Worship Survey Results

Recently, the Development Team surveyed the congregation related to attitudes regarding our worship services and their format. The results, not surprising, were also not conclusive. What we discovered is that our worship services are meeting some specific needs, that there is no clear consensus in the church about whether we should go back to one service or continue with two, that we have some people who don't have a preference and choose the service they attend for more practical reasons, and that there is a wide variance of opinion related to worship in the church in general, and in our church in particular.

We received a total of 124 surveys back, over the course of two or three weeks, which some D-team members thought was disappointing. However, considering that we are averaging between 215 and 230 in worship, and that between 35 and 45 of those are probably youth, adults and preschoolers, we probably got responses from 75% of our adults. That's not bad at all. And just to remind us we live in the 21st century, some individuals faxed or email their survey forms. We got 52 surveys from people who primarily attend the 8:30 service, 58 from people who primarily attend the 11:00 service, 8 from people who attend both, and apparently, 6 from people who attend neither, or just didn't indicate.

Four out of ten surveys, an almost equal number from both services, indicated that they thought the volume of the music was too loud. To that, I can say that we are actively working on it. Perhaps you have noticed in the last few weeks that the sound is clearer, and the volume is much better. This is due to the absence of all of those monitors on the stage, replaced by an in-ear monitoring system which not only helps the musicians stay on track, but cuts down on unecessary noise on the stage. Our sound booth operators now have much greater control over the volume.

Many people in our church, regardless of their own personal preferences, realize the importance of offering worship services which meet the spiritual needs of others. As a whole, our congregation seems to have an understanding that worship here needs to be done in such a way that it invites the presence of the Holy Spirit to enter, and that his transforming power is necessary to meet the spiritual needs of those who have gathered to worship. Even among those who expressed a preference to see the church offer just one worship service, there is a realization that while doing so might meet their own needs, and match their own preferences, as a church we need to do what is best for building others up, and to do what pleases God, and not ourselves. (I Corinthians 10:31)

Some people are concerned that having two services creates congregational disunity. However, I have been in many churches with just one worship service that were far from being spiritually unified. And if you look at the examples of the church in scripture, which should be our model, you will find that the early church rarely worshipped together in the same location. Rather, the church in a particular city was very much unified around Christ, while worshipping in dozens of different locations in people's homes, and not under one roof. People are looking for the intimacy that comes through friendships and relationships with others who are their brothers and sisters in the faith, not the individuality and privacy that comes from a large group setting. We are unified in Christ, and will experience unity as we minister together. Having more than one worship service enhances our worship experience, and contributes to that sense of relationship and intimacy that God desires for us to have.

Thank you for participating in the survey. You made a contribution that will be used to make us a better church.