often we ask our congregation to sing our preferences. In fact, at one church where I was serving, someone said in a congregational survey, “You’re telling us not to have preferences while making us adapt to yours.” OUCH! When your congregation asks for a song, do what you can to do it.
There are lots of other ideas I’d love to hear from you about how to turn up the congregational voice. But the first and most important step is VALUING it. What’s one step you can take this week?
-Dave Helmuth
Author of the Five Faders and Founder of Ad Lib Music
Close Singing (Nº 474)
Why do some leaders succeed at building lasting worship ministries while others fail? In the Five Faders, Dave Helmuth explores the process of development and breaks down the lies, myths, and traps keeping you from being the fruitful leader God desires. Using decades of evidence-based insights, Dave reveals how understanding what motivates you is the first step in becoming a Five Faders Leader.
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