Quick! How do you keep the attention of a generation of church goers eternally distracted by the internet, cellphones, and technology. You make technology your friend – you leverage it for the Glory of God.
Mars Hill – TWO Churches in ONE Location
As much as I hate to admit it, in reality, I pastor TWO distinct congregations. Since we began offering additional worship experiences, I’ve noticed they’ve morphed into two very distinct, different, and unique congregations. We’re still Mars Hill – now we’re TWO churches in ONE location. How did that happen?
8AM Classic Worship Experience
Older church goers, business-types, and families with older/adult children mainly attend our Our 8AM Worship Experience. It’s early, convenient, and 60-90 minutes long. They enjoy softer music and love to reflect on the music and message. It fits their lifestyle and they primarily want worship and the Word! Period! However, it’s quite different during our 10:30AM experience.
10:30AM Contemporary Worship Experience
Families with school-aged children, young adults, party-goers, and a host of others mainly attend our 10:30AM service. They LOVE to worship; they like it LOUD; they love that it’s fast-paced; they’re engaged in the message; and they’ll linger around hours after the worship experience to talk and fellowship. Again, TWO distinct congregations in ONE location.
How Technology Changed My Message Preparation
We offer multiple worship experiences and often I preach the same message. Recently, I started noticing how the congregation responded differently. At our 8AM service, they appreciate me going deeper into the text – giving a historical/contextual overview coupled with various word studies. In short, they come alive as I dig deeper into the text – I call it intellectual stimulation.
However, during our 10:30AM service – they love the power of story-telling. They come alive when I tell a story and show how it relates to everyday life – I call it “modern-day parables.” Additionally, they love it when I draw ONE principle from that story and encourage them to apply it to their lives. Since I have TWO churches in ONE location, it radically defined how I prepare and preach my messages. Tomorrow, I’ll share how I use my iPhone, Cloud Storage, and a few Apps to prepare messages in 10 minutes or less.
Stay Tuned!
Pastor, I would have to agree with you completely. I attend the 10:30am service and I must admit that I do love the power of story telling and the connection that is made to our everyday lives. It is truly amazing! We cannot stop bragging about how well you connect our lives with the word! I also love the freedom of the praise and worship which also gives us the opportunity to connect with God vertically!
It has been often said that you can lose your audience if you don’t connect with your audience. I’m glad to know that our pastor is able, flexible and tech savvy enough to do both!
Keep on Kingdom building!
Yanni