WHAT? We currently have one worship service that is divided into three parts.  You decide which part or parts to attend.  Some folks attend just the first two parts (for a "traditional" worship service) and some attend just the last two parts (for a "contemporary" worship service) and many attend all three parts (for a "blended" worship service).  To see what this looks like on paper, click here, to see one of our bulletins.

WHY?   While God and God's Truths remain the same, the ways in which Christians worship changes.  The Early Church gathered in peoples' homes.  Later as the Church became more institutionalized, great cathedrals were built.  For many many years church services were held in Latin -- even in countries where few if any people understood Latin.  And the use of music in worship services has changed over the centuries as well.  Christian churches today offer a whole range of worship styles and formats.  Some are more formal/liturgical and some are more informal and free-flowing.  Some churches do not permit any sort of musical accompaniment, others permit just organ or piano, and others will have full fledged "worship bands" with electric guitars, drums, and other musicians.  But what all these churches share in common is to worship God, to proclaim God's Word, to celebrate the sacraments/ordinances of the Church, to encourage the fellowship of believers, and to equip believers for God's service.

Some churches, especially larger churches, may offer a range of worship services, each catering to a different set of preferances.  You will see an increasing number of churches offering separate "traditional" and "contemporary" worship services.  Some churches offer "emergent" or "emerging" or "alternative" worship services.  As a small church, we are reluctant to divide our congregation on Sunday mornings.  And yet we want to recognize that different individuals desire to worship the same God in different ways.  In order to "have our cake and eat it too," we now offer one worship service that is dived into three parts.  This way we can all be together for at least the central part of the service, the part that focuses on the proclamation of God's Word and the celebration of communion.  We have been doing this since April 2010 and have found it to be a wonderful "solution."

WHY NOT?   Making changes in a church can be very difficult, especially when longstanding traditions are in the balance.  For people who have spent 40, 50, 60 years -- or even a lifetime -- worshipping in a particular way, introducing any changes can be very painful.  When changes are introduced they may feel like the traditions they value are being called into question.  They may feel like the way they have done church is being discarded or looked down upon.  It has worked for them, why can't others just accept that this is how things should remain?  Other folks strongly desire change.  They want to see technology incorporated creatively in church (the use of video and other visuals) and they want to sing songs to which they can better relate.  And some folks feel like some churches feel too traditional, formal, and/or stayed.  They desire something different.  And while this doesn't just apply to worship services on Sunday morning, the structure, content, and style of worship services is often what people focus on.  Our desire is to find a way to provide a meaningful worship service to as broad a range of people and preferences as we can.We want to find ways to preserve many of the things that some people cherish while making space for new things desired by others, while remaining faithful to proclaiming the timeless truths of God's Word.

HOW? The how is quite simple.  By breaking our worship service into three parts, we seek to tailor each part to the needs of different people and preferences.  The first part consists of traditional hymns sung from hymnals and accompanied by our organist, formal scripture readings, responsive readings, recitation of a creed, and prayer.  The second part consists of the sermon (which incorporates video visuals and power point slides) and communion.  As an interdenominational church, we celebrate communion at least two different ways.  At least once a month people will come forward to receive communion and will dip a wafer or a piece of bread into a cup of juice.  The rest of the time communion is served in the pews (using trays filled with pieces of bread and small cups of juice).  At other times we have gathered around small tables in our sanctuary and have received commion in smaller groups or family units.  At the close of the second part, there is a closing hymn and benediction and then we "Take 5" to visit with one another as some folks prepare to leave.   The third part of our worship service includes new(er) music (often referred to as "contemporary" or "modern" worship music) which is lead by a worship leader and accompanied by instruments such as an electric guitar and drums (we'd love to have a keyboardist to join our worship team).  The music is followed by a brief discussion time focusing on the sermon.  People can ask questions, make comments, and/or share how the sermon connects with their life experience.  We then have a time of open prayer where anyone can pray (silently or out loud).  And then we close with some more music.  As stated above, each person decides which part or combination of parts to attend.  We encourage people to enter and leave the sanctuary reverantly whenever they choose to do so.

