Newly Redesigned Worship Service Format to be Rolled Out in the Coming Months

Transcription

1 Newly Redesigned Worship Service Format to be Rolled Out in the Coming Months Since the first few months of this year, Hope s Consistory has been discussing changes needed to help us better accomplish our mission as a church. After two weekend retreats, we came to realize that Sunday morning is pivotal to congregational health and growth. Like the rudder of a ship, it sets the tone and direction for our church. We determined that this rudder needs to be set in the direction of being more outwardly-focused. The Consistory came to see that our present worship service format is meeting the needs and desires of some of our members, but not all of them especially the younger members. We also determined that our present services are not appealing or engaging to the unchurched in our community. Thus, these services are less than adequate in helping us fulfill our mission and vision. We believe that a service with more modern elements would be more effective at reaching both our younger members and our community. There is a basic rule of thumb that says, If you aim for the young, you ll get a good number of seniors. But if you aim for the seniors, you ll get very few of the young. Since the more modern sound (drums, guitars, and keyboard) has been around for more than 60 years, it no longer appeals only to youth. Rather, it is now truly multigenerational in its appeal. With this in mind, the Consistory put together a Worship Design Task Force that met for several months. Their mandate was to: 1) Recommend a course of action regarding worship; 2) Develop grounds for this recommendation; 3) Create format options to be considered (with list of pros and cons); 4) Develop a list of resources needed -- staffing, equipment, volunteers, etc. In this process, the Worship Design Task Force enlisted the help of 3 different focus groups made up of 18 congregational members from various age groups. These focus groups provided valuable feedback which was used to fine-tune the plan and the F.A.Q. section of this document you now have in your hands. During the month of May this plan was presented to the Executive Committee of Consistory. They provided valuable feedback which was also incorporated into the plan and then presented to the Consistory later that month. The Consistory spent two meetings reading, discussing, and praying over this plan. At their June 5 meeting, they approved the plan and are now sharing it with the congregation by means of this information packet. To assist members in processing this information, we are offering a public presentation of the material on Sunday, June 10. This will be followed by a Question & Answer Session held on Sunday, June 17 after the morning service. For those unable to attend the June 17 session, we will be holding one additional Q. & A. session on Sunday, June 24. Otherwise the church staff or Consistory is willing to discuss this worship shift with you at your convenience.

2 Roll-Out Plan At this point, our proposed roll-out plan looks like this: Offer one or two Wednesday evening Come and See events this summer to expose members to the new format and give them an opportunity to learn a growing repertoire of new songs Plan and execute one more modern Sunday service in September and October Plan and execute two such Sunday services in November and December Make the complete shift beginning in January 2019 During the fall months, we are planning to stick with our usual start time of 9:30 AM. Beginning in January, we will move to a 10:30 AM start time. After we have given this new format a fair shake (i,e, doing it weekly for 6-9 months), the Consistory will do an evaluation to see if we want to continue with it, change it, or scrap it.

3 New Sunday Morning Worship Format After considering a number of various service formats, all of which involved a more modern service during prime time and a secondary (non-prime time) traditional worship service option, the Consistory has approved the following option: One Sunday Morning Modern Service w/ a Monthly 30 Minute Traditional Prequel Details: 9:30 AM those desiring a more liturgical, traditional style of worship would gather in the sanctuary for a half hour of responsive readings, prayers, singing of hymns with the organ, etc. This prequel service would not include announcements, sacraments, or sermon. This experience will conclude by 10 AM after which the participants would head to the fellowship hall for coffee and fellowship prior to the full morning service at 10:30 AM. The full service would include contemporary praise and worship music, announcements, sacraments, and sermon. Advantages It would not split the congregation into two worshipping bodies. We d all be able to worship together. The special events (baptism, professions of faith, new members welcome) would all be shared together. It would provide a new, more appealing service for our youth and our community. This new thing could be leveraged for greater outreach within our community. It would maintain the critical mass necessary for dynamic, energized worship. For those who prefer a more formal, traditional style; this would meet that need on a monthly basis. For those participating in this morning vespers service, it would not mean a longer Sunday morning stay at church than is presently being experienced by many (9:30 noon). We have several members who would love to use their gifts and talents in developing and leading this morning vespers piece. We also have gifted members interested in being involved in a more modern service. This arrangement would provide an outlet for both. Disadvantages Coordination would be required and logistics would have to be worked out with Praise Team rehearsal needing to take place before the morning vespers piece on a once-a-month basis. Those who prefer a more formal, traditional style would have to sit through the more modern music portion of the service in order to hear the weekly message. In summary, we believe that this option has more up-sides and less down-sides that any other option we considered. At this point in time, we believe 10:30 AM Sundays to be the optimum time for young families and communities families to gather for worship. Early on after the January launch, if we sense a tweak or adjustment needs to be made to the monthly prequel service, we will make those adjustments prior to the 6-9 month evaluation time next summer.

