5 current songs that would go over at campmeeting

I looked forward to the summer months as a kid. Being out of school and best of all… church camps!! It would take me weeks to prep, shop and pack my suitcase. Oh the days of shopping for the perfect camp clothes with my mom. I attended my first Senior Camp at the age of 14 in 1997…and boy was in heaven.

At our local church, we sang A LOT of songs out of the Sing Unto the Lord songbook. While those were great songs, as a young person I lived to hear the new songs that would be sung at camp. And before you head over to YouTube to watch a throwback, services weren’t as widely recorded as they are now. (If you find a video….I’d love to see it!)

Still to this day when I hear some of these songs they  transport me back to the UPCI Campgrounds in Lufkin, TX. One of the camp choir songs I couldn’t get out of my head was “It Shall Be Done” by The Potter’s House Mass Choir.

Another one was “I Want to See Heaven”

Music is so powerful. I can remember the exact songs that got me through different seasons of life. The anointing on the songs at camp was something I can’t forget. If you’ve ever been over music for an event like this, you know how challenging it can be to choose songs. You’re not just picking songs for your local church, where you already know the culture, you’re choosing songs for many people from many styles of church cultures. 

Here’s are a few things to keep in mind when you are choosing songs for camps:

• You can’t go wrong with variety. Doing all styles of songs: traditional hymns, modern praise and worship, current favs, southern gospel, shout beats and choir material is a great way to draw everyone represented into the worship service.
• Not every song has to be wordy. It can be mentally exhausting to keep up with one wordy song after the next. Alternate wordy and simple to give the congregation a chance to breathe and focus on worship.
• Choose musically challenging songs sparingly. It’s fun for the band to be able to jam out a few times during the week. Keep in mind that if every song has weird runs and punches it may be overwhelming for everyone in the congregation to connect in worship.

It’s helpful to spread the word about your music selection. You may consider posting your camp music playlist ahead of time on a platform like Spotify so that the campers can start listening and get excited about the upcoming music. That way when camp starts they’re able to worship instead of having the deer in the headlights look when every song they hear is new. 

If you hear a song you love this year, you may want to do it at your local church. Definitely go for it! Keep in mind a few things:

• Camp music is a mixture of all of the best musicians and singers from many different churches. You may need to make a few changes to do that song in your church. For example, a camp song intro may have been played by an acoustic guitar, so if you have just a piano use that instrument for the intro.
• You don’t have to do a song in the original key. This may sound like I’m contradicting myself because I’m a huge proponent for playing songs in the original key. If you consider yourself a beginner/intermediate piano player it’s ok to change the key so that it sounds good in church.
• Not every song may go over well in your church. Consider the musical style of your church when adding new songs to your repertoire or change the style to fit your church

If you’re looking for newer songs to do at camp meetings, here are a few that I think would resonate with a lot of people.

“Not Finished” by James Wilson will relate to anyone in any stage of life. Whether you're a preteen or a grandmother, we all feel the tension of living in seasons where we don’t know the next step. Loneliness and uncertainty about the future is something we’ve all felt. 

 “Power in the Name” by Draylin Young is an easy song to pick up on. Finding upbeat songs was always the hardest part of choosing songs for me. The bridge about victory will have everyone dancing.

This “Old School Medley” by Faith City Music is a great combo of songs that will be a great throwback. 

Between camp songs and camp pranks there are so many fun memories! I’d love to hear about your favs!