Willowcreek Stops Mid-week Service
Willowcreek Community Church is known for their “seeker-sensitive” approach to church services and evangelism. In recent years, Willowcreek felt it was time to take a hard look at this strategy. They surveyed over 57,000 church goers in 200 churches by asking them questions on their satisfaction with church. Most people responded that they are leaving the church because they’re not challenged enough. Wow! I thought they were leaving because they didn't like the Folgers coffee.
Greg Hawkins, who has spearheaded this massive research effort called REVEAL, is working to turn this “seeker-sensitive” ship in a new direction. This is not a small change. This is a major shift. This is like going from hymns to contemporary songs in a worship service. Click here to read the article in Christianity Today. (Tony Morgan also posted some thoughts on the REVEAL study here.) Here are some points from the article that I am still pondering:
• Their “strategy to reach seekers is now about focusing on the mature believers.”
• “Anonymity is not the driving value for seeker services anymore.”
• It was previously assumed that seekers didn’t want large doses of the Bible or deep worship music. This is not correct anymore.
• Willowcreek has loaded their services with worship music, prayer, Scripture readings, and more challenging teaching from the Bible.
• Willowcreek is ending their mid-week service in June and adding bible and theological classes in it’s place.
• Willowcreek has revamped everything from their services to their seeker strategy.
• Greg states “It would be malpractice for us to not do something with what we’re learning.”
In the larger REVEAL survey taken by 200 churches, people were asked what they want most from their church. The top three responses were:
1. Help me understand the Bible in greater depth
2. Help me develop a closer personal relationship with Christ
3. Challenge me to grow and take the next step in my faith
Think of this in terms of school. How do you teach 1st graders and high school students in the same classroom for only 1 hour per week? I don’t have the answer to this. What are your thoughts?
3 comments:
After church tonight I went searching for some answers on the Wednesday night services. We have been dwindling down to about a quarter of the original group from a year ago. People have put many things before studying the Word. I think I would be willing to try teaching a theology class, but the limited teaching time followed by the lack of self-preparation time would result in people wanting the knowledge but not being willing to work for it. We will see in the future how things play out.
Thanks, Rich
Pastor Rich - Yes. I understand the dilemma. I still don't have a strong opinion yet...which is unusual. I don't think my opinion will come easily on this. One thing I do know is that people still want to learn. It's in our nature. I know that with my schedule, I find myself listening to alot more books on cd or podcasts. We need to hold the principle tightly (bible study) but not the method (whatever forum we currently use). Thanks for your thoughts. Lucas
Oh heavens. This makes me a little ill.
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