Like many churches in America over the last few years we were noticing our Sunday evening services were in need of a change. We have small groups September-May and in the summer we are back to the building for “Sunday morning lite.” Our attendance struggled as did the quality of the overall experience. This summer we are highlighting our members’ Faith Stories. Each week someone shares for 15-20 minutes experiences in their life God has used to grow their faith. They share scriptures they found encouraging and we sing for about 35-40 minutes straight.
What has also made this experience better is our move to a smaller room. In the past we would meet in the main auditorium but the crowd seemed even smaller in such a large room. The singing just got lost in the ginormity of the room. This year we are meeting in a smaller room where we can sit closer and the singing gets even louder and more uplifting. It is a really, really good experienced. We have had so much good feedback from this that I thought I would pass the idea on.
0 Responses
It seems to me that sometimes we in the churches of Christ have avoided “testimonies” out of fear of looking evangelical. We need to rediscover the power of story in the church, especially the personalizing of the gospel story.
It was pointed out to me years ago that we often cut off the end of Paul’s gospel description in 1 Corinthians 15. One of the important points was: I’ve met Him.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
That is really insightful. Story is the driving force of the Gospel and the driving force of younger generations. Wouldn’t it make sense to put these two things together in a powerful, God-centered way? It is working out great!
Sounds great. Tim adds some as well.