Out with the old!
All this discussion about different people desiring types of worship experiences AND us trying to identify how to best reach our target (not actively involved in a church for whatever reason) has lead me to a thought. We currently have 2 hours which are the same. Many churches have different services with different styles such as traditional and contemporary. Now, the Journey should NEVER do either of those but what if we took this idea and ran with it. What if we did an outreach focused conversational forum type interaction hour at 9:00 and then did a worship music time from 10:15-10:45. People could leave, arrive, or stay during this time and then at 10:45 we complete our “second hour” which has a deeper feeling which can include a communion option, more prayer time, etc.
The flow looks different and there is no break, but people are totally free to come to whatever suits them, and if people are interested they can do it all.
Pros:
This takes into account people’s individual personality style and offers options for people to participate in. For example, an introvert might not be really comfortable with a “discuss with the people around you” whereas a time of prayer and more of a direct message may be more meaningful to them. Or, a newbie might be looking for a less intense experience than a more mature Christian. Different strokes for different folks, right?
We can change one without changing the other. Let’s say we get started and people post great ideas about starting the first hour with a conversational coffee house style. Say we do that and a few months into it the posts come up with another idea that is even more focused on whoever is the current audience. That hour can change while the “deeper” hour stays the same.
The worship time in the middle ties everyone in together.
Cons: (mostly logistics)
Potentially ackward leaving and arrival with no clear end after first hour and start to second hour (since we would expect 2nd hour people to come during the worship music time).
More work for Jeff (although it would be the same message just different presentations), more work for the planning team (although the planning team of 200 people would be really engaged, I would guess- as they are working on the parts that feed them most), long set for musicians.
Potential Journeyland and Greeting nightmare- The greeting of anyone after the first hour starts is going to be really tricky and Journeyland volunteers would need to know when they would be done or start.
I would say that we want people to stay for/arrive for the worship music time, so we would want to situate the transition accordingly.
It’s totally unconventional, which is very Journeyesque. Worth a conversation, I think.
Connecting?
I like the general concept of this idea. It has the potential of meeting alot of needs. However, I feel there needs to be that time between services where people can just connect with others. Sometimes that is the only time I see people during the week. I would really miss that (but I know it is not all about me :) ). We also have a great setting at PHS with benches and tables and an overall, extremely welcoming—sit down—let’s talk atmosphere.
Love the concept….can’t wait to hear other conversations on this. Great post, Jen!
now you just might be on to something
That sounds very interesting. That would offer something for everyone. The regular folks could come to the early gathering just to mingle and/or pray for and connect wtih the newbies and then get lost in worship during the second set. We could really cut loose during the second set (or the first maybe). We may want a brief break between the two.
How about an intermission?
I totally hear you about connecting, Arlet. I, too, can’t see our church building in relationships without that time. We need to be really consious about keeping that connect time. We could do an intermission type break (go get coffee, hang out, meet people, etc.) while keeping the flow going somehow. Ideas?
Discussion-Mingling-Contemplation
Jen, I think you’re onto something interesting!
Discussion-Mingling-Contemplation
Maybe Journeyland is needed only during Discussion? That way families can participate together in various worship stations. (Or after Discussion, reduce Journeyland to infants and toddlers.)
Maybe the band is needed only during Contemplation? And when they’re not playing, we can play various forms of ambient music (like Brian Eno) underneath whatever is going on, unless we have total silence.
Run D.M.C.!
Re: Out with the old!
A Newcomers’ meeting before each service!!! Maybe we could have a 20 minute newcomer meeting before each service which would draw, say 10 or so regulars with a leader (another regular who is willing to take of the commitment for, say 3 months). This meeting could introduce people to the Journey and provide an opportunity for regulars to share why they chose the Journey, why they keep coming back. Then the newcomers could ask questions or share what brought them to the Journey. Then there could be a brief prayer and then to the coffee and doughnuts before the regular service. I’d volunteer to run this kind of meeting and help to organize it!
T
Newcomers
I like that idea! But, I would say to do it after church instead of before. It is already hard enough to get people to come on time, let alone early.
Re: Out with the old!
Wow, I like the idea… I could see this happening. After today’s setup and execution (let alone tear down etc.) this could’nt be that much more work. One thing I seem to feel is that we are trying sooooo hard to figure this out and we are not waiting on God to show up and tell us what we should be doing. It seems that there is a lot of effort to reach so many different people at the same time that any purposed plan is logictically or any other sense of the idea, impossible. I am all for meeting the different needs but to me the primary objective should be focused on one to three ideas and then go after them with a vengence, not try anything under the sun.
I do like this idea don’t get me wrong. Today in the community impact meeting, one of the team really just wanted to GO to the apartments near by and see what we could do for them. That seemed to me a real good plan and goal for the new efforts; how to reach the NEW community around Pioneer. I like that idea. How do we do that?
I also worry about all these different ideas trying to cater to people that are basically church jumpers. Could we gauge our success / failure based on the number of new souls brought to Christ, what ever the method or format?
Re: Out with the old!
I’m liking this concept! There’s been lots of discussion about how we keep that balance between reaching out to newcomers and still providing sustenance to those who are looking for a deeper experience…. Add to that the desire to keep us all connected (which spawned the suggestion of 1 worship Experience - even if 1/month). Anyway, I think this one is a real option to consider and dig deeper into! Christine