What this song does in a room
There is a march underneath "Soon and Very Soon" that does something to a congregation before the lyric has even registered. The body responds before the mind catches up. Hands start clapping. Shoulders start moving. By the second verse, a room that began guarded is leaning forward.
Andrae Crouch wrote this as a victory song. Not a song about death. A song about what is on the other side of death. That distinction matters when you lead it, because the room will track your posture. If you lead it like a dirge, it becomes one. If you lead it like the funeral procession that knows where it is going, the room follows.
This song belongs to the Black church tradition, and it has earned a place in nearly every denomination that has ever sung it. Treat it with the joy it was written with.
What this song is saying about God
The song claims that the King is coming, and that His coming is the resolution of every grief the congregation has carried.
Revelation 22:20 is the seed text. "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" The Greek (erchomai tachu) does not mean "in a short time" in the calendar sense. It means "suddenly" or "at any moment." That is a different kind of soon. It is the soon of imminent arrival rather than the soon of countdown.
The song takes that imminence and turns it into present praise. The coming is so certain that the celebration can begin now.
John 14:2-3 sits underneath the assurance. "In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself." Jesus does not promise that the believer will find their way to Him. He promises to come and get them. The song trusts that promise.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 fills out the picture. "The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God." This is not a quiet arrival. The song matches the volume of the text.
"No more crying there" lands inside Revelation 21:4, even though that text is not in the listed references. The grief of the congregation is named and then dismissed. Not denied. Dismissed by the arrival of the King.
Where to place this song in your set
In a Gospel Ark arc, this is a celebration movement song. It belongs after the gospel has been declared. It is response. It is the room saying yes to what has already been announced.
In an Isaiah 6 arc, this song does not fit cleanly into any single movement. It functions better as a sending song. After the room has been commissioned, it picks up the trumpet and walks out singing.
In a Tabernacle progression, this is a Holy of Holies song that does not stay there. It is the song that catches the glory and carries it back out through the courts. It works as a closing march, or as the song that ushers a funeral congregation back into the daylight.
It is also one of the great Easter songs. The resurrection of Christ guarantees the second coming. This song stands on that connection.
For funerals, lead it last. Do not open with it. Let the room grieve first. Then let the song lift them out.
Practical notes for leading this song
Default male key Bb, default female key G. Tempo sits at 104 BPM. Do not drag it. A march that has slowed down has stopped being a march.
Clapping happens on beats 2 and 4. If your congregation does not naturally find it, model it from the platform without making a production of it. Most rooms find it within the first verse if the band is committed.
The "No more crying there" sections are call and response in feel even when they are not technically arranged that way. If you have a choir or even three or four vocalists, treat those lines as antiphonal. If you are leading with a smaller team, let the congregation be the response.
For the production side. Lighting: bright. Bright early and bright throughout. This is not a song that wants drama. It wants daylight. Audio: organ and piano should sit forward in the mix. The march depends on the rhythmic spine of those two instruments. If you have a Hammond, this is the day to bring it out. ProPresenter: the song is short and the lyric is repetitive. Build the slide stack so the room can stop reading and start singing. Camera: wide shots of the congregation work better here than tight shots of the leader.
If your team is small, strip it to piano and lead vocal. The song carries itself.
Songs that pair well
Into this song. "I'll Fly Away" sets up the same expectation in a folk register. "When We All Get to Heaven" by Eliza Hewitt matches the eschatological joy. "Because He Lives" by Bill and Gloria Gaither bridges resurrection and second coming.
Out of this song. "Total Praise" by Richard Smallwood lands the room in a different register of glory. "How Great Thou Art" extends the wonder. "Goodness of God" by Bethel works as a quieter resting place after the march.
Before you lead this song
You are about to walk a room through a victory parade. Some of them are grieving. Some of them are tired. The song will not fix either of those things. What it will do is remind them that the King is coming, and that the coming is closer than the grief. Lead it like you believe it.