After a long time of thought, prayers, planning and preparation we begin our new evening service this week and it is a wonderful opportunity for us as a parish to grow the opportunities we have to grow people under God’s word, to build people to serve Christ and to reach people to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
There is no doubt that this step that we are making will affect us all as a parish and in –particular it will affect both those who come to the 6pm service and those who come to the 10 am service. There will be people who move from one service to another, people who alternate between services and it will be harder for us to do things as one parish. Seats that were once full might seem a little emptier but the good news is that these seats will now be available for new people who will come to join us.
A change like this can bring a range of emotions upon us. There are times I feel a little daunted by it all, times I feel pretty excited by what God is doing. I certainly feel challenged and no doubt a little unsettled with what might lie ahead.
Our purpose with the new service is to reach more people as a parish, at a range of times with a slightly different style but with the same message from the word of God.
There are a few things we all need to do regardless of what service you are going to:
- Firstly, please pray for us all as a parish. Pray for wisdom, for energy, for patience and for opportunities to glorify God. Pray for Dave and the team who will be involved in the new service. Pray for those who are part of the 10am service. A new service will impact all of us so pray that God will be glorified by it.
- Secondly, as well as coming regularly to your service you should be planning to invite people along to the service that would suit them best – you could even join them for a few months until they are settled. Encourage them to come along and find out what difference Jesus has made. Encourage them to come along to be spiritually challenged or fed from God’s word. Encourage them to come along for Christian encouragement. Regardless of what service you are part of we should be looking for opportunities to invite people to come and join us at church. Rarely will someone just turn up at church – we should be seeking to invite people along.
- Thirdly,it would be good if you can talk about what is happening. Tell people your church is starting a new service. Engage them on your social media if you use it. Speak to them over coffee if you drink it. Ask them have they ever come to church or ask them to come along and find out what yours is like.
- Finally, simply because of the space, please be people who encourage one another. With a change like this it is all too easy to whinge and complain and this spreads like cancer. Whilst things are never perfect this side of heaven a word of encouragement is far more productive than a complaint. (Next week we will look at how we can better welcome.)