Featured Would you/Do you attend a church that does not have a Sun and/or Wed service?

There's nothing wrong with football.

 

I agree with your post. It is up to each local church to set the worship times and days. There is nothing in Scripture about Wednesdays, not sacred about it at all. It is a logical night to have Bible study or prayer time, as it is about half way through the week, but Tuesday or Thursday would serve the same purpose.

As far as older church members (that would be me in a normal age distributed congregation) that equate spiritually mature or faithfulness to attendance of all three services, one, it is not true, as people under 65 work for a living, and two, if they are not there, it is really no one else's business. I find in my experience, that those who worry about where so and so is on a given day are the exact ones that never show up for visitation, never drive the van, never help with church meals. In fact, they are usually first in line and have disappeared when it is time to clean up.

 

At the time I retired from the full-time pastorate my church was not having Sunday night services. It was terrific. I loved it. I have long thought that Sunday night church was a waste of time in most cases. Some churches have a lot of success with Sunday nights, but I never did.

About a year after I retired, I was asked by a small rural church to be their part-time pastor. Basically, the church is on life-support and has been for several years. Thinking I might could attract some un-churched/lost people, I suggested that we start doing Sunday night church as small groups and invite friends and acquaintances to attend these small groups which would be hosted by three families.

You would have thought I had asked them to start serving beer during communion! I faced a lot of opposition over several weeks. I finally withdrew the suggestion.

So we still have that sacred Sunday night service that is attended by a dozen or so elderly people. I despise it. I am there for some simple reason: I am the pastor. I would welcome the opportunity to be a part of a church that did not have Sunday night services...and even Wednesday night services. I think greater benefit comes from small groups that meet at various times during the week.

 

Amen and amen!!

 

I totally agree with you. To most of my people, that is the litmus test of spirituality and faithfulness....attendance at three services a week.

 

Yeah, here's what the London Baptist Assembly recommended way back in 1689 (same people whose Confession some BB members supposedly 'hold to'):

 

Our church (SBC, 50 years old, averages 200 on Sunday morning), transitioned from regular Sunday Evenings to only having them on special occasions (a few church gatherings with food, business meetings, special missionary in town...etc. Probalby equals about 12-15 times a year we do something on Sunday night.

Before, we would have somewhere between 25-35 members on a sunday evening. Now we have 5 small groups every other week, (some that meet on Sunday Evening, some not) that all included probably have well over 100 people participating. It was so obviously the right move, I can't imagine going back.

Wednesday nights have separated Bible Study programs for Children, teens, men, & Women.

Our Pastors (Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor, & Me (music/youth guy) had all been there about 3 years before we did this, and it was not a sudden thing but was obviously the right move. We have recieved hardly any complaints about it. The 1-2 people who mentioned something about it were people who did not attend Sunday PM.

Even before we did this, It was already a more relaxed service format in our fellowship hall, around round tables where the speaker would try to interact more with those present.

 

I agree. There's nothing wrong with dvr's either. I have found they work good when I am at church and there is a paticular game I would like to watch.