Are Your Services Enjoyable for Visitors?
“They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved” (Acts 2:46-47, The Message).
When people experience your worship, do they walk away indicating they generally "liked what they saw?" To evaluate the enjoyment level of your services, consider these questions:
- Does the worship music reflect a style the crowd appreciates?
- Is the message addressing a topic that’s relevant to people’s lives?
- Is there an appropriate amount of humor in the service?
- Does the service flow smoothly from one thing to the next?
- Are you using visual elements to capture people’s attention as they engage in worship and hear the message?
- Do you periodically surprise people with something they weren’t anticipating?
For the rest of the story, check out my newest article at OutreachMagazine.com.
Hey Tony,
Those are really great questions that I think everyone needs to ask themselves. They are also good guidlines to refine/evaluate services. Thanks for the great post!
Scott
Hey Tony, while I agree with most of your questions, would you agree that basing our church models on Eugene Peterson’s far from literal rewording of Scripture is poor ecclesiology?
Brenton, I’ll buy that. And that’s why I pointed out in the article that the NIV suggests the early church was “enjoying the favor of all the people.” In other words, people actually liked it. I think God is suggesting here that when His people gather to worship, it shouldn’t be a burden. They should find the experience favorable. Do you disagree?
tony
Couldn’t “having favor with all the people” also signify the unity of the Spirit referenced in Ephesians 4:3-6? I come to that conclusion, in part, because Acts 2:45 uses the phrase “singleness of heart” (KJV) to describe the attitude of the church.
But then, when there’s true unity of Spirit (that’s THE Spirit … the Holy One, not the spirit of the world)wouldn’t these questions become less relevant because the people would all be looking to God for satisfaction and hoping for Him to be praised and magnified as a result of their worship?
Of course, I ask that while knowing that as good stewards of God’s Word and under-shepherds of His people, pastors should be asking essentially these kinds of questions to ensure that what they preach isn’t just philosophical mumbo-jumbo that has no application to the lives of real human beings. But I’m somewhat fearful that overemphasis on these things could lead to ignorance of the real purpose — God worship, not man comfort.
Tony,
You are so great at pushing us all to think critically. I appreciate your list for evaluating the service…It is imperative to speak to those not in the room. We don’t want to just create holy huddles. We want to be a movement for the gospel…Our worship service is key in cultivating that culture not only in our church but for those outside the walls…
Ok, I would like add a point…
(from the post)Is the message addressing a topic that’s relevant to people’s lives?
Added: While lifting up the truth of the gospel drawing and directing people to Jesus.
I just think we can get caught up in cool environments, great images, neat songs, and creative storytelling…I like to remind myself that the truth needs to be the center that all of this revolves around.
I assume this is a given, but just a thought.