Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Leading Ideas: "The Lent Challenge | Should You Add Another Easter Worship Service?" from The Lewis Center for Church Leadership at The Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Leading Ideas: "The Lent Challenge | Should You Add Another Easter Worship Service?" from The Lewis Center for Church Leadership at The Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, February 15, 2017
From the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary-------

The Lent Challenge by Tom Berlin
Tom Berlin, pastor of Floris United Methodist Church, challenges his congregation to deepen their spiritual journey during Lent by taking up the disciplines of worship, study, and scripture reading rather than giving up chocolates or dessert.
Lent is a time for going more deeply into Christian discipleship. Church members are often aware that Lent is a season for increased devotion to Christ that lends itself to study, prayer, and introspection. So it is an ideal time to call the congregation to a deepening of their discipleship over the six weeks of Lent and to find ways to make these weeks welcoming to those who might be new to the church.
This can begin with something as simple as reminding people of the importance of worship at this most holy time of year. Something is just not right if Christian people are not in church during Lent, Holy Week, and on Easter. Churches can be frank and gracious at the same time by talking about what people have experienced in Holy Week worship over the centuries and how much such worship can mean to their spiritual development.
Having everyone on the same journey makes a big difference in the experience of Lent. Momentum builds as people work to complete the study together, both encouraging one another and holding one another accountable.
Taking Something Up During Lent
I’ve issued a “Lent Challenge” to encourage my congregation to participate in worship and study during Lent. Many are in the habit of “giving something up for Lent,” often an item like chocolate or dessert. While calories were fewer for the faithful, such discipline did little to transform lives. Besides, “giving up” these things often left people dour and cranky, gateways into sins other than gluttony. Instead of “giving up” sweets, church members were called to “take up” the daily reading of scripture, involvement in a weekly small group, and participation in weekly worship. By infusing their lives with the reading of the Bible, Christian conversation, and six consecutive weeks of worship, they could truly honor Christ and seek a deeper faith experience during Lent.
Small Groups
We emphasize small group participation during Lent by engaging in a congregation-wide study linked to a sermon series. People not already part of small groups are encouraged to sign up, and many join who have never participated in the past. Many are more open to participating in a class, reading a book tied to a sermon series, or committing to attendance and other goals because it is Lent. The defined time period and challenge motivate them to give this a try.
This experience brings a greater sense of unity as members are reading the same material, participating in similar small group conversations, and hearing a sermon each week that focuses on the topic of the week. While the sermon series is important, it is the encouragement to participate in a daily workbook and the weekly small groups that leads to deepening discipleship and increased worship attendance.
Having everyone on the same journey makes a big difference in the experience of Lent. Momentum builds over the weeks of the sermon series as people work to complete the study together, both encouraging one another and holding one another accountable as the weeks pass.
You do not have to write your own curriculum to make this experience possible. Many books and small group materials are available for study and devotional reading during the six weeks of Lent.
Editor’s Note: Tom Berlin’s recently published six-week study Restored: Finding Redemption in our Mess (Abingdon Press, 2016) is a possible resource for Lenten study.
This material is adapted from Overflow: Increase Worship Attendance and 
Bear More Fruit (Abingdon, 2013) by Lovett H. Weems, Jr., and Tom Berlin and used by permission. The book is available through Cokesbury and Amazon.
Related Resources
Read more.
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Should You Add Another Easter Worship Service? by Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., encourages churches to consider whether adding an additional worship service on Easter Sunday will increase their ability to reach more worshippers on this most special day. He says an unexpected, positive benefit of modifying your worship schedule is that you need to be more deliberate in sharing information with members and potential visitors.
Easter is the special day of the Christian year — our high holy day. Easter and Christmas Eve are the two times of year when those who do not regularly attend worship are drawn to church. An informal survey conducted by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership found that worship attendance at Easter can be as much as three times the average weekly attendance. The average among the churches polled was for Easter attendance to be 80 percent above their normal average. Easter is a critical time for reaching others through worship.
