A Sunday Morning – Prior to the Service

I spent awhile telling you the principles we use in our Sunday (and Tuesday night) services. I thought I’d share one on what happens before service…

We meet in a high school. There’s directions on our web site and as you get close you’ll drive past nice looking, quality, sign after sign after sign (about 12 of them) which say, “Forefront Ahead!” with arrows and our logo. Part of that is to give direction but it’s also to try to build excitement.

When you walk in, there are no greeters. This is a judgment call on our part, but it’s intentional. Personally I feel like official greeters don’t make a place very friendly, because it’s their job to be friendly. Plus, when I enter a place, and I’m nervous about being there I don’t want to be jumped on the second I walk in. So we don’t have greeters.

What we do have is a Hub Table. It’s four tables forming a Hub in the lobby with information to pick up, and smiling people in the middle. The idea is that if you walk in and don’t want to be acknowledged, you can do that. But if you walk in and want to meet someone or have questions you need to ask, you can do that.

When you walk through the front door it should feel like you’ve entered a party. Hopefully some people will say hi (not because they have to). If it all works right you’ll think, “Wow, I just walked into something really fun. These people are having a blast.”

There is also music playing … loud. It’s secular music. Music that you (if you’re not a Christian) listen to and maybe even heard on the radio driving over.

There are a bunch of signs in the lobby. Some are just plain goofy, others communicate vision, others provide direction. If you follow the signs to the auditorium there will be someone smiling at the door who says hi, and welcome, and who hands you a program. You walk into the auditorium, where the same music is playing and fun graphics are running on the screen. Then, to alert people that it’s time to come in because the service is about to begin, we play our “Call to Worship” – “Let’s Get It Started,” by the Black Eyed Peas.

So that’s what happens before the service. You may not like it, but that’s our deal.

Next time, I have no idea what we’ll talk about.

Until then … take a nap.

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