But Sunday mornings are now just too crowded. We knew this years ago of course, and it was one of the reasons we started a third service, simultaneous with our Sunday School hour. Both the early service and the new contemporary service will likely continue to grow, with most of the growth occurring in the contemporary service. But it won't grow enough to solve the 11 AM crunch time. We have to decentralize from Sunday morning.
Tradition is the only real reason for meeting at that particular time of the week.
Slowly but surely, we can begin other worship services, on Saturday night, midweek on Wednesday, or perhaps Friday night. Already, our high schoolers have their own service on Sunday night, which does quite well in attendance and spirit. Such aggressive growth requires aggressive plans - we need to continue to empower the laity and reaffirm what we have done well in the past. The next 15 to 20 years could very realistically provide all of the necessary funds for the growth by using the very funds the growth generates. A peek at the future is also possible in human stories, not just in facts and projections.