Solomon is quoted as saying “There is nothing new under the Sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) and while many churches are just starting to consider having a Saturday worship
service, it’s actually been around for a while. Yes, there is that Sabbath Day
vs the Lord’s Day issue but I’m talking about the churches that are finding
that a Saturday worship service may be good stewardship of their existing
resources and may also open the doors to people that are busy working on Sundays or may just prefer a Saturday service.
A Saturday service is a significant worship addition to the local
church and it is often introduced as a response to overcrowding on Sunday. Many churches have found it to be an
additional opportunity to reach new people in the community and to expand
service (volunteer) opportunities in connections, children, worship and guest
services. The popularity of Saturday
services in churches is an acknowledgment that accommodating an American
culture that is changing and now works, plays and embraces recreation on Sunday, is a way to advance
the gospel. While there are some churches that have intentionally made their Saturday services “different” the prevailing wisdom, particularly for churches that are growing and need to provide a response to overcrowding on Sunday, is to build the service and experience to match as closely as possible to what happens on Sunday. If the primary reason to offer a Saturday service is to alleviate over-crowding then the primary objective in building the service over time is to make it “just the same as Sunday” in as many ways as possible.
The move to Saturday is like an introduction of a second
service and akin to a church developing multi-site. It requires different communication
strategies, an increased commitment by volunteers and staff and more planning.
Building
Volunteer Teams
Volunteerism is at the heart of being a disciple and church
leaders need to remember that recruiting more volunteers or asking more of
church volunteers is beneficial to the health of the local church. The Saturday service needs to have the same
compliment (even if in smaller number) of volunteers as the Sunday services. In particular:
·
Greeters in the front doors are
particularly needed as the church may not look ‘busy’ initially. Many churches find that even if parking is
abundant, it may be good to station a volunteer outside near the driveway entrance
to give that initial welcoming.
·
Children’s greeters and volunteers need to be available for the Saturday Service. While churches may want to combine
some classes initially, you’ll want to be able to accommodate all of the age
groups you would normally accommodate on Sunday.
·
Systems should all be running on Saturday. That would mean that the computer, printer
and tags should be used on Saturday for children and parents just as this level of security is provided on Sunday. Volunteers need to be present at the end of
the service as well for pick up. It may be less crowded but churches have found
that keeping security tight is a good priority.
·
Worship volunteers will need to be
expanded. The goal for worship on
Saturday is “just the same as Sunday” and churches that have firmly set that as
the goal are the ones that experience success.
·
Connection opportunities, the ability
to sign up for events, take a class, be baptized or become a member should not
be reserved for Sunday attendees only. Build
the volunteer teams and offerings available on Sunday. The
goal should be “just the same as Sunday” and while there may not be as many
offerings, none of the important activities or steps in being a disciple should
be excluded from Saturday if they are regularly offered on Sundays.
Special Worship
Considerations
A common saying among church planters and church consultants
is that ‘people will come for the worship experience; people will stay for the
preaching.’ While there are churches
that intentionally try to have a different experience on Saturday to attract a
different group or demographic (i.e. contemporary or more casual), that is not
true for churches that are primarily introducing a Saturday service to relieve
overcrowding on Sunday. Again, the goal
is “just the same as Sunday.”
To develop a healthy worship service on Saturday is more
about commitment than any particular plan. Volunteers can be recruited and
engaged on Saturday or Sunday; volunteer teams can rotate; volunteer teams can
be on two weeks and off two weeks, etc.
There are many different ways to develop additional worship teams
however it has to be a clear strategy that is focused and communicated.
Many churches find that to provide a high-quality worship
experience, some of the worship leaders are paid. This is a practice in churches
that is closely related to the size of the church. The greater the size of the church, the
greater the number of people being paid.
As churches add more services (and more campuses) it is the norm that
the paid worship staff is supplemented with ‘contract-1099’ paid worship
leaders. While this introduces an
additional cost and complexity, the success of the project is related entirely
to the commitment, development and communication of the plan. Churches that plan ahead have a clear policy
of the number of paid worship leaders.
For example, a church could provide a flat payment of $90 for each of
the three members of the band (typically bass, drums and guitar) that would
play at all three services, one on Saturday and two on Sunday, and then consider raising the payment for the
weekend to $120 when the fourth or fifth service is introduced.
Paid Staff
All paid staffers that are responsible or need to be available
on Sunday should have a similar responsibility on Saturday. This is often controversial but being part
of a paid church staff requires a commitment that is really not much different
than an employee at Target, Subway or
Disney. Church employees need to work
when there is work to be done. Adding Saturday
responsibilities is not necessarily an increase in the number of hours that an
employee must work. It has been the
practice in churches to provide time off during the week for the hours that are
worked in the evenings or on weekend.
Other
Considerations
While “Just the same as Sunday” is obviously the core of my
recommendations, that doesn’t mean that while the church is trying to build
Saturday, it can’t offer anything different on Saturday. For example, pre-service gatherings,
cookouts, tailgating as well as after service ‘fun’ builds community.
As churches grow and they add additional services, there is
an immediate need for improved communication, better coordination and a
logistical plan. While people that
attend a worship service that is over crowed are fully aware that the service
is over crowed, they likely don’t know what the plan is to relieve
overcrowding. Churches that are
building new and larger auditoriums can point to the building plans and
encourage the attendees to ‘look forward to the new and larger space.’ However, churches that do not have immediate
plans for a larger auditorium need to just as clearly be communicating that the
solution is to attend other services.
In advertising, the term ‘effective frequency’ refers to the
number of times something needs to be communicated before it is
understood. God of course understands
this better than any of us as the Bible is full of stories, imperative,
warnings and encouragements that are repeated often. For example, Peter repeats the story of the
vision of the unclean animals twice in Acts 10 and then a third time in Acts
11, “verily” is always used twice “verily, verily.”
The communication plan often is the key to the success of a
Saturday service. What is the church
trying to accomplish? Who should be
attending the service? How can people
help the Saturday service succeed? Personally,
I’m disappointed when I read articles on church planting and church growth that
do not emphasis communication.
Communication in organizational leadership (secular or sacred) is one of
the basic functions of management and is the key component of transmitting the
vision, culture and plans of any organization.
Furthermore, communication only occurs when it is understood by the
receiver. Some messages are so
important that feedback or consensus is required, and that opportunity should
be provided when necessary. At a
minimum, the frequency and continuity of the communication must be sufficient
so that ‘the-many’ do hear and respond.
