Sunday Night Meetings
We affectionately call it "night church." I've gone most of my life. It was also known as Salvation Meeting. It doesn't happen every where at this point in our history.
I believe the death knell of night church has come from lack of purpose. You note I didn't say lack of interest. I believe interest will follow purpose. The other way around doesn't seem practical to me. The purpose I recall was to have a Salvation Meeting that complimented and followed an evangelistic outreach like open-air. I think the lack of success in the outreach diminished the need for the Salvation meeting.
Our home corps has three Bible studies on a Sunday night, each in their own language - Spanish, Creole and English. Sometimes the young people have special events on Sundau night as well. This is wonderful and very useful. Let's have more Bible studies.
Getting back to the premise, I guess I'm not a fan of having the night meeting for the sake of having one. Actually, when a Sunday night is open, I rather enjoy being home with my family, which tends to be a rarity on most other nights. I also wonder if there might be a better time for a Salvation meeting anyway. I don't agree that a single Sunday meeting meets the need of any community. There are always people who cannot come to worship on Sunday morning...they have work...etc...Why wouldn't we design at least an alternative worship time for them? I like the idea of a Salvation Meeting. It will forward the theological and practical distinctive of our Holiness Meeting. By the way, both are worship services.
How do you see it?
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
Heb 10:25 "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
I believe the death knell of night church has come from lack of purpose. You note I didn't say lack of interest. I believe interest will follow purpose. The other way around doesn't seem practical to me. The purpose I recall was to have a Salvation Meeting that complimented and followed an evangelistic outreach like open-air. I think the lack of success in the outreach diminished the need for the Salvation meeting.
Our home corps has three Bible studies on a Sunday night, each in their own language - Spanish, Creole and English. Sometimes the young people have special events on Sundau night as well. This is wonderful and very useful. Let's have more Bible studies.
Getting back to the premise, I guess I'm not a fan of having the night meeting for the sake of having one. Actually, when a Sunday night is open, I rather enjoy being home with my family, which tends to be a rarity on most other nights. I also wonder if there might be a better time for a Salvation meeting anyway. I don't agree that a single Sunday meeting meets the need of any community. There are always people who cannot come to worship on Sunday morning...they have work...etc...Why wouldn't we design at least an alternative worship time for them? I like the idea of a Salvation Meeting. It will forward the theological and practical distinctive of our Holiness Meeting. By the way, both are worship services.
How do you see it?
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
Heb 10:25 "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
posted by Jim Knaggs | 7:34 PM
12 Comments:
I have the privilege of participating in the Generation Next Corps here in Philadelphia, and as of now, our main meeting is on Sunday night. Because most ofus are active in our own corps' or church, and often in divisional activities as well, the best time for us to meet seems to be Sunday night. However, for us, it is a more informal, comfortable gathering with worship, teaching and fellowship (since we don't take a collection, we have to have food for it to count as a meeting :-)) All that to say this: I think it depends on the community - some places, Sunday Night Salvation Meeting will work, other places, maybe not. But, one of the hallmarks of the Army, in my humble opinion, is this: Adaptation...finding the need in the community and meeting it.
Blessings!!!!
:-)
I have to agree with All the Good Names Are Taken...It does depend on the community... My corps Sunday starts off with Sunday school, and an adult bible study..then the morning meeting...then an afternoon sunday school for the children in the commmunity that can't make it to the morning one...then a night meeting..and then sometimes after that a young adult bible study! Very busy but it also meets the needs of pretty much everybody..ANd, if they can't make anything on Sunday they have a mens fellowship and a womens felloship durung the week...many of the people who attend that don't go to church on Sunday...So..that is my corps..hehe..Our corps has soo many programs.. I guess I have kinda taken them for granted....Anyway, hope you have a good day!
GOd Bless,
Allison
In the grand city of Albany, NY, our "night church" is at 2:30 PM. However, with all that the members do during the week, we are pondering on using that time for many of the workshops that we would like to do for our leaders, and those who are being drafted for leadership. Our salvation meeting happens on Sunday at 11:00 am. So, we are continuing to explore and ponder what He wants to reach His people, and not burn the faithful out on purpose. Thanks for this post>
Shalom!
When I arrived at my first appointment, they were planning an "Alternative Worship Service" on Saturday nights. It's designed more like a coffee house than a meeting. It has yet to actually get off the ground but there is a lot of support in the community for it from area pastors, etc. so I see it happening in the not too distant future. It'll be on a Saturday evening, here at the corps, in the chapel in fact. We're going to move out all the chairs and set up tables, etc like you would see at a coffee house. There will be the "house band" which is a band that Capt plays in (and I may join as a singer for only the Sat evening stuff), and there is music, worship, fellowship, and someone will bring God's word. It's very relaxed, free, and I'm quite excited. There are two things needed Sunday evening Salvation meetings to work and thrive-- 1) people with a passion to do them. Sometimes I think we all want to be at home with families and friends on Sunday night so we are only half-heartedly there. We need a passion and a heart for the meetings we do, including Sunday night meetings. 2) We need people in our communities to be open to it. If you live in a community that isn't open to a Sunday night meeting, then all the passion by the CO/soldiers isn't going to do a thing. Find a night that works for your community and more importantly a style or a format that works. Maybe traditional sit in the pew, sing a song, take an offering, and preach for 45 minutes isn't going to work. The bottom line is know- your own heart, know your community, and then perfect the art of trial and error. [Sorry that turned out to be really long...]