WHO?   The first part of the worship service is generally opened by one of our deacons.  Announcements are made (by the deacon and by members of the congregation) and then an opening prayer and call to worship is given.  We then sing a hymn and the service gets under way.  The deacon leading the service generally leads the responsive reading and finds other readers for the other scripture reading(s).  Our pastor generally leads the prayers during the first part of the service (which include a prayer of confession and assurance of pardon as well as a "prayers of the people" where indivuals may speak the names of others for whome they seek prayer).  Our pastor also leads us in reciting one of the Creeds (generally the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed).  Our pastor then preaches during the second part of the service and leads us in communion with the assistance of our deacons and other church members. The third part of our sevice begins with the singing of a couple of new(er) songs.  Some may be old hymns that are sung to newer music.  Some may be "praise and worship songs" from the  70's-90's and some may be much newer than that.  We currently are blessed to have James Anderson (of Virginia Hills Church) and Spencer Bunce (of Marlow Heights Church) leading our music during the third part of our service.  Then the pastor leads a discussion time.  Sometimes this lasts only 5-10 minutes, sometimes it takes a little longer.  And then there is a time of prayer that is intended to be a time where anyone can pray (out loud or in silence) as they desire.  We then close with some more music and end with a call to action.  Over the last few months we have found that about 1/3 of our folks leave after the second part and nearly 2/3 remain for all three parts.  There are an increasing number of people who are choosing to come for just parts two and 3.  We have also found that people coming and going from our service is not disruptive, particularly since most people will enter or leave during a hymn or during our "Take 5" time where everyone is standing and talking.

We've also found that preferences don't necessarilly break down along generational lines.  While those who leave after the second part of our service tend to be the older members of our congregation, some of the younger members also do not stay for the third part.  Likewise, there are older members who even prefer the third part.  Others attend all three parts, regardless of their preferences, because they want to be supportive of our effort and they desire to spend time with others who may have different preferences from their own..

WHERE & WHEN?   Our Sunday morning worship service is held at Rockland Community Church (located just 2 miles east of the Warren County Fairgrounds on the corner of Fairground Rd. and Rockland Rd.).  We worship in the brick church building.  The white church building across the street is used for other purposes and is quite vacant on Sunday mornings!  Our worship service runs from 10:30 until about noon.  Each part lasts approximately 30 minutes.  We try to be respectful of people's time, but also try not to put too much focus on finishing a part in exactly 30 minutes.  We do not list a specific end time for the third part of that service as we want it to be as flexible and as informal as possible.

SO COME GIVE IT A TRY!  We are a small church with a big heart and even bigger dreams.  Growing into a big church isn't high on our list of priorities, but growing our capacity to minister to one another and to the community around us is!  We believe that God can do big things in and through us, even if we remain a smaller church! And we need you?  We don't just need you to fill a pew, we want to help you to find ways to minister to and encourage others.  If you already have ways to do this, we want to find ways to encourage you and to help you.  We believe that everyone has gifts and abilities and passions that God desires to use for his purposes.  Our job as a church is to help each person to find ways to grow in their relationship with God while also finding ways to help and serve others.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?

"That's a great idea!  My parent's church should try that.  My parents like a traditional service and I prefer a contemporary service.  I like the idea of being able to go to church together in this way." -- a visitor to our church

"I don't like it.  Why can't we go back to the way things were?  Why can't you just have a different service for people who like that other stuff." -- a couple of people in our church

"I'm going to tell my pastor about this.  We have two different services that are each too small.  This could be a great solution for us too!" -- a visitor to our church

"Everyone was so warm and welcoming.  At the last church we visited, no one even spoke to us." -- a visitor to our church

"I love the discussion time and I'm getting used to the music in the third part!" -- an 80-something who attends our church

"She (a teenager) actually asked to come to church this week!" -- a 50-something who attends our church

"I told my church council about what you are doing and suggested we might want to give it a try."  -- a pastor in a local church

"That is the most creative approach I've ever heard of.  I never thought Rockland Community Church would be willing to even try it!  But I think it is great!" -- pastor of a large church in our area

"I really like the new music.  Those guys (James and Spencer) are great!  Can I play the drums sometime?" -- a twelve yearold boy in our church