Service Time Change
Beginning January 3, 2010
The Uptown Service Time Will Change to 5:00PM
Questions? Please contact
Why are we changing the service time?
(1) The healthiest Uptown is one that can effectively serve people at all stages of life, young to old, single, married, with or without children. A 5PM service time will enable Uptown to better serve a wide diversity of people.
(2) Growing together in community is a vital part of being a healthy church. Uptown research shows a 5PM service time will enable significantly more people to participate in the upstairs fellowship time and other after-service community-building activities.
How did we arrive at this decision?
In August, Uptown leaders* gathered to set goals for each ministry. One of Uptown's Dreams is to “grow our Children's Ministry to powerfully impact the spiritual lives of our children and attract families.” While setting goals for the Children's Ministry, it became evident that the 6PM service time has been for the past five years a significant obstacle to families with children being able to connect and stay at Uptown. An earlier service time was suggested. Desiring to serve the needs of families without disservicing the rest of the congregation, it was decided to research how an earlier service time would affect everyone.
To begin, we sought the wisdom of four other churches offering an evening service composed of both young professionals and families in an urban setting. According to these churches, 5PM is the latest realistic service time for most families with kids. Our research at Uptown included an online survey, the results of which showed that a majority of respondents actually prefer an earlier service time—including singles and marrieds, younger and older, those with children and without. People cited a variety of reasons, including "I would be more likely to join the upstairs fellowship time or other after-service activities; I would have time before bed to prepare for the work week; It would be easier to fulfill ministry responsibilities after church." Uptowners were also invited to voice opinions through an online forum.
The forum and survey results, along with follow-up phone calls to those who responded most strongly, indicated that an earlier service time would not cause undue hardship for the majority of Uptowners, and would actually enable more people to benefit from being part of the Uptown community. Uptowners were asked to be in prayer throughout this process, and especially to participate in a special day of prayer and fasting, to ask the Lord for guidance and unity in this decision. Finally, Uptowners were invited to a congregational meeting to discuss any final thoughts.
On Oct 27, Uptown leaders gathered to pray and make a decision. Their discussion was marked by care for the perspectives of others, and while several people had different personal preferences, everyone cast a vote for the service time they felt was best for Uptown as a whole. It was unanimously decided to change the service time to 5PM, beginning Jan 3, 2010. Through this decision-making process, several people have shared that they feel God caring for their needs and giving them a deeper understanding of what it means to be a part of the body of Christ. Praise God as we step out in faith in this decision together!
*Pastor, Site Director, Ministry Team Directors & other leaders at Uptown.