I am not sure that meeting equals outreach equals evangelism. I am also not so sure that having two Sunday meetings is a paradigm that necessarily fits today. I happen to believe we live in a Post-Seeker Sensitive World. Simply put I am not sure we need to design a new meeting for "outreach" Outreach is building relationships through things like social action by the soldiers and getting involved with the lives of people. We are in a day I believe when we can be unapologetic about who we are. If people come to worship whatever time it is, they are not looking necessarily for a different outreach experience, they are looking to feel the presence of God. Sadly, I believe that it is not that we need an extra meeting, maybe our existing ones need to really be ones where people experience the presence of God. I think it has little to do with style, but much to do with substance and pressing in after the Spirit.
I do find it interesting that it seems that "all the good names are taken" goes to another worship gathering in the evening because he or she is active in another corps in the morning. I wonder, if the presence of God is there in the morning? Or does "all the good names" attend out of a sense of duty? I am not trying to be critical of anyone, just critically thinking about what is church and what is worship.
I wonder when the last time was many of us built relationship with those asking for help or the marginalized of our corps? To me that is outreach. I wonder if anyone else thinks that evangelism is in this age more a process than a crisis and a tract?
You might be able to tell I have been struggling with this one recently.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
(i had to post this as anonymous b/c I couldn't remember my password- silly me :))
from "allthegoodnames"
actually, larry, with all due respect, i participate in each separate program because those places are where God has me right now. in my Sunday AM/PM corps, i'm in band, songsters, and i help with the multimedia stuff. in my Sunday PM corps, I run multimedia, and help out however needed. it's not due to a lack of anything in one meeting or the other, but simply coming together with two groups with different makeups, to worship in different ways. the Sunday AM/PM corps i soldier at is my home corps (and has been for almost 19 years now) and God has me involved in some great ministries there, and it is a more "traditional" corps and meeting. the Sunday PM corps i participate in is geared to the young adult crowd, although all are welcome, and is a bit more "free" in how they worship (not as structured as far as time given to worship through song as opposed to teaching, etc.)(plus, i've been a part of it from their first meeting in 1999...in fact, i still have my t-shirt somewhere - i think :-))
p.s. both meetings meet in the same corps building
Dear "all the good names",
Please understand that I was not being critical of you or questioning your motivation as an individual. I was, however, anxious to understand the reasoning behind your participation in two different venues. My experience with many has been that they go to the first meeting out of a sense of duty. They feel little or no freedom in worship or more freedom in the second meeting.
My question is why that happens? Shouldn't freedom be a hallmark of every SA worship gathering? Our roots would say so. Why is it you feel more freedom at the night meeting? Is it strictly style or substance?
Again, I am not being critical, just trying to investigate. By the way, I think I have a T-shirt too.
My struggle
Larry, sorry if I came across as thinking you were being critical...personally, I think there are, or can be, different levels of freedom..kind of a "don't let the exercise of your faith be a stumbling block" thing...the first meeting I go to is a traditional SA holiness meeting, with a couple songs, some praise and worship a sermon and a closing song, with some prayer time in there too...even in that structure, there is freedom to a degree, but to impose a different style of worship on the older adults and "traditionalists" in that meeting wouldn't be fair, IMHO...both meetings are great in their own ways, and I get "fed" from each, just in different ways.....
Blessings!
ATGN
Gtreat stuff...very impotant subject.
We need to work this out locally, in Christ.
"Church" isn't a place or a meeting, it's the people who love Jesus and I'm a part of it! So are many (all?) of us commenting. And I'm glad to know you, because you're related by blood!
"Church" isn't about following any special kind of format, it's about fellowship and meeting each other's needs; actually being the family we claim to be in Jesus. That means making sure I'm a part of your life more than just on Sundays.
I must admit I don't relate very often to too many people I see in my church during the week. I'm not happy about that, so I'm trying to change. It's hard work. But I'm committed (my brother says I should be committed!) to getting better at that.
I wonder- if we did more regular connecting with our Christian family, would we actually be accomplishing more (spiritually) than just sitting next to them one day a week?
I'd like to think so anyway.
You're both so right. I'm inspired.
this is kind of late... but i'm just catching up on mr. knaggs blog. one thing that i am facing in nashville right now is the need to create programs for people, not people for programs. i don't think it's in the interest of christ to maintain salvation meetings simply because we feel obligated to do so because of our identity or history. if there is a need, let's meet it; whether that means having a sunday night service, a midweek service, or "celled" bible studies.
am missing the east! love you all.
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