Important
New Sunday Morning Schedule
Effective August 28, 2022
Let’s all worship together at one time, with groups meeting before and after the worship
time!
The Plan:
8:15 - Groups for adults
9:30 - Worship
10:45 - Groups for adults, students, kids, and preschoolers
A couple clarifications:
-There will be no ministries for preschoolers, kids, or students at 8:15, so only adult groups that don’t
require childcare will meet at this time.
-During the 9:30 worship hour, we will provide care for preschoolers along with a new Kids Worship
option for K-2nd grade children.
require childcare will meet at this time.
-During the 9:30 worship hour, we will provide care for preschoolers along with a new Kids Worship
option for K-2nd grade children.
What's the WHY behind the changes?
Every possible schedule has advantages and disadvantages. The new Sunday morning approach will help
us fulfill our mission to love God, love people, and make disciples in a number of ways:
us fulfill our mission to love God, love people, and make disciples in a number of ways:
1. It is simpler and easier to explain when you are inviting someone to church. You don’t have to
talk about two different worship styles and other complications of our current schedule.
2. It allows us to take advantage of one of the strengths that makes our church unique: our multi-
generational nature. We will no longer be segregating generations from one another by worship
style preference.
3. We can have the unifying experience of all worshipping together during this season of the
church’s life, and the energy and excitement that comes from worshipping in a room that is
comfortably full of people.
4. It allows us to leverage another of our church’s unique strengths: the multiple musicians who
play a variety of instruments with such skill. We’ll no longer have certain kinds of musicians
limited to one service or the other.
5. We can move past the categories of “traditional” and “contemporary,” which limit creativity and
create division, and focus on worshipping God in spirit and in truth. Furthermore, we can stop
reinforcing the dangerous idea that worship is about me and my preferences.
6. We can alleviate the awkward experience visitors to our 11am service currently have when they
arrive to an empty worship center, with all of our regular attenders not arriving for worship until
right at 11:00 when their groups dismiss.
7. Our groups will have more time to meet, and we’ll have more time for fellowship between
services and groups.
8. We will have two available hours for adult groups instead of just one, effectively doubling the
space available for those groups. We will no longer have to squeeze groups into corners of the
gym, outer offices, and other random spaces.
talk about two different worship styles and other complications of our current schedule.
2. It allows us to take advantage of one of the strengths that makes our church unique: our multi-
generational nature. We will no longer be segregating generations from one another by worship
style preference.
3. We can have the unifying experience of all worshipping together during this season of the
church’s life, and the energy and excitement that comes from worshipping in a room that is
comfortably full of people.
4. It allows us to leverage another of our church’s unique strengths: the multiple musicians who
play a variety of instruments with such skill. We’ll no longer have certain kinds of musicians
limited to one service or the other.
5. We can move past the categories of “traditional” and “contemporary,” which limit creativity and
create division, and focus on worshipping God in spirit and in truth. Furthermore, we can stop
reinforcing the dangerous idea that worship is about me and my preferences.
6. We can alleviate the awkward experience visitors to our 11am service currently have when they
arrive to an empty worship center, with all of our regular attenders not arriving for worship until
right at 11:00 when their groups dismiss.
7. Our groups will have more time to meet, and we’ll have more time for fellowship between
services and groups.
8. We will have two available hours for adult groups instead of just one, effectively doubling the
space available for those groups. We will no longer have to squeeze groups into corners of the
gym, outer offices, and other random spaces.
Further Information:
1. There is no longer a huge difference between our current 9am and 11am services, so you won’t
experience a drastic change in the fall. If you currently attend the 9am service, you’ll get to sing
a few more great new songs of worship alongside the classic hymns of our faith. If you currently
attend the 11am service, you’ll get to have more voices and more instruments leading you in
worship in addition to the praise band and vocal praise team. We will all have more
opportunities to worship with folks from different generations. Lee and Jaron will collaborate in
planning and leading the services.
2. We will continue to encourage elementary school kids to worship with their families, and we will
work to make our worship services increasingly engaging for kids through Kids’ Messages and
other elements. The new Kids Worship option for K-2nd grade will allow parents to decide
whether that program or worship with the family is best for their younger elementary children.
3. The schedule we are proposing won’t work forever. As we move toward upcoming renovations
to our worship center, we will likely be worshipping in the gym for a season, and we won’t all fit
in the gym at the same time. Furthermore, we hope that we will reach enough new people that
we’ll need to return to offering multiple worship times. But in this current moment, it will be
great to take advantage of having everyone together for worship.
experience a drastic change in the fall. If you currently attend the 9am service, you’ll get to sing
a few more great new songs of worship alongside the classic hymns of our faith. If you currently
attend the 11am service, you’ll get to have more voices and more instruments leading you in
worship in addition to the praise band and vocal praise team. We will all have more
opportunities to worship with folks from different generations. Lee and Jaron will collaborate in
planning and leading the services.
2. We will continue to encourage elementary school kids to worship with their families, and we will
work to make our worship services increasingly engaging for kids through Kids’ Messages and
other elements. The new Kids Worship option for K-2nd grade will allow parents to decide
whether that program or worship with the family is best for their younger elementary children.
3. The schedule we are proposing won’t work forever. As we move toward upcoming renovations
to our worship center, we will likely be worshipping in the gym for a season, and we won’t all fit
in the gym at the same time. Furthermore, we hope that we will reach enough new people that
we’ll need to return to offering multiple worship times. But in this current moment, it will be
great to take advantage of having everyone together for worship.
Praying for the Transition:
Pray that we will quickly work out the kinks that will inevitably come with the change of schedule. Pray
that God’s Spirit will be so evident in our times of worship that we will quickly forget about the old
categories of “traditional” and “contemporary.” Pray that groups will multiply, and will thrive as places
where people connect with Christ and with one another. Pray that we won’t respond to the changes
selfishly – when you experience something in worship that isn’t what you personally prefer, pray that
God will remind you that it’s not about you, and that he will help you to be grateful for the fact that you
are part of a church with such a wide variety of people. Above all, pray that everything we do will help
us fulfill our mission to love God, love people, and make disciples.
that God’s Spirit will be so evident in our times of worship that we will quickly forget about the old
categories of “traditional” and “contemporary.” Pray that groups will multiply, and will thrive as places
where people connect with Christ and with one another. Pray that we won’t respond to the changes
selfishly – when you experience something in worship that isn’t what you personally prefer, pray that
God will remind you that it’s not about you, and that he will help you to be grateful for the fact that you
are part of a church with such a wide variety of people. Above all, pray that everything we do will help
us fulfill our mission to love God, love people, and make disciples.
Promotion Sunday - August 28
Below is more information on the upcoming changes for kids ministry
At FBCLS, we value family worship because we believe kids worshiping with their parents (or whoever brings them to church) is foundational to their spiritual growth. We want to partner with families on this journey! Starting August 28, we have two opportunities for elementary kids and their families during the Worship Service:
Option 1
Kids can continue to worship in the service with their families! As an intergenerational church, it impacts kids to see parents, grandparents, and other church members worship and live out their faith regularly. The service will have a kids’ message, kids’ worship guides will be provided in the foyer, and kids of all grades are welcome!
Option 2
Kids in grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade are invited to participate in our new Kids’ Worship! Kids’ Worship will meet in the First Kids basement at the same time as the Worship Service at 9:30am. Kids will sing worship songs, have fun, and learn about worship on their developmental level so they are ready to participate in the churchwide worship service with their families starting in 3rd grade. (or sooner!)