For the last few years we have been
pushing the envelope with our seating capacity for Sunday
morning worship services. Our total seating capacity is about
260 with the extra seats added across the back of the worship
center. This past Sunday we were completely maxed out and
remember we are in the summer attendance slump! At 200+ it is
not logistically feasible to break the group into two services,
worshiping with around 200 feels a lot better than with 50-100
(and it covers up my bad singing.) But we are out of options
until we can build a bigger building and that will not come
quickly. After laboring over this and even doing a trial run
last summer we have decided as a church body to go ahead with a
permanent second service. For a while it will be awkward, maybe
a lot of empty seats where we once were bulging at the seams,
maybe you will not get to see people that you normally would see
because they were in the "other" service. Maybe you will miss a
baptism or seeing someone join the church. But I would like to
ask you to keep your eye on the bigger picture. Over the last
few months we have had people leave because they could not find
a seat or their family could not all sit together. The bigger
picture is "how can we reach and keep more people for Christ?"
My prayer is that because of a few inconveniences we will see
more people saved and more people worshiping and growing in
their faith. We learned a lot from the trial run last summer and
we will do the best we can to implement some of those lessons.
While having two services may be a inconvenience for some, we
want to turn it into a positive for others. Having two services
will allow us to expand our worship styles to reach out to a
broader range of people. You will not see a whole lot of change
in the 10:50 service, however in the 8:30 service we will work
at having a little more contemporary worship service that will
be more attractive to the younger people in our community. To
keep from becoming two separate churches we will emphasize being
in small groups and Sunday School even more now. The addition of
the room dividers in the fellowship hall for more Sunday School
classrooms could not come at a better time. We will also try to
be very creative in fostering an environment for fellowship at
every opportunity available. Will you join me in praying that on
September 7 we will bring glory to God as we step out by faith
to reach our community for Christ!
From Your Pastor With Love,
Kevin Baker
