Sunday and Wednesday services

This may be off topic

We try to talk to our people about doing a "Three to Thrive" idea that i stole and then changed from Dr. Roberson at Highland Park. He always used the three being Sunday AM, Sunday PM and Wednesday night.

We changed iit to ask people to do three things in the week: (1) A large service worship experience (sunday morning or evening), (2) a small group Bible sudy on Sunday morning or home Bible study or our wednesday small groups and (3) being involved in a ministry of some kind at the church.

We have lots of people who do all the public services, but don't do a ministry which for us means an area of Christian growth they need to work on. The same is true for any of the 3 they were regularly not being involved in.

Doing this for our people removed some of the guilt they felt when they put in all nighters, fell asleep on the couch waiting for the rest of the family to get ready and then struggle trying to stay awake during services.

 

It actually started in the original church in Acts.

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

 

Personally, I'm very disappointed if I miss a service. The fact that I'm on the ministry staff and am expected to be there aside, I just really enjoy being there.

I don't know how your church operates but, typically, the Sunday am, Sunday pm, and Wednesday night services serve different functions.

In our church Sunday am is our main time to gather corporately for worship and for the preaching and teaching of the word of God. Sunday evenings are similar to Sunday am, but much more casual. And Wednesdays are centered more around prayer and Bible study.

I think I'm just going to take the cowardly way out and say that it really depends on what is meeting your spiritual needs and what is giving you the greatest oppportunity to serve the body of Christ.

If you're going because you feel obligated, don't go. You're not really going to get anything out of it.

If you're not going because you don't feel like you're being fed (and be honest about this...I mean really not being fed, not just that you don't like this or that) then you need to ask why.

 

I think you paint with too broad a brush for both those who attend each service and those who don't. Many factors play into the decision of both groups.

There are those who attend every service who don't and have never served...and those who spend double the amount of time in their ministries who don't attend every service. We don't live for the church, we live for Christ.

 

What about those who work 2nd or 3rd shift, or have a less regular work shift? My wife is a nurse and she works 12-hour evening shifts. The days that she works can be any days of the week. Whenever she is off and available she tries to make it, but sometimes, because of her schedule, the times she can show up are few and far between. Not everyone is blessed with a cushy 40-hour M-F 1st shift work week, and sometimes those in "full-time ministry" forget that.

 

The early church probably didn't have what we think of as small groups. And even if they did, the church for the vast part of church history (from then until the last few decades) did not have it. So I don't think it is a disservice not to have it, though it can be helpful.

 

I agree,some of the best fellowships are often outside the church building. If we only see believers at church...what about outside the church where non believers can see our love for one another? That said I can attest to the fact of times I thought to miss out on evening services to realize I could have missed a good message that spoke to my heart and encouraged me.

 

TheNew Testament time period was a given cultural setting. The people of the time adapted to that time and circumstances. As did the churches down through history.

There is nothing wrong with the churches adapting to our time period and modern customs.

We must adapt to meet the needs of those who work shifts. Those who hold pastorates in shift-work cities are well aware of the need to meet ALL the people's needs, and they do change with circumstances.

Cheers,

Jim

 

I fully understand. I work 11pm to 730am. I used to have Tuesday and Wednesday off, and would rush to church after I got off Sunday morning just to sleep during the sermon. I stopped that. Now I have Sunday off, so I handle it better. You are exactly right, those who do not work the shift do not have a clue. I used to feel guilty about visitation and the like, but then when I look at who visits, it is the church staff that can do it on the job, or retirees who can do it when they choose. I try to visualize who would do it in my situation and come to the conclusion not many. I do manage to drive the church van and teach Sunday School when needed. Excellent point.

 

I'm not particularly concerned with whether a church holds services Sunday evening and/or Wednesday nights. That's up to the local church. Some have already re-configured things anyway. Wednesday night is Family night in many congregations, with nothing resembling the old Prayer Meeting.

One church I know has redone its Sunday schedule--with Sunday School, Morning Worship, followed by lunch, followed by a Sunday afternoon service. Nothing on Sunday night.

My own church used to have Training Union and Sunday Evening service. We finally dropped Training Union. I taught a class and some complained, asking why it was dropped. My answer was that the church voted it out.
"I don't remember voting on this," one said, "when did that happen?"

I replied, evey Sunday evening for the past year. You voted to keep it, but most church members voted against it by not showing up.

So the point I make is, one's attendance or non-attendance is actually a vote for or against.

We should remember that the pastor studies the word of God and prepares a message whether you show up or not. The worship leader prepares just as hard for 25 as 2500. The musicians are expected to be there, even if they're not paid.

