As churches begin to outgrow their facility, they naturally begin to think about more space.   Space has to be provided, either through adding more space or maximizing present space.  Rick Warren says most churches build too soon, too small.  The answer is multiple services, because multiple services multiply the amount of people the space can handle.  A church doing multiple services for a number of years has an opportunity to build strength in a number of ways, so that when it does go into a new building, there are enough people there so that the building doesn’t look empty, and the income level is high enough to take care of the financial needs.

The first step in multiple services is usually two Sunday morning worship services.  Other types and times of services are only limited by our inability to think and dream big.  Our vision can never be too large when we have God for our partner.

Singing is an important part of worship.  Worship could take place without it, and in all honesty, I’ve seen some churches where it appeared the absence of it would have been an asset.

A strange thing about singing, is that there is a fine line between getting into a rut of over familiarity, on the one hand, and not being familiar enough with the song for it to really minister to you, on the other.  We tend to think we know what we like, when in reality, we like what we know.

Many local churches are presently going through a time of great transition, even revolution, in the songs that they sing.  People often mistakenly think that the leadership is no longer interested in the older members and are only focused on the younger ones.   A wise 90 year old gentlemen told me recently, “The people in our Sunday School class are pretty well established in our faith, so we don’t have to have the best teacher in the church.  The children, youth, and young adults need to have the best teachers we can find.”  While we want every class to have excellent teachers, he made a valid point, and that point goes to the area of music and worship style, as well.  The goal is to have a worship service so ordered that the well established can be blessed, but also those who know very little about the things of God can be touched, as well.

Music has evolved and continues to do so.   A hymn is a non-scriptural song of praise or adoration of God. It was not until 1700 that hymns, “because they were man-made,” were admitted in English-speaking countries. American Methodists, under the leadership of John Wesley, printed the first hymnal in Georgia in 1737.  The tunes to which the words to hymns were attached were tunes to secular songs, even saloon tunes.  This caused no small stir in the churches, yet today, hymns are not only widely accepted, but often argued that they are the only songs that really honor God!  That’s about like those folks who say the King James Version of the Bible is the translation that is really the word of God.  Both are statements of ignorance.

The Bible tells us to sing, “Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in our hearts unto the Lord.”  We are given many examples of songs in the Bible, but not one single note of music, not one instruction as to what the beat of the music should be.  God knew well that, with changing generations would come changing cultures and tastes, but that his truth would never change.  We are to be “fishers of men,” and his truth is the hook on which the bait of style is attached.  When I was a boy, my favorite fishing lure was a “lucky 13.”  I caught a lot of bass on that old lure, but today, eventhough I have multiple tackle boxes filled with hundreds of dollars worth of lures, I don’t even own a lucky 13.  I guess a lucky 13 would still catch fish, but there are lures that will catch more, and I try to use them.  One thing hasn’t changed, however, and that is the lures I use today still have pretty much the same kind of hooks that the old lucky 13 had.  The truth doesn’t change, but the style does.

Each local church has its own unique personality.  One of the wisest things a congregation can do is determine who they are, what their mission goals are in accordance with their agreed upon church purpose, and set the order of their worship to reflect their purpose, goals and personality.

No single local church will be attractive to every individual.  Some people are attracted to a liturgical worship style, where there is an atmosphere of quietness, with a service following the themes of a religious calendar.  Others are attracted to a more free style of worship, where the atmosphere is more celebrative.  There are always churches to be found on both ends of that spectrum, with a great number of churches falling somewhere in between the two.

The greatest consideration is what is most pleasing to the God we worship?  I have concluded that He is not really interested in styles of worship, but that He is interested in the hearts of people as they worship.  He is extremely interested in His people being obedient to Him.  The Bible says, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.”  Our primary purpose and mission is to win the unsaved and reclaim the backsliden.  God has put us in the “people business,” and our effectiveness in true worship can never rise above our genuineness of heart in being involved in the people business.

We had just completed the building of a new worship center at the church where I was pastor.  It was designed to seat larger crowds than we had ever encountered.  Just before the worship time, I was in my study, looking out the window, and I saw a car with a family of 5 or 6 inside pull into the front parking lot.  They drove around the front parking lot where there no vacant spaces, then to my dismay, they went back out into the street and drove away.  What a sinking feeling I had.  We had some huge parking alots around back, but they didn’t know it.  I knew right then, we had to do something different.

I’ve noticed that most churches think their parking area is fine, whether it really is or not.  There is an excellent article on this site on the subject of church parking lots.  I would recommend reading the entire article, but I am including an excerpt below:

1. Provide adequate space for all the people who come to your church to park. Many church architects recommend as a rule of thumb that you have one space for every 1.8 people attending your church (divide number of people by 1.8). This number represents the average number of people in each car. That means if you want to provide parking for 200 people, you will need around 112 parking spaces. Say you have 100 people at your church, but you have a goal to increase attendance to 150 people, you will need to make sure you can park at least another 28 cars. Some researchers say if your parking lot is 80% full, people will feel your lot is “too full” and may not stay, make sure you have ample room for new people!

2. Have clear signage with easy to follow directions. Don’t overlook simple direction signs that can help people who visit your church. Make sure people can tell which doors to use for Children’s ministry, Welcome Center , Sanctuary, etc. Make sure the signs are all sending the same message as well. One church had conflicting “One Way” signs that inadvertently sent traffic toward a head-on collision–very confusing for guests! Make sure signs are visible to drivers also. In one church, the children’s wing sign was not visible from the perspective of drivers, but only to people standing on the grass across from the children’s area. If drivers can’t see your signs, they can’t navigate your lot and may become frustrated.

3. Recruit and train parking lot greeters. Greeters in a well-run parking is as important as having greeters inside the building. When a person visits a church, the church experience starts in the parking lot. Sometimes new people will pull into your parking lot, and then lose their nerve to go inside. A parking lot greeter can wave to those people and show them a warm welcome right when they drive up. A friendly greeting sometimes is just what the newcomer needs to find the courage to come inside. They also can help manage the flow of your parking lot and provide added security, features that will make your guests happy.

4. Make sure parking is provided for guests. Set aside some choice parking spaces near the door reserved for “Our Guests,” and assign greeters to help new people find these places. Don’t forget to inform your parking lot greeters of everything going on inside the church. It is just as important they know the goings-on inside the doors as what’s going on outside. Also encourage them to show a smile as they greet people. There’s nothing worse than a gruff parking lot attendant.

5. Provide easy access from your parking lot to the church building through sidewalks, shuttles and other means. Not every parking space you consider a space may be considered usable, some parking spaces are hidden behind your building and are located in places that are far away from your entrances. You can help people by providing a lift to people who park off site. Also make sure you have a paved walkway from your parking areas. People walking in dress shoes (and high heels) won’t want to traipse across a grassy lot to get to the front door.

The stock market has been a down hill roll coaster these last couple of weeks.  While I am greatly concerned for the future of this country that I love, I am not in a state of panic about the economy, because God’s economy is not effected.  God is our source, and we have His promises.  A troubled economy is a wonderful opportunity for the people of God let their lights shine, as they show forth their faith in the Great Provider, the Lord Himself.