Why should a pastor or elder plan church services?

A pastor or elder should generally plan church services because the whole service is part of the teaching ministry of the church, which is entrusted to the elders (1 Tim. 3:2; 1 Thess. 5:12-13).

• In many churches a pastor or elder plans the preaching, but a non-elder has total control over the music. This effectively makes a non-elder responsible for a significant portion of the church’s teaching ministry.
• Consider after all how much songs teach: what God is like, what he has done, and why he is worthy of worship.
• Not only that, the teaching done through music both engages the emotions and lends itself to easy memorization. Church members won’t be humming the words of a sermon throughout the week, but they will hum the songs they sing! It’s teaching that they literally carry with them. 

Therefore, we believe a pastor or elder should plan a church’s services, or at least plan them together with someone who has more musical competency.