4 Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is a Gospel-centered outwardly-focused modern service? It is an attempt to relate the Gospel to the unchurched and dechurched of our community; and to do this in a winsome, non-threatening, culturally-relevant way. This type of service also has a strong appeal to a large majority of believers under 65. It works on the premise that the church should provide a safe place for people to come and hear a dangerous (i.e. lifechanging) message. Most unchurched people in America are apprehensive about the thought of "going to church". This is because they do not know the songs, the lingo, the liturgy, or the routine. The type of service we are proposing tries to remove as many cultural barriers as possible. It attempts to make people feel more comfortable, less anxious, and more relaxed thus making them more ready to hear from God. It s a service where the dress is more casual, the music more modern and upbeat, the message Scripture-based and relevant, and where there are good transitions from one worship element to another creating a smoother, seamless flow. 2. Why have many long-standing churches made the shift to offering a more modern style of service? We are living in a post-christian society where most Americans no longer speak our faith language nor share our moral values. More churches are coming to understand that North America is a vast mission field and that they are a mission outpost called by God to reach their community in new and creative ways. Today church is viewed by many of the unchurched as boring, irrelevant, and peripheral to life. People no longer seek out the church as they once did. As a result, churches can no longer enjoy the luxury of spending most of their time and energy nurturing their own members treating outreach and evangelism as only a peripheral "add-on". Our 21 st Century culture requires us to be missional in all that we do. Churches have discovered that their corporate worship service is one of key factors affecting the spirit, focus, self-image, and future direction of their church. It is the most visible activity that the church conducts, and the one which is most influential in persons deciding to affiliate with that congregation. Making the worship service more relevant, more interactive, and more outward focused will cause the entire organization to become more so. 3. Why should Hope Church consider offering this type of service? Because it fits with our church's history. We grew out of a pioneering spirit, a willingness to move forward in faith, and a desire to reach the younger generation and the community

5 through the most effective means possible at the time. That same courage, faith, and evangelistic fire plays a significant role in this decision as well. Because we seek to raise the evangelistic temperature of our church and experience more fully the joy of harvest reaping seeing lives changed by the power of the Gospel. 4. How important is musical style to this kind of service? Musical style is critically important. The type of music a church chooses will define the audience it reaches. Traditional organ music will attract traditional, longtime believers. More contemporary music will easier connect with a contemporary audience. We are not saying one is better than the other, just that one has a broader reach or appeal. Currently we have very few millennial members (those between age 19-36), this is partly due to the type of worship music used on Sunday mornings. As the axiom says, Change your music and you change your audience. Since God has not prescribed a certain musical style to be used in public worship, we are free to create a sound that will help us better fulfill our mission. 5. What general principles will be used to guide the development of this service? We want these services to be Participatory: Since true worship is something a believer does, not simply watches, we will involve the congregation at various points in the service. There will be participatory singing, sharing, and involvement in the sacraments. Since not everyone expresses their worship of God in the same way, we will invite people to participate as they feel comfortable. Positive: We Christians have the most hopeful, joyful message in the world to share with others. So we want our services to reflect this joyful spirit. We will seek to create energetic services that provide people with valuable information, inspiration, motivation, and restoration. Services that capture the heart, express the soul, engage the mind, and motivate the hands of the worshipper in service God. Practical: We don t have to make God s Word relevant; it already is. We simply show its profound relevance to everything we do. An attempt will be made to provide real takehome value each week. Have Depth: Being sensitive to the unchurched in our midst does not mean that we have to "dumb down" the message or use simplistic, mindless songs. But it does mean that we will regularly explain what we are doing and why. It also means we will explain theological terms when used. The Scriptural message doesn t have to be compromised, just made understandable. Biblically Framed: From God s Word, we learn that true corporate worship should glorify, edify the believer, and draw unbelievers closer to Christ. We believe that if done well, corporate worship can be a powerful, winsome witness to the unchurched if God s presence is felt and if the music and message are understandable.

