Time To Rise And SHINE!
The article below will appear in GPC’s February newsletter, but I thought I would post it here first as a way of rewarding those of you who subscribe by email to the blog. If you do not currently subscribe, use the box on the right to do so. You will notice that I have to qualify that many of our plans are still being worked out and discussed so that we can make this change as positive as possible. As everything gets hashed out and finalized, I’ll let you know…
Time To Rise And SHINE!
by Brian Beasley
Most of you by now have heard of plans to experiment with our Sunday schedule of events. Subject to final approval by the Session, SHINE will be moving to Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. for an experimental period of three months beginning March 1st. Our traditional 11:00 a.m. service will remain unchanged. During these three months, there will not be an evening worship service on Sunday nights. Obviously, a change like this raises many questions and along with questions comes anxiety, but I would ask that you trust the Session to follow God’s call in the guidance of the church. There are many details that still need to be worked out in committee before ultimately being decided by the Session, but one possibility is that our adult Sunday School class will not meet for these three months and our youth and children’s programs and classes will be held during the traditional worship hour.
Why is SHINE moving?
The short answer is that moving SHINE is an attempt to make it a more effective way of attracting young and middle age families and their children, college students, and youth to our church. These groups are vital to the long term vitality of Glenwood Presbyterian Church. SHINE was started as a way to reach those groups because research shows that those demographics, especially those that are unchurched, are more attracted by contemporary worship styles. However, research also shows that when asked, the unchurched say if they ever attended church it would be on a Sunday morning. Even in today’s culture, people still think of Sunday mornings as the time that you go to church.
The best way to increase the number of visitors to our church is not by making members feel guilty for not inviting friends or by putting up a big sign that says ‘Visitors Welcome’ or by knocking on doors in the community or by starting a new ministry or by using a slick marketing campaign or by holding attendance contests. The best way to increase visitors to our church is to create a service that is intentionally designed for the members to bring their friends to and by making the service so attractive, appealing, and relevant to the unchurched that the members are eager to share it with the lost people they care about. This is what we want SHINE to be.
SHINE was a real blessing on Sunday nights. Many of you have told me that it was the highlight of your week. But for so many people Sunday night is filled with distractions whether it is sports or simply getting homework done or getting ready to start a new workweek. By moving SHINE to the morning and putting all our energies into making it a top quality service that you will want to share with your friends, we hope to help it fulfill its original purpose.
Why are you getting rid of the adult Sunday School class?
First of all, we are not getting rid of this class. We may discontinue it and some of our Sunday night programs for the duration of this three month experiment for several reasons. Most people visiting a church for the first time come to a worship service, not a Sunday School or discipleship class. Therefore, we should put more energy into our worship services and make them the best that they can be even if that takes focus away from our classes. Keep in mind that many of our current Sunday School teachers teach multiple classes and have various other obligations at church and spend so much energy keeping these programs going that they are too worn out to even think about inviting a friend to church.
For those that attend Sunday School, they often don’t feel comfortable inviting a friend to attend both Sunday School and church (a 2 ½ hour commitment) and if they only invite them to worship, the member has to decide whether to skip Sunday School altogether or run the risk of not being available to welcome their friend when they arrive. Choir members have long faced the same dilemma – to invite a friend means either making their friend sit alone while they sing in the choir or feeling guilty for not singing in the choir so they can be hospitable to their guest.
In short, this is an attempt to remove potential obstacles that members face in bringing people they care about to church. As a small church, it makes sense for us to prioritize one area to make it excellent and then build out from there rather than spend all of our energies to maintain all of the programs that were here when our grandparents attended and our membership rolls were three times as big. As with everything, we will re-evaluate it after three months.
I am very excited about the worship experience that we are planning in connection with this move. Beginning on March 1st, SHINE will feature not only more music but a series called “Downpour” that will change lives! Based on a sermon series by Pastor James MacDonald, this series was chosen because it will challenge long-time Christians in a spiritual rut to revival and renewal while at the same time sharing the basic gospel story to non-believers. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to miss this and your friends will thank you for inviting them!
I understand that change can be scary. I would ask that you lift up this service in prayer and be patient and positive. If you don’t regularly attend SHINE, I ask that you give it a try. For those that do attend SHINE, I ask that you bring at least one friend and that you come hungry for God’s Word in the music and the message. Let us approach this experiment as an exciting adventure, anticipating what God will do through us! For as they said of the early church, “…if their plan is of human origin, it will fail, but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them…” (Acts 5:38-39)
