The celebrating congregation with mixed economy
Vary your approach to appeal to different groups
Many local congregations only know the Sunday morning service, if there had been an afternoon service then this was abolished ages ago - too few churchgoers attended. This approach says: have the courage to turn things around! We no longer abolish services, but extend them. Or if you don’t want to do that: we introduce variation into our morning services based on what is best for your congregation.
The advantage of variation is that you can aim at a variety of groups. How often does the congregation complain about the morning service because a certain group wants to make changes that others find obnoxious? The church leaders are caught in the middle. Before you know it the morning service is no longer a grey average that does not offend anybody but one which does not make anybody really happy either.
A number of suggestions
- Some congregations opt for a varied approach, developing the ‘mixed economy’. There are two Sunday services, one is the service the congregation is used to and then there is one for guests and newcomers. The advantage is that during that second service you can devote yourself completely to this target group. Integration between the two groups can be achieved because congregation members can invite guests to the second service. The people that do not feel at home in the second service have the opportunity to attend the service they are familiar with. It would be possible to have the first service on the Sunday morning prior to the second one or the first one at the familiar time in the morning and the second one in the early afternoon.
- There are congregations that organise several services on a Sunday increasing the options for churchgoers. Research shows that when several services are offered the number of churchgoers increases. If this approach is used there must be variation in what is being offered! The youth service is the best known example. After that there is a whole host of possibilities: the instruction service, the discussion service, an evening prayer, a Taize celebration, a praise service, a cantata service, a theatre service, a children’s service, a prayer service, a service for the over 50’s.
- The variation in celebrations offers the possibility for services that are more suitable for guests and newcomers, where the language and forms are more in keeping. Worship aimed at young people is an example, a celebration at a separate moment not normally on a Sunday morning. The celebrations are organised by and for young people and are aimed at their experiences.
- In addition to variety of form and target group it is also possible to have variation in time. For people who have to work on a Sunday morning it is appropriate to offer a different time. Teens and young people do not find 10.00 on a Sunday morning the most appropriate time for a church service. They would prefer a service in the early afternoon. And why should there not be celebrations on Saturday evening?
- Taize celebrations without a sermon and long silences are attractive to another sort of people. Experience shows that people you would not normally see in church on a Sunday morning can catch their breath here.
- Many churches cooperate with the local primary school with church and school services being jointly organised. These are occasions for many children and their parents see the inside of a church for the very first time.
Organisation
And who is going to do all this? Very often ministers being to panic when confronted with such proposals. They suspect that every Sunday they will have to preach four times instead of only once, but this does not have to be the case. Evening services, youth services and Taize celebrations can be prepared and led by congregation members. It might also be possible to work collaboratively with neighbouring ministers or with ecumenical partners who can assist in these varied celebrations according to their talents and opportunities.
