If you’ve ever wanted to play worship songs on guitar or are even thinking you may want to volunteer at your church one day, I hope that this post brings you the inspiration you’re seeking.
Worship guitar doesn’t have to be complicated and some of the most meaningful moments we’ve ever experienced have actually come from the simplest songs to play on guitar!
The Lord is amazing at answering our prayers, isn’t he?
In seasons of doubt, I’ve often found worship music to be one of the simplest ways I could quiet my thoughts and bring it all back to Him.
You won’t need barre chords for these songs.
And you won’t need fancy strumming either.
Keep reading to learn all 25 easy worship songs on guitar for beginners in this post.
I’ve included a special section at the bottom of this post with 5 easy worship songs on guitar for kids – you’ll find options for full chords and partial chords to make it easier on smaller hands too.
Because worship should be something our children feel confident joining in on as well!
Let’s get started.
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How to Make a Worship Song Easy on Guitar
If you’re brand new to guitar, here’s what to look for when choosing beginner worship songs to start practicing:
Simple Open Chords
Easy Christian songs like the ones below incorporate beginner-friendly chords like:
- G
- C
- D
- Em
- Am
No barre chords required.
Related: 7 Best Basic Guitar Chords for Beginners (to Play Hundreds of Songs!)
Repetitive Chord Progressions
Many worship songs repeat the same 3 to 4 chords, which means less thinking and more worship!
Slower Tempos
Its easier to change chords and sing along when you’re playing slower songs.
10 Easy Worship Songs on Guitar for Absolute Beginners
This list of songs is a great place to start if you’re still new to learning chords or playing worship music for the first time.
- Praise by Elevation Worship – Upbeat and repetitive. We love this song for building confidence with strumming
- Goodness of God by Bethel Music – This gentle and reflective song features easy, predictable chord changes
- 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman – Easy verses paired with a manageable chorus – for singing and strumming
- Living Hope by Phil Wickham – The simple strumming of this song makes it very approachable
- Reckless Love by Core Asbury – Simple chord changes and a powerful, singable chorus
- Great Are You Lord by All Songs & Daughters – This is a wonderful worship song that’s perfect for beginners learning to strum and sing at the same time
- I Am Barabbas by Josiah Queen – A deeply reflective and meaningful song for intentional playing
- How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin – Features a repetitive progression that’s easy to strum and sing
- Revelation Song by Kari Jobe – Reverent and steady, this one sounds beautiful played slowly
- Graves Into Gardens by The Worship Initiative – This encouraging song is lively, fun, and simple to play
1. Praise
Chords: G, C, Em, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: 2nd Fret
Guitar Chords & Lyrics
This song is really fun to sing and strum.
2. Goodness of God
Chords: G, C, Em, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: 1st Fret
Guitar Chords & Lyrics
This song is gentle, reflective, and great for quiet worship moments.
3. 10,000 Reasons
Chords: C, G, D, and Em
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
Guitar Chords & Lyrics
This worship favorite features predictable chord changes at a beginner-friendly tempo.
4. Living Hope
Chords: D, G, and A
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: 1st Fret
When learning to play this song, you’ll likely come across a Bm chord – simply omit the chord and just keep playing the previous one until the next change.
This is another great song for beginners that sounds great strummed or fingerpicked.
5. Reckless Love
Chords: Em, D, C, and G
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
6. Great Are You Lord
Chords: C, Em, D, and G
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: 2nd Fret
You may encounter unfamiliar chords like Gsus4 and C2 when learning this song – just play a regular G and C chords to keep it simple.
Like other songs on this list, the variations don’t make a big difference in the way the song sounds.
If you’re ready to learn a new chord and want to play that C2 though, just finger a regular C chord and then lift off your second finger from the second fret of your fourth string – that’s it!
I Am Barabbas
Chords: Em, C, G, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: 4th Fret
How Great Is Our God
Chords: G, Em, C, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: 2nd Fret
Revelation Song
Chords: D, Am, C, and G
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
Graves Into Gardens
Chords: G, C, Em, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
More music and guitar tips:
- List of 100+ Musical Instruments (Plus How to Choose One!)
- 25 Best Christian Christmas Songs to Sing & Play on Guitar
- How to Create a Beautiful Music Room You Love Spending Time In
- Best Electric Guitars for Beginners: Here’s What Our Family Plays + Top Picks for Kids & Adults!
10 Easy Worship Songs Using Only 2 to 3 Chords
If chord switching still feels a bit overwhelming, these songs are a great alternative for beginners.
