After much prayer, conversation and consideration, your session has concluded that we will add a second Contemporary worship service to our Sunday morning worship offerings. The goal is to launch later this year. Below are some of the factors leading to such visionary action:
• A crucial part of our purpose statement is to share the love and grace of Jesus Christ with as many people as we can.
• According to Pew research, late Sunday morning continues to be the prime time that unchurched people are open to accepting a worship invitation.
• On the whole, research shows in today’s culture, the unchurched are more open to Contemporary worship than more traditional styles.
• History validates that a worship space is full when it is at 80% capacity. Our 9:40 contemporary service is operating at beyond 80% capacity.
• The delay in constructing a larger Worship Center demands a more creative use of our current time and space to maximize the fulfillment of our purpose.
So, what are the plans? What does this mean for the other 3 Sunday morning services? Your session is casting the vision and asking you to pray, think and help us discover the path that will allow us to arrive at where God is leading. Together we can, together we will.
I know that you have a heart for reaching new people for Jesus. I know that you understand the meaning of sacrifice, commitment and the importance of creativity. You have demonstrated more than once a willingness to do what ever it takes to achieve the mission God has placed before us. Together we can chart a course that will allow us to maximize and be good stewards of our time, space, people and financial resources. Together we will.
Please be in prayer for the vision and opportunity God has placed before us. Talk, brainstorm and pray about our purpose and vision in your small groups, friend and family gatherings. Read scripture, especially Matthew 10:1-42; 23: 37-40; 28: 18-20; Luke 4:14-19,Acts 1:8 & 2:14-41. Pray as you read, seeking God’s plan .
Email your ideas, thoughts, insights, prayers and possible solutions to Allan Mink, allan.mink@stmattcpc.org and Session clerk Kim Perkey, jkjjperkey@sbcglobal.net . Allan and Kim will disburse your creative ideas to the staff and session. Speak with or email an elder or staff person you are close to. They will pass on your thoughts, feelings and ideas on the rest of the staff and session as well.
Be open to an elder visiting your small group to engage with you in conversation, vision casting and prayer. Together, united as one church family, we can find a way to respond to the opportunity and challenge God has placed before us. Together we can, together we will.
When prayerfully considering how we can add a second Sunday morning Contemporary Worship Service, please consider these guidelines.
• We are committed to providing Traditional Worship on Sunday mornings.
• There are no sacred times frames. We can keep the same Sunday morning worship times, adjust them slightly or even start from a blank slate. The same is true for the meeting of our Sunday morning small groups. Think outside the box.
• Space is not sacred either. God is not limited by human architecture or design.
• Consideration must be given to the egress and regress of cars in the parking lot and people in the foyers and hall ways.
• Technology is a wonderful tool and we are committed to using it but funding has to be considered.
• We are committed to reaching the lost and providing a means where the Holy Spirit can transform them into Jesus followers.
• Small groups and discipleship groups are not limited to meeting on Sunday mornings. Most of the unchurched will give you 60 to 90 minutes at a time two different days a week.
• The goal is to add a second Contemporary Service in 2010.
We are living in exciting times. There are hundreds of people all around us who have a need for a relationship with Jesus. They have a need to be loved, belong and experience real community. They have a need for healing, forgiveness, friendship and hope. They have a need to be part of something that is wholesome, true and good. They have a need to serve and make a difference. In other words, they are waiting for your invitation to attend your church. They are waiting for us to do the work to make room in our hearts, our minds, our spirits and God’s facility.
With God’s help, together we can, together we will.
Peace,
Rick
