http://prochurchtools.com/006 - The songs you play before church starts and after church ends are very important. It's easy to think of this portion of church as a throwaway time. But wait! Don't. Choosing the right songs can positively impact your church service in ways you've never likely considered. Plus, it's free and easy.

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

5 Practical Tips For Choosing Better Songs To Play

Don't play a song you're about to play in worship as well. It's not fair to your worship band.
Match the energy of the church service (ie. Good Friday = solemn; Easter Sunday = high energy)
Play music that matches your church's story & culture, or the story & culture that you're trying to build.
Time the playlist to have no gaps and sync well with the countdown.
Make the playlist consistent with genre, tempo, and emotion.

Highly Ambitious Playlist

More Average Playlist

iTunes Tip For Seamless Transitions

You don't have to be a crazy DJ with mad skills, or mad hardware to seamlessly transition songs and avoid those nasty silent moments. This playback tricks works inside of iTunes and it crossfades the playback of two songs. For instance, when a song has 5 seconds remaining, iTunes will begin to fade that song out while automatically fading the next song in simultaneously.

Here's how to set up iTunes to automatically transition songs seamlessly:

Click on Preferences
Click on Playback
Check the Crossfade Songs option
Choose your crossfade time interval (between 5-10 seconds is recommended)

And that's how it's done! Do you have any songs or remixes you can recommend? Let me know in the comments!

006 - Wait! Don't Play Those Songs Before Church