One question to ask is whether an additional Sunday morning worship service should be scheduled for Easter. The important question to consider is not “Do we have to do it?” but “Will an additional service make it more likely that we will reach more people through Easter worship than not having an extra service?” This may mean that the time of your normal service or services will need to be adjusted. (Here we are not talking about Sunrise Services often held as an extra service on Easter.)
All churches — no matter what their past attendance has been — should assume they are going to have more Easter worshipers than ever before and make plans accordingly.
One of the great benefits of adding a service, even if a modification of service times is required, is that it makes possible an array of communication options that may not be used otherwise. Indeed, such worship schedule changes require widespread publicity about the times and offers an opportunity to explain that you are making the change to permit more people to experience Easter worship.
One church that doubled their Easter attendance did so by a combination of adding a second worship service along with a telephone calling plan to all church members and their visitors from the past year. Previously, the church had difficulty in recruiting volunteers to make calls on behalf of church activities. For this project, they had no trouble. The callers felt as if they were doing the members a favor rather than asking them for something. The message was, “Next Sunday is Easter, and we wanted to make sure all our members know that we will have two worship services instead of one. In order to make it possible for more to worship on this special day, there will be services at 9 and 11 a.m.”
All churches — no matter what their past attendance has been — should assume they are going to have more Easter worshipers than ever before and make plans accordingly. Even if your church is a long way from needing to add services on a regular basis, Easter may provide an opportunity to schedule an extra service to reach more people with the Easter message.
This material is adapted from Overflow: Increase Worship Attendance and 
Bear More Fruit (Abingdon, 2013) by Lovett H. Weems, Jr., and Tom Berlin and used by permission. The book is available through Cokesbury and Amazon.
Related Resources
Read more.
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The Right Question
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
In an interview with Tony Morgan, Pastor Stephen DeFur of Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, tells about the questions his church asks, beyond attendance and financial issues, in order to monitor vitality. Questions related to "life changes by participants" are below. A previous set of questions was in the February 8 issue of Leading Ideas.
  1. Are we seeing tangible evidence of people finding freedom in Jesus?
  2. Are marriages being restored?
  3. Are people finding freedom from addiction?
  4. Are parents having deeper conversations with their kids?
  5. Are we hearing stories of people finding courage to live their faith at work or school? 
Want more Right Questions? Read Right Questions for Church Leaders.
Apply Now for the 2017-18 Lewis Fellows ProgramWe are now receiving applications for the 2017-18 Lewis Fellows program that brings together outstanding young clergy (under the age of 35) from a variety of denominational backgrounds for intensive leadership development activities and sustained peer interaction. Support for this program is provided by the Lilly Endowment's Transition into Ministry initiative. Applications are due by March 31, 2017.
Learn more about the program, meeting dates, costs, and eligibility requirements.
Learn to Reach Others through Worship
Worship attendance is vital to the mission of the church. The Reaching Others through Worship Video Tool Kit provides resources and strategies to help you improve hospitality and worship attendance. Topics include: How Do People See Your Church?; Putting out the Welcome Mat; The Ministry of Greeting; The Sermon Series as Outreach Tool; and Ways to Improve Summer Attendance.
Learn more and watch introductory videos now.
Quotable Leadership:
Humility is an incredibly overlooked but important character trait. Confidence is great, but arrogance is really deadly, and there's a fine line there.[Jodi Goldstein]
50 Ways to Welcome New People
The seasons of Lent and Easter are nearly upon us, and a key to effective outreach is making sure that your worship visitors feel truly welcome. The strategies and tips in "50 Ways to Welcome New People" will help your congregation make a good first impression and extend hospitality in meaningful ways.
Read now and download free.
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Editors: Dr. Ann A. Michel and Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary
Connect with the Lewis Center:

Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wesley Theological Seminary
4500 Massachusetts Avenue NorthWest
Washington, D.C. 20016, United States
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