Acts20.com

After meeting with the elders and deacons last night, I discovered there is strong support for bringing Sunday night services back. I know that it sounds unspiritual, but I was the only one present not in favor. We are going to do research over the next month and then revisit the issue at our next meeting. I have mentioned before that we have two services on Sunday morning. This has been a source of frustration for me. Our facility could easily accommodate one combined service. Its supposed to be an “early service” and the “11 o’clock service “. But it has long been the contemporary vs the traditional service. Style differences prohibit the combination of the two. Our traditional service is mostly middle-aged to seniors. I have no doubt they are the ones lobbying for bringing back Sunday night services.

I honestly miss the fellowship I once felt with those services and the follow-up meal together at the local DQ or whatever. I know small groups are supposed to do the same thing, but meh ....

Ask them for a pay raise, or ask them who is going to be leading it.. ---------My Facebook www.facebook.com/theB3

I think everyone here understands your dilemma. At my age I would never vote to bring it back especially if it has been THAT long since a Sunday nite service. Very few churches have a strong Sunday night service. Our home church that runs around 100 in worship must push to have 12-18 there on Sunday night. I know our (just retired) pastor wanted to drop it but was afraid of the fall out. Tough decision my friend.Sometimes us old folk can be very stubborn. Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/

I've seen enough of your posts on this forum to know you are a very thoughtful, considerate person. I suspect you have forgotten considerably more about ministry than I know. I also know you've posted about your two service dynamic in the past and I know you've thought a lot about it. I don't suspect I'll tell you anything you haven't already considered. But with those caveats said...1) You don't have two services, you have two churches. If there is both a defined style and generation gap between the two congregations, it's two bodies and not one. 2) Your middle-aged folks and seniors are sinning against your contemporary congregation. In my very young years (20s) I would have been happy to have the seniors sequestered. In my less young years (30s) I have, by God's grace, come to recognize the paramount importance of older saints living among, leading, and imaging a mature faith to the younger.3) It's reasonable to ask the seniors to endure some more contemporary songs for the sake of the younger generations, but for the most part, I think the younger generation should be exposed to the more traditional songs that the older folks prefer. These are, for the most part, songs that have withstood the test of time because of their theological depth. It is very nice (in my opinion) to hear and sing traditional lyrics in a more contemporary style, but I would rather sing theologically rich lyrics to an organ and choir than theologically shallow lyrics accompanied by a contemporary style. A potential compromise could be to have the older generation's songs performed, at times, in a more contemporary style. 4) The main problem isn't that the old folks won't accept the younger style, it's that the young folks won't accept the older style. Therefore, the main problem will not go away when the old folks die. Their needs and their style will die with them, but the same problem will exist in the younger service -- a congregation that to some degree perfers contemporary music over theological depth, and doesn't have the example of older saints. That's the most significant problem, in my opinion, that has to be fixed when a church is divided like this one. The problem is with the young folks (point 2 aside), not the old folks, so it won't go away when they die, it will just be even harder to fix because a potential corrective influence will be gone.5) Until this division is addressed and resolved, it's not even worth thinking about a Sunday night service.

Small groups aren’t supposed to do what Sunday nights did. They are not church on a smaller scale. Small groups are about community and support. They are about discipleship and growth. Real growth doesn’t happen in pews so much as in circles, as I’ve heard it said The World As I See Itworldjeffreysees.blogspot.com/Revuriah's Facebookwww.facebook.com/people/Jeff-Richard/1226257444Jeffrey David Richard's Myspace Musicwww.myspace.com/547856946

Some pretty good thoughts, right there!

I believe I can speak to this situation, since I had a very similar experience. In 2007, I was appointed to a divided congregation. We only had one service, at 10:30 AM, and tired to mix traditional music with contemporary.Not long after I came, members of the church and pastor's council began to lobby for a return to Sunday night services. The proponents of this move assured me that everyone wanted to have evening services, so I agreed. Big mistake. Only about 25-30% of the people came back for evening service. Musicians wouldn't come back. Sound people wouldn't come back. Praise Team members wouldn't come back. I never knew who, or what I was going to have, in order to execute the worship service. Interestingly, some of the loudest proponents, were the most lax in their attendance.I think resuming Sunday night is a mistake, based on my direct experience.If you are lucky, 30% of your congregation will come back. With that number in mind, consider:1. The church will have to run power, water, heat/air, etc.2. The church will have to be staffed (music, sound, nursery, ushers)3. You will have to prepare another sermon4. What will that evening service accomplish?To me....I said to ME.....Its likely that those who attend Sunday pm service are already saved. They are probably well established Christians. They probably went to the morning service. That is a lot of effort, just to preach to the choir. I've heard every reason in the book, to have Sunday night and none of them hold water:We might get some visitors (Not likely on Sunday night)We might get some people, whose churches don't have Sunday PM (Uh...No, those folks are on the lake)Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy (Really? What'd you do from 1:00-5:30)Look, I know anything is possible. But clearly you don't feel good about resuming pm service. My suggestion? Make Sunday night a prayer service. No singing. No devotion. Just prayer. After a month, see what the evening attendance is

Resume Sunday nights for prayer only. Have prayer requests typed up and available at the door. Have people come and pray from 6-7pm. Do this for 8 weeks. Track the attendance - which will be pitiful (30+ years as a pastor talking).Go back to your leaders and tell them if we can't get more than to come out to pray, then why should we be offering a full worship service. Remember, if we have a full service, we will need musicians, singers, ushers, sound guy, nursery workers, and other volunteers. It will take at least 15-20 volunteers for a full service and we only had an average of for prayer meetings.

Our church is now 10 years old and in all that time, we have had a Sunday night service. I was advised by a CoG official to do away with our Sunday night services and I responded that my congregation would kill me. Our Sunday night services have an average attendance of 100 and we have had numerous people thank us for continuing them. We have had many visitors, visit for the first time on Sunday nights and decide to come back. I know most congregations have 2 morning services and combine their numbers but, I have never done this(maybe, I should). We continue these services because people still attend them.