While I was on vacation, I did a couple of things that I hadn’t done before mainly because I hadn’t had the chance to do it: I live streamed and I worshiped at a couple of large, non-denominational churches. I don’t know how many of you have done so before, but the experience was very eye-opening for me. Before I left on vacation, I had intended to do a sermon series based on the question: Why are we here? And my experiences these past two weeks have led me to believe that this question is extremely important not only for us as a congregation but for most mainline churches to wrestle with.
I'll get to that towards the end of this post after I share what the experience was like. I’m going to blend the two experiences together because even though there were a few differences, there were an awful lot of similarities. I’m doing this because I don’t want things to be confusing if I jump around from experience to experience. So, what does it look like to worship at one of these places?
My family and I pulled into the parking lot, and there was a sign directing first time worshipers to a VIP parking place. There was a pop up canopy with several church members underneath. We parked, and a young man greeted us as we stepped out of our car. He handed each one of us: all five of us, a welcome packet with a pamphlet with all kinds of information about the church. It had a little placard with a Bible verse on it, a gift certificate to Chik-fil-a, what we might call a bulletin–but it was really an interactive sermon guide with a card to be filled out attached to it. The packet also included a pen and journal to keep notes in. The young man welcomed us, asked us where we were from, and told us a bit about the congregation and its pastor.
We were then invited to hop on a golf cart to be driven to the church entrance. This was a welcome sight to me especially since I hurt my knee while on vacation. We were offered donut holes, which we politely declined since we had just eaten breakfast.
We were dropped off at the main entrance, and we walked in. Immediately, we had deer in the headlight eyes. I mean, the place was enormous. We didn’t know where to start. Within moments, a gentleman who had been sitting on a bench was by our side. “Can I help you?” he asked.
I replied that we were here for the 10 o’clock service and were early. We didn’t know what to do or where to go to wait. He invited us to go to their bookstore and then wait at the coffee shop where there were comfortable places to sit. We thanked him and headed to the bookstore.
As we walked to the store, I noticed that there was no need to ask anyone what was going on at the church. They literally had all of their events and happenings plastered on the walls. Now, don’t get me wrong, it was tastefully done and it looked good. But they were in the business of making sure you knew what the church was up too from educational opportunities–of which there were many; to kid’s activities including football leagues; to mission trips and local mission projects. They had pamphlets of information on all these things hanging next to their displays so that you could take them with you depending upon which activities you were interested in. As I looked at all of this, we headed to the bookstore.
It was interesting looking around that store because they had all sorts of materials in there very much worth reading. I bought too books, and my son found a book on dinosaurs that he wanted. There were plenty of knick-knacks, cards, and tracts you could buy as well. Much of it was geared toward growing in faith and raising your children in the faith.
We finished up and walked toward the coffee shop, and that’s when I noticed all of the television sets. They had the service on closed circuit television. Those t.v.’s were everywhere. They didn’t want anyone missing the service or the message. Believe it or not, there were televisions in the restrooms! Even if you were not sitting in during the worship service, they still wanted to connect with you no matter where you were in their facility. It was truly head shaking.
We waited until their 8:30 service had finished, and we watched as people exited the worship center. In the kingdom of God, there are people of every race and every age. In the kingdom of God, there are singles, couples, and families. This is exactly what you saw walking out of the worship center. It was diversity at its finest even though the church didn’t promote it. As I watched folks come out, a lady stopped to talk to us and offer us words of welcome. She particularly loved my daughter’s hair because it was curly–just like her own. We visited for a few moments before heading in to take our seats.
The worship center was laid out like an auditorium with a stage up front. Two large screens on either side of the room pumped out a steady stream of information regarding what was going on at the church and how you could get involved. They were not afraid to use technology. “If you want to volunteer, text this number.” “If you are a first time guest, text this number.” “If you have given your life to Jesus today, text this number.” People milled around drinking coffee, visiting, looking for seats. As worship time approached, the screen began a countdown.
Worship began with singing. Nearly 20 musicians led the singing–a goodly number of people. We sang four songs, and I recognized two that I had heard played on KSBJ. My kids recognized them too, and they broke out into huge smiles and sang along. That’s unusual because getting my kids to sing at church takes a lot of work! Individual singers offered words of welcome, words of encouragement, and testimonies of the power of God in their lives. You were invited to become a part of the experience and engage what was going on. It was part rock concert, part worship all rolled into one. And it was effective!!! It reached a lot of people. Sure, there were still quite a few folks who were not singing, but there were a lot more who actually were. Applause was heard after each song.
Then, an assisting minister took the stage and invited folks to come up for prayer. The church had assembled a group of people who would pray with and for you. At least 10 folks waited up front to pray with others in the building. There was no, “Pastor, would you pray for me today.” There were members praying for other members, right there, on the spot. Music was playing in the background inviting the whole congregation into an atmosphere of prayer for those coming forward.
What struck me about all of this was the massive involvement of people other than clergy. 20 musicians, 10 people praying, at least 10-15 working on technology filming and producing video for the service, multiple ushers finding people places to sit, folks working at the information desk, folks greeting in the parking lot, folks working in the coffee shop and in the bookstore, folks teaching classes. It was stunning.
And then it was time for the sermon. There was a Bible reading, and then the preacher spoke for roughly 40 minutes. As part of his sermon, he invited one of the congregation members to come forward and share a testimony of how God had been involved in her husband’s life before he tragically died and how He was now active in her life since her husband’s death. Faith was not only shared by the pastor, but it was shared by a lay person.
The service closed in prayer, and what a prayer it was! It was Father’s day, and so the pastor led the congregation in prayer having congregation members lay their hands on the fathers and other men in the congregation. It was a powerful sign of blessing that was passed around, and it was meaningful for me to have my wife and children all laying their hands on me and praying for me.
As I walked out into the parking lot after the service, I had little doubt as to why these congregations are growing and attracting people. As I wrote in a Facebook post, “These churches by far have more lay involvement, better hospitality, more engagement by worshipers, and better outreach than just about every single mainline church I have worshiped in.”
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