How to Create a Church Hymn Booklet — From SongSelect to Printed Copies

You run the worship team. Every Sunday, someone asks "what key are we in?" and someone else is squinting at a phone screen. The chord charts exist — they're in SongSelect, where you downloaded them last Tuesday. But they're scattered across folders, emails, and group chats.

What if every team member had the same printed booklet — organized by service moment, with the right keys, and the church name on the cover?

Here's how to go from SongSelect downloads to printed copies in your team's hands.

Most Worship Teams Already Have What They Need

If your church has a CCLI Church Copyright License, you already have access to SongSelect — CCLI's platform for downloading chord charts, lead sheets, and lyrics. That means the raw material for your songbook is already there, waiting to be organized.

You don't need to type out lyrics, transpose by hand, or scan anything. SongSelect gives you clean, print-ready PDFs in the key you want. All you need is a way to turn those PDFs into a book.

Step 1: Download Your Songs from SongSelect

Log in to SongSelect and download chord charts for every song your team plays regularly. Choose the key you actually use — no point printing "10,000 Reasons" in E if your team plays it in G.

Name each file clearly so the song titles look right in your booklet:

• 10,000 Reasons - G.pdf
• How Great Is Our God - A.pdf
• Amazing Grace - D.pdf
• Build My Life - G.pdf

Step 2: Upload to MakeMySongBook

Open the builder and drag all your PDFs into the upload area. You can upload your entire song collection at once — MakeMySongBook reads the filenames and creates your song list automatically.

No account needed to get started. Your songbook saves to your browser, so you can come back and edit anytime.

Step 3: Organize into Chapters

This is where your songbook becomes more than a stack of PDFs. Group songs into chapters that match how your team actually uses them. Here are three approaches that work well for worship teams:

By service moment

Structure chapters around the flow of a typical service. This makes it easy to build setlists — just pick one or two songs from each section.

• Opening & Gathering — upbeat, invitational songs
• Praise & Adoration — high-energy worship
• Communion & Reflection — quieter, contemplative
• Response & Sending — closing songs, benedictions

By season

Group songs by the liturgical calendar or time of year. Useful if your church follows Advent, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time.

• Advent & Christmas
• Lent & Easter
• Pentecost & Ordinary Time
• General Worship

By key

Practical for bands that transition between songs without stopping. Group songs in the same key together so medleys flow naturally.

• Key of G — 10,000 Reasons, Build My Life, Good Good Father
• Key of A — How Great Is Our God, What a Beautiful Name
• Key of D — Amazing Grace, Great Are You Lord

Each chapter gets a divider page and appears in the auto-generated table of contents. Drag songs to reorder them within chapters.

Step 4: Design Your Cover

Add your church name, logo, and a title like "Worship Team Songbook 2026" or "Grace Community Hymnal". MakeMySongBook has built-in cover templates with decorative elements and color themes that match a worship context.

A branded cover turns a collection of chord charts into something the team takes seriously — and something visitors notice on the music stand.

Step 5: Order Printed Copies

This is where it gets practical. Different people in your church need different formats. Here are three that cover most situations:

For the worship team: spiral binding

Spiral-bound books lay flat on a music stand or keyboard. Team members can write notes in the margins — capo positions, dynamic markings, arrangement cues. Use 100gsm uncoated paper so pages feel substantial and take pencil well. This is the format working musicians prefer.

Order 15-20 copies: one per team member, plus spares for new members and substitutes.

For the congregation: magazine format

If your church hands out hymn booklets for special services — Christmas Eve, Easter, a community sing — magazine format is ideal. Thin, light, and budget-friendly. Saddle-stitched (stapled spine), easy to hold, fits in a hymnal rack or chair pocket.

Print lyrics-only versions (no chord charts) to keep pages clean and readable for non-musicians. Order 30-50 copies depending on your congregation size.

For the church library: softcover

A softcover book has a printed spine, a professional cover, and durable binding that holds up to years of use. This is the format for the master copy that lives on the shelf — the one the music director reaches for when planning next quarter's worship schedule.

Order 3-5 copies: one for the library, one for the pastor, one for the worship leader's binder.

Tips for Worship Leaders

• Start with your top 30-40 songs. These are the songs your team knows and rotates through regularly. You can always add more in a second edition.
• Include an index by key. The auto-generated table of contents lists songs by chapter. If you name songs with the key (e.g., "10,000 Reasons - G"), the TOC becomes a key reference too.
• Print a draft first. Generate the PDF and print one copy at home or the church office. Check that the keys are right, songs are in the right chapters, and the cover looks good. Then order in bulk.
• Plan for updates. Worship song rotations change. Build your songbook with the expectation that you'll update it once or twice a year. Date the cover ("2026 Edition") so everyone knows which version they have.
• Add blank pages for notes. Musicians appreciate a few blank pages at the back for writing chord substitutions, setlist ideas, or prayer notes.

A Note on Copyright

Your CCLI Church Copyright License covers the reproduction of song lyrics and chord charts for use within your congregation. This includes printing them in a songbook for your worship team and church members. SongSelect downloads are specifically designed for this purpose.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Your license covers reproduction for your church community — not for resale or distribution outside your congregation.
• Report your song usage to CCLI as required by your license. This ensures songwriters are compensated.
• Public domain hymns (most hymns published before 1928) can be freely included without a license.
• If you're unsure about a specific song, check the licensing details on SongSelect or contact CCLI directly.

Frequently Asked Questions