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3-25-07 -- Morning Worship for Teens
Reel Thing
Many church plants and growing congregations now meet in movie theaters, but at First Christian Church (Brazil, Indiana) only teenagers and college students worship at the movies.
FCC created its “Reel Worship” service as part of an overall strategy for Sunday morning ministry. “Originally we had an evening worship time for the teens at the church building. Since the trend among churches appears to be morning-only worship and evening small group ministries, we thought we should try a morning worship service for teens,” says Chris Gregg, student minister at First Christian. “There was no room at our church property so we looked off campus.”
Since Reel Worship includes junior high students who can’t yet drive, the church provides bus transportation to and from the Walnut Theater each Sunday. Older teens and college students stay at the venue for Sunday school after the service.
The scheduling logistics are a minor issue compared to the potential for spiritual growth. “We started Reel Worship in September 2005,” says Gregg. “The attendance and decisions for Christ continually increase.”
www.fccbrazil.org
E-Grouping
In an effort to include even more members in its small-group program, Antioch Christian Church (Washington, Indiana) now offers “E-Groups.” After signing up for a group, participants receive an e-mail each day with a question from the previous Sunday’s sermon. The group members read the daily message and “reply all” with their answer.
www.accgodthing.org
‘Upper’ Reaches
Jesus’ time with his disciples in the upper room included moments of prayer and preparation for upcoming challenges. In 1997, Ardmore Church of Christ (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) opened its own “upper room,” providing a place of refuge for families facing difficult times.
The Upper Room is actually a one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and a wood-paneled den. Ardmore is one of three local churches (the others are Moravian and Baptist) to provide a temporary home for families of patients at nearby Wake Forest University Baptist medical center. Each church works directly with the medical center; hospital staff refer patients to the three ministries, and a chaplain supervisor at the center coordinates with each participating church.
The program is open to all needy families, regardless of religious or spiritual background. The church gives preference to adult patients since the nearby Ronald McDonald house serves younger families.
The Upper Room is also open regardless of financial need. Ardmore tries to help needy patients and families, but will also open the residence to people who can afford an apartment rental but can’t find a landlord willing to offer a short-term lease.
The three participating congregations have served hundreds of hurting families since the program began in the early 1990s.
www.ardmorechurchofchrist.org
Out of Site
Aaron Stewart, music pastor at Central Christian Church (Las Vegas, Nevada), recently partnered with friend Jeff Berg to develop “Worship Planning 2.0,” a Web-based tool designed to help worship leaders plan weekly services and communicate with volunteers.
The online functionality makes the complete system available through any Internet connection, and the program’s flexibility allows leaders to plan multiple services (or services for multiple sites) simultaneously. After using the program to create a service, leaders can send automatic e-mail notifications to vocal team and band members; lyrics, MP3 files, and chord charts can be “attached” to the plan for volunteers to download. Other features include the ability to import songs and song information directly from CCLI and a matrix view for long-term planning.
To see a short demo and learn more, visit www.planningcenteronline.com.
Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD's contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
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