6 6. What specific blueprint will be used to help shape this service? Like an "oasis" in the desert, the Sunday morning worship service will be a time of spiritual refreshment. It will have the following characteristics: Celebrative: Worship times will be positive, uplifting times where people will be able to experience the joy of knowing and praising the Lord by singing, clapping, or lifting their hands (Psalm 100). Contemporary: A more traditional style draws heavily upon music, instrumentation and liturgies that have a long, rich history within the church. But for many in our society these forms, methods, and music sound foreign and unintelligible to them. We will use a style that modern people living in the 21 st Century can more easily relate to. We will attempt to take the best of the past (Apostles Creed, Lord s Prayer, hymns) and express them in modern ways. Creative: There will be a continual effort from week to week to use new and fresh music and ideas. We will use a rich variety of means to worship the Lord: music, testimonies, and video clips. Casual: There will be a relaxed atmosphere of acceptance regardless of appearance, age, background, or race. People will be allowed to "come as they are. Yet the service itself will be carefully planned, with a purposeful flow to it. Clear: Every aspect of worship will be evaluated on the basis of its "understandability" to those visitors who are unchurched or dechurched. Each service will be built around one primary theme with a majority of the elements being connected to that theme in some way. Christ-Centered: In every worship service, Jesus Christ will be lifted up and exalted. Calling people to give their lives in service to Him will be the focal point of each sermon and each worship time. 7. What will be some of the elements or characteristics of this more modern service? One of the biggest differences will be the instrumentation. Instead of an organ and/or piano, a praise band will be used. This will include guitars, keyboard, drums, and occasionally other instruments, as well as a small group of vocalists. After the welcome, the service moves into a time of praise and worship (approximately 15 minutes long). Children would be dismissed for children s worship after the praise set. There would be a time of sharing and prayer, followed by the message, closing song, and benediction. The format would not be significantly different than what we are doing now; however, the music would be different. We would seek to include some modern hymns and some old hymns of the faith just done in a new, fresh way. An attempt would be made to build the entire service around one main theme. We would work at flow, pacing, and transitions so that the service would be rather seamless and thoroughly engaging even for the uninitiated. Compared to a more traditional service, there will be more freedom in both structure and in worship expression. People will be invited to express their adoration and praise in ways that are fitting for them even if it s different than the person sitting next to them.

7 8. What about children s messages? We are looking into using a different model than Sunday School for ministering to our children on Sunday morning. It would be more of a worship-based model that includes a large group component (where the lesson is taught) and a small group discussion time. Children will be dismissed right after the praise set to receive their Bible-based message. There would be no need to offer an additional message to them during the regular service in the sanctuary. Instead, we would like to occasionally include the children at the beginning of the service by having them leading us in a song or sharing a skit with us. 9. What about Sunday School for children and youth? Sunday School is one model out of many that seek to educate our children in biblical foundations. Sunday School was highly effective from the 50 s through the 70 s, but it has lost much of its effectiveness over the past 30 years. One reason for this is the classroom model that primarily educates through intellectual methods. Instead of Sunday School, the Children s Ministry Task Force is working on a plan to shift towards a Children s Church model. This model has proven highly effective across the country for the past several years as means of teaching our children in a highly engaging way. Children s Church would run at the same time as the Sunday morning worship service. The structure would include a large group setting in which the children will sing praise songs, often with motions, similar to what occurs in VBS. After an initial time of praise and worship, they will then experience a teaching moment through different creative means, whether that is a drama, or an interactive teaching lesson. Following that time, students will break into small groups based on their age that is led by a discussion leader. In many ways, these small groups are where the students receive care, pray together, and discuss the lesson on an age appropriate model. The reality in 2018 is that it is inconceivable for most families with young children to spend upwards of 3 hours at church on a Sunday morning. Similarly, Sunday School attendance at Hope has been drastically declining over the past several years. We believe this new model will provide the children with a more engaging, exciting, moving, and effective means of learning and worship. 10. What about the Adult Sunday School class? Although we remain committed to the principle of discipleship (i.e. helping every member to grow in their walk with God), how we structure those growth opportunities will have to change from time to time. The classroom model (Adult Sunday School) is one way of doing discipleship, but not the only way. Small group ministry is another way of learning and growing in our faith. Our long-range goal is that a majority of our members will be participating in one of these groups catalyzing spiritual growth throughout the church. In addition, we are revamping and upgrading our Wednesday night programming. Beginning this September, we will be offering a Midweek Mix with two different learning opportunities for adults.

