I once heard Rob Bell joke that every pastor hopes to have one specific problem – a parking problem. Nothing makes a pastor happier about church attendance than hearing that there are so many people coming that there aren’t enough parking spaces. As a pastor’s kid, I have to agree. My dad certainly wanted to make sure we had enough space, but I never heard him once complain that too many people were coming to his church. Recently, I experienced another “problem” that every church wants …
The overcrowded service.
A few weeks ago, Blake Bergstrom at Cross Point asked people in the 10:00 service to think about attending a different service. That is always an incredibly awkward topic, second only to the pastor tithing disclaimer of “I never preach about money …except today,” but Blake knocked it out of the park.
He covered all the bases: We don’t have enough seats, there are people sitting on the floor, visitors are leaving, God will bless you financially if you go to a different service.
He said that last one and it was a brilliant joke to break the tension. If your church ever has this problem, I hope they address it as perfectly as Blake did. But you should know that there are a few things you will think when you are asked to attend a different service.
1. When do I lose my visitor status?
The “please change services” message is about creating more room for visitors. Am I still a visitor? We moved to Nashville last August, so we haven’t been going to Cross Point for that long. Is there an official visitor/regular threshold we’ve already crossed? Like a 90-day probationary period at a new job? Or is “visitor” status based on the amount of time you’ve been a Christian? If that’s the case, I wasn’t a visitor the very first time I visited the church.
2. What if they’ve been lying to me about 10:00 being the best crowd?
Telling a church crowd that they sing louder or better than another service is a time honored tradition at church. I believe that the 10:00 service is comprised of the best singers and most awake members. I believe that because I know I’ve heard a worship leader say, “It was hard to learn this new song so early in the morning, but you guys are wide awake and this is going to sound awesome.” Translation 8:30 service? “All I do is win at 10.” But what if I go to the 8:30 service and realize it’s all been a ruse? What if they’re saying the same thing to the 8:30 crowd?
3. What if the crowd follows me to another service?
Not because it’s me or because I smell nice, although I do, but what if everyone at 10 decides to go to the 8:30? And then I have to leave that one cause it gets crowded? So I go to the 6:00, but the traveling gypsy camp of church attendees all ends up attending that one so I have to go to an entirely different campus? The mysterious “Dickson” campus our pastor Pete Wilson is always saying hello to via video. Instead of dissipating across multiple services, will the tide of our 10:00 crowd flow to a new service like a bowling ball going through a hose?
4. Is this like the reverse of a sinking ship?
When a ship sinks, the motto they use is “Women and children first,” to make sure that they get into the life boats. Is encouraging people to go to a different service the opposite principle? “Single adults and couples without kids first?” Our house is a well oiled machine on Sunday mornings, balancing the 400 factors that getting kids ready for Sunday School demands. When I was single or married without kids, I’m almost positive I had a leisurely breakfast on Sunday, did the New York Times crossword puzzle and took a morning jog before getting ready for church at my own pace. (At least that’s how I remember it in my head.) Do families with kids get to jump off the 10:00 service last? Or is that just one more way to make it difficult to be single at church?
Ultimately, it’s a great “problem” to have and I am really excited to see what’s going on at our church. We’re trying to figure out which service to go to and all options are open at this point. We passed the age where it is considered trauma beyond trauma for our toddlers to have a different Sunday School teacher each week, so we need to be flexible.
Have you ever been asked to attend a different service?
Which service do you attend if you go to church? Early morning? Midday? Evening?
