Up and at em' early today...
Don't you hate those times when you can't sleep? I sure do. I'm a guy that drags if he doesn't get about seven hours of sleep each day. I went to bed pooped about 9:30 last night. I had not slept well the night before. needless to say, 2:30 a.m. rolled around and I was wide awake again. I watched Sports Center and then an old re-run of Happy Days. (I love the Fonz!) Then I decided to shower and come to work. So, here I am!
I am wrestling with whether or not we should go to three services. Our sanctuary holds 250 and we have about 150 or so in the late service. We did it at Easter and had 85 for Saturday night, but then again it was Easter. I don't want to upset the apple cart, but then again, I don't want to leave apples on the ground either.
Any tips?
posted by Pastor Jeff Lawson @ 5:01 AM
1 Comments:
I've read and re-read "How to Start a New Service" by Charles Arn and though the info is good, it all boils down to a season of prayer and preparation followed by the willingness to experiment if necessary.
Arn's best piece of advice (which you probably already know) is to tell the church you're going to have a six month "trial" period for the new service. (I guess 3 or 4 months might work also - depending on the time of year. Right now, spring, is the most natural time of year for church growth...something might work well in the spring and fizzle in the summer....?)
You try something and it works or it doesn't. At least you don't fail for lack of trying. But...
A third service means more workers or taxing your present workers. Are you and they up to it? Yet it also means another option for attendance.
The important idea is balance.
Quantity and guality must be balanced, especially the quality of the pastor's walk with God and with his family. I've witnessed a lot of burnout in the lives of pastors who took on too much too soon...seen them pack up and head off to a new place because they frustrated themselves and their people by not being balanced.
Can I do more in 20 years in one place of steady leadership - and have it last longer - than I can do in 2 years in another by pushing the envelope?
If I've rambled it's because I just took a break from doing my taxes.
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