“All the ends of
the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations
shall worship before him,
For dominion
belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations…”
--
Psalm 22:27-28
How is
it possible in this age of information, when Bibles can be carried around on
people’s phones, churches have websites and email, and people can watch sermons
and worship services on the internet… with all these resources, how can people
actually be getting less connected to God?
Obviously we can make all the resources we can think of, but if people
aren’t interested in using them in the first place, what good have we
done?
It is
clear that young people think differently from their adult counterparts.
Not only are they not interested in many issues
that adults are concerned with, they think differently.
Researchers tell us that adolescence in
particular is a time when the brain is growing, learning new ways to solve
problems and make decisions.
But church
is geared toward adult problems and decisions, and often leaves the young
feeling bored or left out.
If kids
complain consistently, many parents decide it’s not worth dragging kids to
church, and that can spell the end of that family’s involvement in church and
that child’s chance to grow up knowing Christ.
How can we reach out to these new families whose children are going to
the new schools in our community and looking for a church where they will fit
in, have fun, and learn about the Lord?
Till now
our strategy at Atonement has been to offer a blended style worship service at
10am that takes traditional adult-oriented elements and mixes them with
children’s moments, youth Sundays, Sunday school and an emphasis on including
all ages.
Knowing that 10am is still
early for many families to get up, get everyone dressed and organized and make
it to church (especially when Sunday might be the only day a family has to
sleep in), we’ve known that the strategy isn’t perfect, but was a compromise we
made to have the highest possible quality of worship with our limited
resources.
The good
news is, our church has reached a point where we have the ability to develop a new
worship option that will enable us to provide a compelling and quality service especially
designed for families with young children and youth. We’re calling this new service our “Child of
God service” and we believe it will be a great help as we grow into God’s
future. We are planning to add this
service on Sundays during the school year at the 11:30am time slot, starting
the first of the year - 2019.
We are
taking seriously Martin Luther’s vision that the home will become a place where
God is honored and worshiped throughout the week.
Jan Gerle has been developing a special
story-centered approach which will be the centerpiece of the service.
Each week we will focus on a different Bible
story, and by the end of May we will have covered the entire length of the
Bible chronologically.
This pattern will
repeat annually, moving from Genesis through Revelation but choosing different
tales to highlight each year.
Our plan
is for the service to last about 45 minutes, followed by a 15 minute period
when children will go to the Sunday school room for a craft, and adults will stay
in the sanctuary for a brief overview of the story. We will offer a brief Bible study, along with
special prayers and activities to help heads of households teach and reinforce
the story throughout the week at home.
Two big
changes will be taking place in the 10am service as we develop the new service.
First, we will be offering samples of what
this new service will be like on youth Sundays for the next 4 months (Sept-Dec)
at the 10am worship time.
Though we will
not begin offering the 11:30 service until January, we want people to get a
taste of it and will be providing that opportunity on the last Sunday of each
month.
Everyone at the 10am service on
those four days will experience aspects of the new service format.
Second, starting
this month we will begin to shorten the 10am service.
This is necessary so that the new service
will have plenty of room for its 11:30 start time by the end of the year.
Though we will continue to have Sunday school
until the end of the year, the children’s moment will no longer be part of the
10am service.
Starting in January, the
Child of God service will take the place of our Sunday school program.
The
Child of God service will be a full Word-and-Sacrament service.
Communion will be offered every Sunday and everyone
is welcome to attend.
Our Lord Jesus who
said “Let the children come to me,” includes people of all ages in his church and
in his kingdom.
The messages will be
simpler and the music more family-friendly.
Emphasizing the special viewpoint of children and youth, we hope to
strengthen the faith life and intergenerational bonds of our member
families.
Also, we know people moving
into our community are looking for churches where their whole family will be
comfortable and well-nurtured in the faith.
I am confident that this new approach will be a milestone in our growth
as a congregation and as an evangelistic outreach to our neighbors.
Thanks for your support of our children and of
those new families the Holy Spirit will be reaching through this service.
Peace,
PS