An earlier post suggest that if one goes out of obligation, don't go. Let's think about that. When you joined that church did you assume any obligations whatsoever? Most members do. Why should one's assembling together in worship and fellowship be exempt from any expectation?

 

No, I don't have a Bible verse that proves you wrong. All I have is the Holy Spirit that tugs at my heart and tells me to attend church at every opportunity. If you don't have that tugging, then that's between you and God. He may have a reason that He doesn't encourage you to go to every service.

Hey, for all I know you are so far beyond me spiritually that you don't need church and fellowship with other believers at all. Me? I need it every chance I can get.

 

My church has Sunday School, Sunday morning worship service, and Wednesday night activities. We stopped having Sunday night services several years ago.

We have small groups that consist mainly of young adult couples meeting on Sunday nights. We also have Celebrate Recovery meeting on Sunday nights.

This format has worked well for us. I find nothing in the Bible that says that we must have a Sunday night service. When we were having Sunday night services few of the 270 Sunday morning attenders returned on Sunday nights. Those who did came mostly out of habit, imho.

 

The extremes, that I try to avoid:

• One extreme: Condemning folks for not attending as many services as I think they should.
• The other: Acting as though attending church and corporate worship are not a big deal.

Also...to me, having a Sunday or Wednesday service simply because "we always have" or "people might talk if we didn't" is not sufficient. I think we should be able to honestly answer the question, "Why are you having these services?"

For us...Sunday evenings are the smallest of Sun. AM, Sun. PM, and Wed. PM.

I've seen a pretty pronounced shift away from Sunday PM church attendance here.

In all other facets of church life, we're growing significantly. When it comes to Sunday evenings...we're holding steady, or ever-so-slightly declining.

 

My view is that multiple services give folks a chance to attend if they cannot go to another. For example, would you feel obligated to go to all if your church has 2-3 on services on Sunday morning? Also, it is a bit redundant to go to church twice on Sunday, once in the AM and once in the PM. Many people have work and have to get kids to bed on Sunday evening.

So it all is personal preference. If you want, go to every one. If not, pick the service that best meets your schedule.

 

The difference is that most multiple AM services are identical services (or at least identical messages). The AM and PM services are usually different ... for different purposes, or teaching different things.

This is one of the most common copouts I hear (and I have heard it a lot). Most Sunday services are over by 7:30 or 8, which gives plenty of time to get the kids in bed. I have a six month old and a three year old, and most nights they go to bed around 9 or 9:30. So an evening service hardly interferes with that. Furthermore, most families find lots of excuses to miss the bed time anyway.

Regarding work, people work everyday of the week. And they stay up to watch the news and the late shows.

So bed times and works are excuses. If it was important, people would do it.

I have a hard time with church being a cafeteria. I just don't see that model in Scripture.

 

Fine, but that is a choice too.

So your kids are not of school age then. As for late shows, some do, some don't.

Where is the scripture about Sunday AM, Sunday PM, and Wednesday PM services? Also, where is the one that says be there everytime someone decides to have a service?

 

Of course it's a choice. But we are talking about best choices here. Is it best to go to church or a church meeting and worship, fellowship, and learn or best to stay home and do something else?

The older a child gets, the less sleep he needs. Typically, by school age they are going to bed later than at toddler and infant age.

Many do. Few are in bed by 8:00 when one would be home for church.

Do it if you want, but recognize it for what it is. It is not a serious reason for missing the assembly of the body. Believe, I have talked to enough people who use this excuse to know.

In the NT they met daily, not just Sundays and Wednesdays, so we are already dropping off of the NT pattern and rhythm of church.

The Bible says to assemble with the church. Why wouldn't you do that? Why do you go home to your wife every night? There's no verse that commands you to do that, and yet I bet you aren't asking for one either.

Part of it is our inherent paganism. We feel we don't need the fellowship of the body because we have so much other stuff. In countries and cultures elsewhere, it is actually hard to get people to go home from a meeting.

Part of it is the busy-ness of our lives. We have filled them with things that make little eternal difference, and then feel we are deprived if we don't have them.

The bottom line is that few believers have a NT view of the church (as a body, not as a meeting). If we did, this question would come up far les.

 

My family has gotten up by 6:00 AM for years and you would suggest that a six month old child get only 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep? When I pastored I encouraged home Bible studies because most anyone that worked long hours during the week could come on a Sunday. They would learn much more from a study they had prepared for during the week by spending about three hours in preparation and reading their Bible during the week than by listening to a 30 minute sermon on a Sunday.

 

I think this would depend on what the "something else" is.

 

I agree. Studies in the past have shown that those who are actively making disciples have better church attendance than those who are not. My observation has been that where there is more opposition to Christians they are stronger. That creates an urgency of prayer and steadfast discipline among believers.