Worship:%20Front%20Door

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Worship Front Door
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Six Startup Ministries

1. Health System
2. Worship

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Its Still Weekend Service!

• The worship service door is still the primary
  front door for most people entering a church

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Videos Two Extremes
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Question

• How will you open front door to attract crowds?

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Negative Worship Experience

• The surprising thing is not how many people dont
  go to church, the really surprising thing is how
  many people keep coming back.
• Barna survey 66 did not have a meaningful
  worship experience.

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Creative Worship Hard Work

• Creative worship takes hard work and long term
  planning.
• Best done with a worship team.

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Worship Wars Are Not New

• 200 No flute, trumpet or lyre. What do you
  think we are, pagans?
• 600 Musical solos by ordinary people? I come to
  worship God, not man!
• 1500 Now theyre putting spiritual words to
  theater songs that everyone knows.
• 1700 Our children will grow up confused, not
  respecting the Bible as an inspired book.
• 1800 Their leader is just asking for trouble
  when he says, Why should the devil have all the
  best music?
• 1900 These Christian radio quartets are on a
  slippery slope. Dont they realize the airwaves
  are the domain of Satan, ruler of the kingdom of
  the air?

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10 Worship Convictions

• Agree/Disagree?

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1. Only Believers Can Worship.

• The direction of worship is from believers to
  God. We magnify Gods name in worship by
  expressing our love and commitment to him.
• Unbelievers simply cannot do that.

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2. Unbelievers Can Watch Believers Worship.

• Unbelievers can observe the joy that we feel.
  They can see how we value God's Word, how we
  respond to it, and how the Bible answers the
  problems and questions of life.
• They can notice how worship encourages,
  strengthens, and changes us.
• It is even possible for them to sense when God is
  supernaturally moving in a service, although they
  won't be able to explain it.

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3. You Dont Need A Building.

• The God who made the world and everything in it
  is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live
  in temples built by hands." Acts 1724
• We existed for fifteen years and grew to over
  10,000 in attendance without a building.

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4. There Is No Correct Style Of Worship.

• The style of worship that you feel comfortable
  with says far more about your cultural background
  than it does about your theology.
• Debates over worship style are almost always
  sociological and personality debates couched in
  theological terms.
• The form of the worship service was not a church
  growth principle. There was not a connection
  between seeker services and evangelistic
  effectiveness. (NCD Research)

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5. Worship Is A Powerful Witness If

• Gods presence is felt
• More people are won to Christ by feeling God's
  presence than by all of our apologetic arguments
  combined. Few people, if any, are converted to
  Christ on purely intellectual grounds. It is the
  sense of God's presence that melts hearts and
  explodes mental barriers.
• The message is understandable
• At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit miraculously
  translated the message into words each person
  understood. The crowd of unbelievers said, "We
  hear them telling in our own languages about the
  great things God has done!" (Acts 211 new,
  italics added). This ability to understand caused
  them to be converted. Even though God's presence
  was evident in the service, they wouldn't have
  known what to do if they hadn't been able to
  understand the message.

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6. God Expects Us To Be Sensitive To

• The Fears, Hang-Ups, and Needs of Unbelievers
• I Cor. 1423
• The point Paul is making is that we must be
  willing to adjust our worship practices when
  unbelievers are present. God tells us to be
  sensitive to the hang-ups of unbelievers in our
  services. Being seeker sensitive in our worship
  is a biblical command.
• When you have guests over to your home for dinner
  does your family act differently than when its
  just your family at the table? Of course you do!

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7. Worship Service Does Not Have To Be Shallow

• To Be Seeker Sensitive
• The message doesn't have to be comprised, just
  understandable. Making a service "comfortable"
  for the unchurched doesn't mean changing your
  theology, it means changing the environment of
  the service. Changing the environment could be
  done through the way you greet visitors, the
  style of music you use, the Bible translation you
  preach from, and the kinds of announcements you
  make in the service.
• The message is not always comfortable in fact,
  sometimes God's truth is very uncomfortable!
  Still, we must teach the whole counsel of God."
  Being seeker sensitive does not limit what you
  say, but it does affect how you say it.

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8. The Needs Of Believers And Unbelievers Often
Overlap.

• The needs of believers and unbelievers often
  overlap. They are very different in some areas
  but are very similar in many areas.
• For instance, both believers and unbelievers need
  to know what God is really like both need to
  understand the purpose of life both need to know
  why and how to forgive others both need help in
  strengthening their marriage and family both
  need to know how to deal with suffering, grief,
  and pain both need to know why materialism is so
  destructive. Christians do not stop having needs
  once they are saved.

