You’ve heard by now that, starting on September 11th, we’ll be adding a second service on Sunday morning. We’ll soon be gathering at 9:00am and 10:30am.
I for one am thrilled about the next step and next season in our life as a church. But I recognize some of you may have questions or concerns. So today, I wanted to take time to share a few of the common questions and concerns we hear… as well as my responses to them.
- “We prefer a smaller church community.” This is something we hear a lot, and I totally get it. No one likes to feel unseen and unknown. But, as Jesus followers, this is a tension we will have to learn how to manage for the sake of the mission God has called us to. Because, while we don’t have a size goal at Midcurrent, we do believe that as long as as we have friends and neighbors and co-workers who don’t know Jesus, we are not big enough. And I for one don’t want to stand out front and turn people away who are attempting to turn toward Jesus. And truthfully friends, Sunday mornings are not meant for community anyway–that’s what serving on a team and MC Circles are designed for. Sunday mornings at Midcurrent (and any church really) are meant for corporate worship, teaching, empowering, and equipping us to be the people God designed us to be at home, in our neighborhoods, and in our places of work and influence everyday.
- “Do we have enough volunteers for two services?” The truth is, our Sunday morning ministry teams could use more volunteers to staff even the one service we currently have. (**Shameless plug alert** We’d be thrilled to have you click here and join a team today). And so yes, two services will require more volunteers. But here’s the great news. Many volunteers have indicated that they would serve more often if they didn’t have to miss out on the worship service. So now our volunteers (especially MC Kids volunteers) don’t have to choose between serving and worshipping in their church. Two services allows everyone the opportunity to fully serve during one service and to fully worship in the other. And both are vital to our life as Jesus followers in the local church!
- “It seems like we’ve had plenty of open seats, why do we need a second service?” This is a super common question. There are two easy answers. For starters, summer attendance always takes a little dip. And our projections based on our recent spring attendance suggest that we very well may be welcoming more people through our doors this fall than ever before. And second, research shows that if a church is only even 80% full, a new family or a visiting guest will be lead to believe there is no space for them. Have I mentioned how much I don’t like turning people away who are turning to Jesus?!?! 😉 So, will we have some empty seats this fall?? Sure we will. But every empty seat will send a message to our community that there is a space for them at Midcurrent Church and a God who is waiting to meet them.
God is truly doing a new thing among us–not just on Sunday morning, but throughout our whole church. I really do feel it, and I really do hope you’ll be a part of it.
See you Sunday for another week in our series, Are We There Yet?
10:30am // 200 First Street // YouTube.com/MidcurrentChurch