They’re also super kid friendly for younger guitar students.
- Amazing Grace
- How Great Thou Art
- This Is the Day
- Deep and Wide
- He Is Lord
- When The Saints Go Marching In
- Open the Eyes of My Heart
- Fairest Lord Jesus
- Peace Like a River
- He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands
1. Amazing Grace
Chords: G, C, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
Guitar Chords & Lyrics
This timeless hymn can be played using just three simple chords and sounds beautiful played fingerstyle or with slow down-strums.
I really enjoy playing Amazing Grace as a warmup these days.
This song is a lovely way to practice changing keys, bar chords, and memorizing chord progressions (moving from G, C, D then to C, F, G, and then to E, A, and B, for instance).
I’ll add a link here once that post is live too.
2. How Great Thou Art
Chords: G, C, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
You may encounter a D7 when learning to play this song. Keep it simple with a regular D chord – it’ll still sound wonderful!
This is something I did with a lot of 7th chords when I was starting out because it doesn’t make that big of a difference overall.
When you feel inspired to start learning new shapes, you can begin incorporating them then – I’d go with A7 and E7 first since they’re incredibly simple and use just two fingers.
3. This is The Day
Chords: D, A, and G
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
4. Deep and Wide
Chords: D, G, and A
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
5. He Is Lord
Chords: D, A, and G
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
6. When The Saints Go Marching In
Chords: G, D, and C
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
7. Open The Eyes of My Heart
Chords: G, D, C and Em
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
8. Fairest Lord Jesus
Chords: D, A7, and G
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
9. Peace Like a River
Chords: G, C, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
10. He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands
Chords: C and G
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
You may encounter a G7 suggestion for this song but you can simply play a regular G chord to make it more beginner friendly.
When I started out, I’d often print out chords and lyrics (you can check out my post on how to create a music book here) and just cross out what I wanted to change.
Homeschool music tip: Pick one song and play it all week. Familiarity builds confidence fast.
5 Easy Worship Songs for Kids on Guitar
These are staples in our home and fantastic for homeschool music lessons or family worship.
- Jesus Loves Me
- The B-I-B-L-E
- My God Is So Big
- I’ve Got The Joy Joy Joy
- Peace Like a River
These songs work beautifully with all down-strums – perfect for little hands and brand-new players.
Jesus Loves Me
Chords: G, C, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
The B-I-B-L-E
Chords: G, C, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
My God Is So Big
Chords: G, D, and C
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
I’ve Got the Joy Joy Joy
Chords: G, D, and C
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
Peace Like a River
Chords: G, C, and D
Difficulty: Beginner
Capo: None
Check out our homeschool tips:
- Best Homeschool Field Trip Ideas to Take You’re Kids on This Year!
- Homeschool Supply Shopping List (What You Actually Need and Nothing You Don’t)
- Free Printable Phonics Flash Cards for Toddlers & Preschool Aged Kids
- Complete Loog Guitar Review: Why This is the Best Guitar for Early Elementary Kids
Simple Strumming Patterns for Worship Songs
You don’t need anything fancy. Start here:
- All down-strums (my go-to for kids)
- Down – down – up
- Slow 4/4 worship strum
Once you’re comfortable, you can layer in variety but simple is more than enough.
Beginner Tips for Playing Worship Songs with Confidence
- Use a capo to match your vocal range
- Play slower than the recording
- Ignore mistakes (everyone makes them – I still do!)
- Focus on worship, not performance
Beginner Guitar Gear I Recommend
These are the basics we use at home and recommend to other homeschool families:
- Beginner acoustic guitar – you can’t beat the low price point and quality of these Fender acoustic guitars. The cutaway model is a great choice because it comes with an onboard tuner and has a pickup!
- Clip-on tuner – we have this one.
- Capo – I love this capo because its smaller and feels more balanced than traditional capos (it fits on both my 6 and 12 string guitars too). The tension is adjustable so it doesn’t wear out like typical string clamp capos do.
- Light gauge strings – we love these ones because they’re comfortable and sound amazing
- Thin guitar picks – I love this size of picks.
Playing Easy Worship Songs on Guitar: Start Simple & Worship Freely
If you take anything from this post, let it be this: worship starts right where you are.
Whether you’re strumming two chords while your kids sing at the kitchen table or practicing quietly after bedtime.
Start simple.
Invite your kids in.
And let worship grow naturally from there.
Happy strumming, friend!
– Nikki