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9. Worship Is Meant To Supplement

• Personal Evangelism, Not Replace It.
• People generally find it easier to decide for
  Christ when there are multiple relationships
  supporting that decision. Seeker services provide
  a group witness to enhance and confirm the
  personal witness of members.
• When an unbeliever attends a seeker service with
  a friend who has been witnessing to him, he sees
  the crowd and thinks, hey, there are a lot of
  other people who believe this. There must be
  something to it. There is incredible persuasive
  power in the witness of a crowd of believers
  worshiping together.

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10. There Is No Standard Way to

• Design A Worship Service.
• This is because unbelievers are not all alike!
  Some want a service that makes them feel a part
  of it others want to sit passively and watch.
  Some like quiet, meditative services others like
  high-energy services. The style that works best
  in southern California probably won't work in New
  England and vice versa. It takes all kinds of
  services to reach all kinds of seekers.
• There are only three nonnegotiable elements of a
  seeker service
• (1) Treat unbelievers with love and respect
• (2) Relate the service to their needs
• (3) Share the message in a practical,
  understandable manner

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Your Worship Convictions

• What core convictions will guide your plants
  worship?

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Worship Design Checklist
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1. Biblical Worship Pattern

• Upward Focus Awe of God
• Isaiah 61-4 I saw the Lord seated on his throne
• Inward Focus Reflection
• Isaiah 65-7 Woe to me. I am a man of unclean
  lips.
• Outward Focus Action
• Isaiah 6 8-13 Here Am I. Send Me.

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2. Plan worship with your target in mind.

• Who are we trying to reach?
• Let target determine style of service?
• Make it as easy as possible to attend?
• Offer multiple services
• Guest parking
• Childrens classes at the same time
• Put a map on all advertisements
• Directions Directions Directions

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3. Improve Pace Flow

• Speed it up!
• Minimize transition times.
• Look for ways to save time.
• Keep pastoral prayers short, dramas short, music
  short.
• Dont sing all 58 verses.
• Preaching Dont share everything you know about
  every word.

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4. Brighten Up Your Facilities.

• Look at your facilities from the eyes of a
  visitor
• Ask what message is our building giving off?
• Lighting Is it bright enough?
• Temperature Too warm or too cold kills a
  service.
• Sound Buy the best you can afford.
• Space Dont have too much or too little.
• Seating Set up fewer chairs than you need.
• Decorations Are they attractive? Christian
  Symbols.
• Nurseries Clean and Safe
• Restrooms Clean and odor free

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5. Minimize Internal Church Announcements!

• Problem The bigger you get, the more you have!
• Train your people to read the bulletin.
• Announce only the events that apply to everyone.
• Screen out in-house terminology.
• Avoid appeals for help.
• Dont conduct internal church business during the
  worship service.

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6. Read Scripture From A Newer Translation.

• Use pew Bibles so they can find the text by page
  number.
• Put scripture on the screens so they can read it.
• Encourage people to bring Bibles- mark them up.
• Provide free Bibles for people.

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7. Match Music To Target

• Music is the 1 Positioning Factor
• Nothing determines who you will reach like your
  music.
• Two Common Mistakes
• Underestimate the importance power of music.
  Ps. 403
• Try to appeal to everyone- Bach to rock. We have
  lost hundreds, but gained thousands.
• Find The Right Balance In the Amount
• Too much Seekers lose attention
• Too little Lost a powerful worship element in
  service
• Choose Music For The Heart, Not For The Art
• Goal is communication, not to impress with
  technical skill

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7. Preach With Target Purpose In Mind.

• Provide a simple order of service
• Provide a simple outline
• Watch your language Wesleys maid
• Dont assume anything
• Be balanced purposeful
• Short Series
• Be simple profound
• Be 5 minutes shorter than you think

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9. Always Offer An Opportunity To Respond.

• Clearly explain how you want them to respond.
• Plan out your invitations.
• Lead unbelievers in a model prayer.
• Dont overextend the invitation.
• Offer a new believer table with follow-up
  packets.
• Expect people to respond

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10. Continually Evaluate Improve

• This discipline separates the good church plants
  from the great church plants!
• Staff, Leader Evaluation

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Visitor Flow
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Why Members Dont Invite The Unchurched.

1. Target of message is unpredictable.
2. Services are not designed for unbelievers.
3. Members may be embarrassed by the quality.

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How to increase visitor flow?

1. Making members feel guilty for not inviting.
2. Putting out a big sign Visitor's welcome.
3. Cold-calling on homes in your community.
4. Holding attendance contests.
5. Telemarketing or advertising.

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Real Visitor Flow Answer

• The answer is quite simple Create a service this
  is intentionally designed for your members to
  bring their friends to. And make the service so
  attractive, appealing, and relevant to the
  unchurched that your members are eager to share
  it with lost people they care about.

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Video Mr. Bean
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Worship Plan

• What is your worship plan?
• First Sunday?
• First Series?

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The End