Our worship is sacred. Our methods of worship are not necessarily sacred.
On Sunday, January 1 at Cross Community Church, we are planning a completely different approach to worship. This is a one-time event and I am praying that it is effective and well-received.
Rather than a group of people sitting in rows of chairs watching people on a stage “do” ministry, we plan to engage people in ministry on an individual level. Picture this: People and families meet at the church building and enjoy elements of worship both individually and corporately. This is our plan for this coming Sunday.
Our Worship Center will be set up with stations all around the room. At one station, we will read Scripture. At another station, we will express our missional hearts by providing school supplies for needy orphans. At still another station, we will view a video message from God’s Word. Imagine music worship on the video screens, a table set up for Holy Communion, a station where one can receive anointing with oil and prayer and a table for tithing and giving. We will also have a time of challenge toward spiritual growth and discipleship development with our Next Steps process.
This describes our Open House Worship event! At our Palm Beach Shores location, this event will take place between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. At our Palm Beach Gardens location, this will take place between 9:30 and 11:30. Worshipers can come and go as they please and stay as long as they like at each station. We are encouraged to enjoy community time with friends in the Welcome Center at any time during the event.
Since we are still developing the concept, I’d love to hear your feedback on additional ideas. This is, as far as we know, an original idea. I’ve never heard of another local church event quite like this. Hopefully it will be successful and lives will change!
Join us for a day of Open House Worship!
Thoughts on Life and Leading 
Anytime God is leading you to go a different direction or try something different, you have to do it. Jesus was definitely a doer of non-traditional methods and look at the ministry He had! We’ll be praying for your congregations and for your ministry teams. It’s always a little “rattling” to step out of the boat, but look what God can do when we do! Blessings and looking forward to hearing the good results! Love y’all!
Lynette
This sounds really cool. How did it go?
Hi Sam! I thought the event went well. Attendance was terrible but that may have been due to the holiday. Most of the people present really seemed to engage in worship. We learned a few things (would provide way more message video stations). I spent the entire time praying with people so what I thought was going to be an easy day wasn’t. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, however. Overall, I think it was a success. We’ll see what kind of feedback we receive before we make the final assessment. Take care!
I love out of the box experiences with God. The message is always the same but the methods must constantly change. Have you ever read the book The Air I Breathe: Worship as a Way of Life by Louie Giglio? Great and inspiring book and an easy read. Blessings for continual growth!!!
Elaine, I have not read “The Air I Breathe”, but I like Giglio’s stuff. I’ll add it to my “must read” list. Good to hear from you!