1. Arrow Direction.  Our church is almost ten years old.  This is the point in the life cycle of any church where a monumental decision is made.  Even if the core question is never considered a direction is decided upon.  The choice is this:  which way will our arrows point?  It would be very easy to take a quick survey of where we are as a church and say "good enough".  If we do that all the arrows will point in.  We will develop a massive list of programs that will serve nothing else then to try to meet every single need any one person might require.  A church that holds true to its mission (reaching those who do not know Christ) the arrows always face out.  Do we care for one another?  You bet!  However our focus cannot be inward it must be outward.  (see Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Luke 15)
2. Comfortable Satisfaction.  It would be very easy to fall into an innocuous rhythm of simply attending for an hour on Sunday.  There are enough people here to blend in with and never go beyond a corporate experience.  Ephesians 4 tells us (among several other NT passages) that we are gifted to serve the body of Christ.  Serving is doing not just attending (Ephesians 4, Romans 12, I Corinthians 11).
3. Saturation.  As I have done research on growing churches (which we are, praise God!) I have found a common denominator, that when seating capacity reaches 70% new growth is impossible.  We have exactly 150 nice chairs in our auditorium with some other ones stuffed in here and there.  Since the end of August, 2007 we have averaged 150 people in the auditorium alone!  Four weeks ago saw 241 people join us for worship on Sunday.  In short, that kind of attendance is unsustainable.  If someone is brave and/or vulnerable enough to visit any given Sunday and have to fight for a seat they won't come back.  We have been operating at the saturation point for a few months now.  If we continue on this way we we will cease to grow and become one of the 85% of churches that are plateaued or in decline.

What do we do?

We are planning to take a giant step.  It will be a test of leadership and faith.  The step is to begin a second worship service.  Starting Sunday March 2, 2008 New Life Baptist Church will be offering two worship services on Sunday mornings.  Big step?  Huge step!

People who don't know Christ matter to Him.  There are 76,000 people in Scranton.  It would take years for every single person to hear the Gospel if they waited to take their turn going to one of the churches in the city that teaches freedom in and through Christ! 

With a decision of this magnitude there are some questions that would naturally be raised.  I will address a few.

Why?
The time has come to take a risk for the cause of Jesus Christ, His name, and mission.  Nothing focuses the energy and attention of people more than a project greater than any single one of us.  The pastoral team and I simply believe we must.  We must because God is directing us to do so.  We are at that crucial point in our journey where decisions must be made about which direction the arrows will face.

How?
We will have two identical services at 9:00 and 11:00 AM.  Nothing will be different between them.  We will always have the same teacher and worship band for each.  We will strive to never make comparisons about one being better than the other.  We will be strongly encouraging a "come one, serve one" format.  For instance if you are serving in the nursery the first hour you would stay through the fellowship time and participate in the second worship service with your family and friends. 

What ministries would be affected.
All of them!  We recognize and are sensitive to the fact that certain volunteer led ministries will need more help than others.  The food fellowship (we love our food!), nursery and Kid's Life will all need special help in making it work.

Will we be stretched too thin?
This is a risk, but it is a necessary risk.  The pastoral team will be working very closely with ministry leaders and volunteers to insure there are no vacuums.

How will I know everybody?
Research tells us that we can only know about 50 people (a generous estimate) and we can only be friends with about 10.  In a church of our size we cannot possibly know everyone.  I see people sitting by themselves on a regular basis now!  The bigger we get the smaller we must get.  It is our desire to see as many as want to be involved with small groups and ministry teams to develop Christ honoring community.

Will we become two churches?
No!  That has never been nor will it be our goal.  The fellowship time in between the services will help us stay connected.

Can we try it?
Yes!  Our plan is to take two services through the middle of May.  At that time our demographics normally change and we may need to revert to one service and then restart the second service in the Fall.  We may grow enough in that time so that we need to keep it!  Remember, there are two definitions of "try".  The first is premeditated failure.  If we say we will "try" to be somewhere or help with something we have no intention of doing it is a ready made excuse.  We say we will try meaning we are in it heart and soul.

What can we expect next?
We will be doing some very practical teaching on body life and how to serve and be connected within the church.  After the first of the year there will be another very practical series on sharing our faith.  We will be spending a great deal of time getting ready for company!

I have 3 questions...
1.  Are you willing to risk based on the potential outcomes?
2.  What can God do?
3.  Do we dare to pursue life or simply avoid death?

My prayer is that we will be one-souled in this together.  Please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the pastors with any questions you might have.