Another strategy is to introduce the melody as part of the performance. In shape note traditions, this takes the form of singing the song the first time using shape names/solfege before starting the lyrics (which gives everyone a chance to think about the music without scrambling for words at the same time). In a more traditional church context it’s common to have a musician play at least some of the melody of a hymn before voices join in. Seems best for moderately complicated but mostly repetitive pieces, and you do need to spend a little bit more time on each song.
Another strategy is to introduce the melody as part of the performance. In shape note traditions, this takes the form of singing the song the first time using shape names/solfege before starting the lyrics (which gives everyone a chance to think about the music without scrambling for words at the same time). In a more traditional church context it’s common to have a musician play at least some of the melody of a hymn before voices join in. Seems best for moderately complicated but mostly repetitive pieces, and you do need to spend a little bit more time on each song.