3. Decide if you will have two duplicate services or if they will be different.
Some churches choose to have contemporary and traditional services. This can help alleviate the music style controversy many churches face, but it creates a lot more work for the music people, and may create two churches in one.
4. Get the worship team on board or recruit a second team for the new service.
It is crucial to have the cooperation of the worship team.
5. Decide the time for the new service.
Some churches decide to have the added service simultaneously with Sunday school. Others choose to have it the hour before Sunday school.
Having two services and two simultaneous Sunday schools works for some churches, even though it takes a lot of volunteers. Other churches choose to discontinue Sunday school, encourage small groups during the week and provide children’s church for both services.
One very important factor in this decision is the amount of parking. People can’t sit in the church if they can’t find a place to park. If the parking lot has to be emptied between services, that will be a major factor in determining the schedule.
6. Recruit ushers and greeters and all the other volunteers you will need for Sunday school or children’s church.
The availability of volunteers may help determine the new service scenario the church chooses.
7. Ask a number of people to commit to the new service for a year or 18 months.
The number depends on the need at your church. In the story above, 50 or 75 might be sensible. You need enough people committed to the new service to effectively relieve the crowding at the existing service and to be enough that they don’t feel like they’re the only ones there.
Bathe the whole idea in prayer. This is a very major step for congregations, especially those long-established ones. If the church can take this step, it may well find itself on the road to new levels of growth, which means many people in their community will find the love, hope and salvation of Jesus.
