As a worship leader, one of my least favorite parts of Christmas is the way it invades my worship sets. My worship team tends to create a certain sound and style all year round, but then Christmas songs don’t easily fit within that sound. So it requires modernizing them or changing our sound completely for much?of December. Fortunately Hillsong, Lincoln Brewster, and a few others have created some great modernized renditions.?But that also requires learning a completely new list of songs just for one month.
Why not get the most out of that extra effort by making it shareable? What if you chose one of those public domain Christmas?songs, made your own unique rendition, and then recorded a video of it to share on social media? It doubles the use you get from learning new songs,?it can become a great tool to help your church invite their friends, and it also helps your congregation get ready to sing along when it’s time to perform it live.
Most popular Christmas?songs are in the public domain, so you don’t need to worry about licensing issues. Just be sure you don’t steal someone’s modernized rendition; that gets more complicated. Fortunately, you don’t need to because there are so many easy ways to create your own version that sounds unique and makes for a great listen. You could go as simple or complex as you want.
Ideas for Your Christmas Song Rendition
Consider one of the following ideas:
- A ukulele version of the Christmas song. The popularity of ukuleles have surged recently.
- An acoustic version.
- A classroom instruments version (thanks Jimmy Fallon).
- An acapella version ? either like those popular acapella groups or just split-screen solo.
- A completely digital version ? indie, dance, or your pick.
You could record the audio separately and record the video later, or just capture it live. Of course, the better quality it is, the more chance you have of it becoming popular ? something more than just your own congregation shares.
But don’t let perfection limit you from trying.[quote]Don’t let perfection limit you from trying.[/quote]
Make the video and add a tag on the end inviting your community to your Christmas services. Share it on social media starting the day after Thanksgiving. Encourage your congregation to share it with their friends on their social media networks. It’s a great way to give people a glimpse at the personality of your church while also being enjoyable to watch and share.
Has your church done something like this? Post a video link below. We’d love to see!