8 11. What about the church choir? Honestly, the ongoing role of the choir still has to be determined. We will be giving this more thought in the months to come. 12. Why not incorporate some of these more modern elements into our present worship service thus creating a more blended service? Although a blended service might initially seem like the best way forward; upon further review, it has significant pitfalls associated with it. The reality is that these blended services are often too contemporary to please the traditionalists and too traditional to reach people who connect with a more contemporary approach. In other words, by trying to make everyone happy, blended services often end up making no one happy. Everyone leaves the service feeling less than satisfied. We are not saying that blended worship is always a bad thing. In fact, our present worship style could probably be considered a form of blended worship. Yet the reality is that most blended worship happens because the church leaders are afraid to go further, not because the leaders think that it s the best option for reaching new people. We do not believe that a blended service would bring about the kind of evangelistic growth we are striving for. Another drawback to blended worship is that it would be perceived by many in our community as too similar to what we are presently doing. There is a principle of group dynamics which says: "New things attract new people." In other words, newcomers would be far more attracted to a new service specifically designed with them in mind. In summary, we don t not feel blended worship is a viable option if we are serious about our mission mandate. 13. Is doing a weekly modern service doable for us? It s clear that we will need additional resources to pull this off well production equipment (sound equipment, instruments) and personnel (praise team members and a praise team leader/worship director. In addition, some training would be valuable for both the sound/tech team and the praise team. One thing we know for certain, a more modern service is doable for God. Therefore it s doable for us, if God desires it and blesses our efforts. We acknowledge that at the beginning of this process, the praise team may be a bit sparse. But once a church offers such a service, people begin to come out of the woodwork looking for an opportunity to get involved in this way. Experience has shown that God honors this kind of leap of faith in an effort to reach more people for Christ. 14. What will be the financial costs associated with offering this type of service? Doing modern worship requires a person who has a specific skill-set and is willing to commit up to 10 hours per week in developing and leading the praise team, as well as planning the worship service. We will be exploring cost-effective options in this regard. The praise team itself will be made up of volunteers, so there is no cost there. The only other cost is securing the right sound equipment necessary to pulling this off well most of which we

9 already have. 15. What is this going to require of me personally? a) A willingness to be stretched into new ways of thinking, acting, and worshipping God b) A willingness, on the part of some, to sacrifice for the sake of God s growing kingdom c) A willingness to invite the unchurched that you know and build relationships with those who begin to regularly attend Hope. d) A willingness to pray that God will use this service to change lives in powerful ways 16. What is going to make this new service effective? a) The primary ingredient is prayer. Without God working in response to our prayers, all of our human effort will accomplish nothing of eternal significance. b) A secondary factor is personal invitation. Although we will be using various means to promote this service to our community, by far the most effective way of reaching the unchurched is personal invitations made by present members. If our people are not actively befriending and inviting others, there is a good chance this service will not meet its intended purpose. c) A third factor is high quality services. When neighborhood people begin to show up on Sunday morning, we need to provide them will good quality hospitality, child care, music and message or else it is unlikely they will return. ****************************************************************************** Summation: We do not feel our current, more traditional service will effectively reach the unchurched people in our neighborhood. We believe that we cannot become all that God has called us to be as a church by simply remaining where we are. We sense that people (both inside and outside the church) want to go deeper and connect with the real spiritual power of God something that a worship service like this can provide. Every option or choice we make regarding Sunday morning worship comes with a price-tag. If we simply continue down our current path, we will continue to grow older and smaller as a congregation. Nor will we be effectively fulfilling the Great Commission. This option might be the easiest and most comfortable one for now, but the long-term results will prove fatal. As the God-appointed leaders of this church, the Consistory cannot, in good conscience, choose this option. There s good evidence that a more modern, updated service will more effectively grow our members and grow our church. Of course, there are no guarantees. So when we do launch our weekly service (this fall or winter), it will initially be in a test-pilot phase. In other words, we will be trying it on for size as a congregation for a period of 6 9 months. After giving it a fair shake, the Consistory will evaluate the results. At that time, we would also like to receive feedback from the congregation before the Consistory decides to scrap, continue, or rework the idea. So we are asking for patience, delayed judgment, and a willingness to support this new endeavor. Let s give it sufficient time, prayer, and a good-faith effort before we evaluate its effectiveness.