03 Feb Three Service Update: Details, Info, and Request

This weekend is it! This coming Sunday, February 5, is the Sunday we move to three services, which will be at 9 am, 10:45 am, and 12:30 pm. God has been so gracious toward us, and you have been so faithful, and now we have reached the point where this kind of move is necessary.

If you want to know the real reason why, here it is (are you ready?):

It’s too crowded.

And… that’s pretty much it, and the overcrowding has caused issues in children’s ministry (too many kids in some classrooms), in the parking lot (literally no places to park sometimes, which has actually caused some people to drive away!), in the restrooms (…enough said), and in our ability to handle people and their needs at every point of service and connection. Our options are to expand the worship area, but that wouldn’t alleviate the crowding in the other areas (especially children’s and parking lot).

Our best and most cost-effective way as a church to move forward is to add another service. At some point we may need to make some adjustments with our facility, but we would prefer to push that on down the road and focus on what we are doing right now. Really, the main thing that overcrowding causes is an inability to connect and serve and grow people, and so “shrinking the room”, in a very real way, allows us to “see” people better.

So, thank you to all who have stepped up and volunteered in a fresh way as we make this transition!

As we make the turn, here are a few crucial details:

a. mYouth will be during the 9 am service.

b. Spanish translation will be at the 10:45 am service

c. Foundations will be at 11 am, still in Elevate, during the 2nd service

d. Children’s ministry will be available all three services (go team!)

e. THIS SUNDAY WE WILL BE HAVING A FREE COMMUNITY LUNCH AFTER THE THIRD SERVICE!

f. You will be happy to know there is absolutely no time conflict with that small sporting event that evening. If you are not aware there is a small sporting event that evening, you and my wife are already better friends than you know.

Here are a few important requests:

• PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO BE ON TIME THIS WEEK! This week your promptness is super important for us as we get going.
• As far as we can tell, there will be the most space available at the 12:30 service. If you do not have a strong need or preference, would you consider trying the 12:30 time slot for you and your family?

It does us no good to move to three services and only have everyone migrate to the first and second. As a heads up, we also wanted to let you know that, in order to help improve our environment, especially in the areas of visibility and sound, we are removing a number of chairs (really, we have too many in there currently, so this is more of a “right-sizing”, to use a corporate term)—so if everyone just stays where they are, there literally will not be enough seats.

Again, if that 12:30 slot would work for you, we would appreciate your giving it a chance (Oh, and did I mention there would be a free lunch afterward?)

Thanks again for all your support and enthusiasm for this change. Our elder team is confident this is the right move at the right time for us, and your encouragement for this as we move forward into the future in this way has been nothing short of spectacular.

THANK YOU!

See you this weekend, as we begin to take a look at how to develop an “Unshakable” life, from the book and life of an amazing leader in the Bible, a man named Nehemiah. You can start reading through it if you’d like to look ahead.

Morgan