Worship

TRUSTBUILDERS' action plan for a new worship service

What if we dared to create a new kind of worship service for new demographics of people?

One demographic is people who want to tell their own story. There are storytellers everyplace. They are at the workplace; they are at the family dinner; they get together for coffee; they come to meetings; some them are favorite people who have good stories, and they tell them well. Let's give our storytellers a way to create their stories within the life of Christ's church and tell them to us when it counts. Add to this people who like to share musical talent in an impromptu setting.
A second demographic is people who work Sunday mornings and people who work the third shift. Sometimes it's hard for people who work Sunday mornings to find a time when they can worship.
A third demographic is people who have just moved to the community, and they need to find a place in a new story.
A fourth demographic is people who enjoy active, hands on help for other people, and want a church where they can invest themselves in helping to make the world a better place through God's love in Jesus Christ.
A fifth demographic is people who are having a hard time with life. They may be recovering from alcohol and other drug abuse; they may be newly released from jail or prison; they may have challenging mental limitations or a handicapping condition that makes life difficult; or they may be faced with a severe illness. They need to be part of a story that brings them grace and personal dignity.

The purpose of the new service is to engage people in the story of God's action among God's people through Jesus Christ, and provide the opportunity to tell their part of the story themselves for whatever benefits God may bring to our lives.

Let's call this: Bible Action Worship and Storytelling The point is to engage people in God's action through Christ Jesus and provide opportunities to tell about it. Beyond that this worship will engage people in the action of Christ's church bringing hope and love to God's people.

The Action starts with the Bible and keeps creating stories among God's people.

This style requires a strong moderator who can create a framework for people to tell their stories and share their talent while keeping the service in motion.

Following is what a Bible Action worship and storytelling service could look like.

Open:

Worship starts at the door of the church. Greeters welcome people who come and invite them to come close to the front of the church--porbably close to a piano--where people will tell their stories.
Worship continues at the appointed time with a welcome from the pastor or leader.
The leader must project energy. Save announcements for later. There is no bulletin for the worship service. The sense of spontainity is important.
The feeling is spontaneous. Name a song to sing to get started or ask people if there is a song they would like to sing. Ask if somebody wants to play the piano or if anybody has brought a guitar.
Be prepared to sing without accompaniment. The leader must have a confident sense of how the service will flow--and be prepared to use the talents and resources of people who come to the service.

The leader offers a brief opening prayer with the theme of gathering in God's presence for worship and praise.
Lead a spontaneous sing along. Let people know that if anyone would like to bring an instrument and offer a solo that would be welcome. Be prepred for the group that gathers to determine how this portion goes. Some may only want a song or two. Others may not want to quit. Leaders must keep this spontaneous and satisfying for the people who come together. Do not project any sense of apology for something that might seem to be missing. This is praise time, and it is positive. Two songs will be enough for some groups--others will want more.
This portion of the service should generate energy that will carry through the whole service.

Tell the Story

Read the selected scripture. This may be from the lectionary, but it may be better for the pastor to the series of passages that will be used for several weeks. The passages should be ones that invite people into the story and that invite people to tell how God has been active with them through Jesus Christ.
The pastor should very briefly give the scripture some context and bring out its point. This should be brief and pointed. Do not quote every scholar to bring out all the angles. Give it a point that will provide that will prompt stories from the people who have come.
The pastor's work is to build a biblical framework for people to tell stories related to the passage at hand.
Ask questions that will prompt stories. Questions should be on the order of, "Have you had an experience when. . .?" "Can you think of a time when you. . .?" "Have you ever felt as if. . .?" "How did you deal with it. . ."
Rather than having a children's time, the leader might have a question that starts, "I want to ask the kids something. . ." Engage the children in listening to everybody's stories.
The pastor should bring the time to a conclusion with a brief, pointed summation.
Sometimes invite someone involved with a Christian action project (mission) to give a presentation during this time as part of the church's action story.
The entire time for sermon and story telling should not exceed thirty minutes. Again, this style for presenting the biblical and contemporary story requires a strong moderator with skills for keeping the story in motion and interesting.
Conclude the sermon/story telling time with a song that relates to the theme of the scripture.

Action Time

This is the time for the church's action story. This should not take longer than three to five minutes, but it is an important piece.
Someone tells about an action project the church is doing in the community or the world. This should be another story about God's work among God's people, and it should bring people into the active way the church keeps living out the story we have in Christ Jesus. Use your imagination to think about how to involve the youth and the children as well as other groups to tell these stories. Make a point that a portion of the offering helps support the projects you are telling about.
Receive the offering: From 20% to 50% of the offering should help support mission projects in the community and the world. Conclude the offering with a prayer of thanksgiving. Please remember our TRUSTBUILDERS projects with some portion of your misssion giving.
Make announcements about things happening in the church. Invite people to be part of the church's story. This should also not take longer than three to five minutes.

Prayer Time

The prayer time should be led by the pastor, and it should have the feel of being spontaneous. It should include the following elements.
Adoration and praise
Confession
Thanksgiving for Forgiveness
Time for people to share their prayer concerns
Prayers of Petition
Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Lord's Prayer

Table Time

This is the time for Holy Communion when it is served. For these demograpics it is best to tell the communion liturgy and pray appropriate prayers extemporaneously rather than to read from a book.

Sending forth

The sending forth should be brief. One sentence about the point of the service, a well chosen hymn, and a brief benediction are sufficient. The point here is to offer a few brief words that will bless people in the action they must take through the week.

Fellowship time

Follow worship with a time for refreshments and fellowship. This is the time when people really get to interact with each other, and it's a time when some of the important work of the church will be done.

Notes:

This kind of worship will not appeal to everyone, so it will be important to continue the more traditional kinds of liturgical worship and worship in which preaching is central and the pastor or other leader tells the story. Don't change your Sunday morning service to this unless it's what your people really want to do. Reach out to find the people who want this kind of active worhsip. A few people from your Sunday morning regulars may want to help get this started.

Publicity:

Starting the new service will require heavy, effective publicity.
Following is suggested copy for a poster, newspaper ad, and the web page. Add graphics to make it effective. Empasize the action. If people want to be involved with what's going on, they will look the second time to see when and where it is.

Bible Action Worship and Storytelling

Name of Your Church

Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Songs of Praise

Stories that Belong to You

Action Projects for Change

Coffee with Friends

Everyone is Welcome

Invest in radio advertising. The religious station is not the place to go. People who listen to it already have their church. Use the popular news and music; the rock; the talk show, or the sports station. Let the radio ad people help you decide where to place your ads for the best effect. Broadcast at times when the third shift will be listening. Keep the ads going for at least two weeks. Begin one or two weeks before your first service. Ask the people present to bring others to the service. Keep the ads going if the income from your offerings is sufficient.

An effective web page will help people come to the story your church offers.

Be sure to offer ways for people to make a difference in the world by "Doing God's will on earth as it is in heaven."

Who will dare to do this? The Bible calls us to keep telling the stories that the Word of God has generated among God's people and to keep making the story new. Who is ready to be called?