Top 10 Reasons for SUMMER SHIFT

by Pastor Mike Quillen

Why are we doing a SUMMER SHIFT to one service at 10:00 a.m.?  Great question! 

Here are the top ten reasons that will (hopefully!) put a smile on your face and also (maybe) offer some insight…

10. We were already planning to combine services for Youth Sunday and Freedom in Christ Sunday, so doing it 12 more times isn’t that much more. Is it?

 9.  We might save a few dollars on electricity because it is cooler at 10:00 a.m. than at 11:00 a.m. and the fans will only run for half as long.

 8. The children of the 8:30 a.m. service got enough signatures on a petition to have Junior Worship, too. One service was a compromise to them.

 7. We found out that it really is OK to park in the “park-a-teria” parking garage across from the church, so we wanted to see if we could fill up all the parking spots.

 6. We thought maybe our many newborns and toddlers could take care of themselves if we got them all together in one room.

 5. We can save a lot of time only doing announcements once per Sunday.

 4. Pastor Mike’s first sermon every Sunday is shorter and better about 98.7% of the time.

 3. Name-tags weren’t working out, so we’ll spend the first 15 minutes of every service doing an ice breaker game that teaches us to memorize everyone’s names.

 2. We wanted to recreate the energy and joy of Easter Sunday every week.

 1. We needed more opportunities to be like Jesus.

So, there is more than a little silliness in that list. I hope it brought at least a smile. 

Did it also give you any insight? Behind each of the reasons is a serious concern that the SUMMER SHIFT will address.

Sacrifice. 

The SUMMER SHIFT will be a sacrifice for each of us. It will be challenging to coordinate the music teams and adjust to the new schedule. 

It will require effort. It is a change. We will all need the help of Jesus to set aside not only some preferences, but also some habits and comfort. Sadly, some of us will not be able to make the service as often at the shifted time. We will desperately need Jesus to help each of us with the sacrifice.

Enhanced worship.

More voices together really enhance our worship experience. Did you hear us singing “In Christ Alone” on Easter Sunday? Wow! It wasn’t just the volume, but the energy and spirit that we have together.

The reality is that our attendance has declined. We are only 20% full at 8:30 AM (80% empty!) and only 40% full (60% empty!) at 11:00 AM. Those are a lot of empty seats and empty spaces. We will only be more full than empty if we combine.

Fostering Unity and Community. 

There are people you have not met and experiences you have not had in worship if you only attend one service time regularly. In other words, you will experience more of what makes us Crossroads during SUMMER SHIFT. There will be more of our gifts available at one time. More of our diversity on display. And more of us to glorify and enjoy God together. And more of us to love one another!

Limited Resources. 

Of course, children cannot take care of themselves. In fact, the younger the child, the more grownups we need to take care of them! We have been blessed with little ones lately and we’re are stretched thin in two services caring for them all. 

I am not stretched thin by preaching two times on Sunday. However, I see evidence that Crossroads is stretched.  It’s hard to staff the children’s ministry, music teams, A/V, greeters, and sometimes even communion servers at two services. 

The SUMMER SHIFT will lessen the load on our volunteers. That’s important because (as lots of announcement would indicate), we have a lot going on. 

Many of those things can only happen in one service (including junior worship, kids’ choir, gospel choir, special music, and more). We just don’t have enough people with the gifts and calling to do more than that.

We are blessed with talented youth who are willing to serve, but it is hard to fill two services on Youth Sunday. We only have special choirs at one Freedom in Christ service or the other for the same reason.

Praise the Lord, we’ve got enough parking because we are allowed to park across the street in the garage. 

In summary, the serious goals for the SUMMER SHIFT are:

(1) fostering unity in the body

(2) enhancing our worship experience

(3) making the most of our limited resources.

The SUMMER SHIFT to one service at 10:00 a.m and Sunday School at 8:45 a.m. is only scheduled for June 2 to September 1.

Join me in praying that the Lord brings us together and brings glory to himself through it!