Your Sunday worship service is the hub for other activities at your church. It’s the main event. It’s the gathering for your entire church. It would make sense that you would want to pour the most time, energy, and money into creating this experience. It’s also the event you should spend most of your time planning. Your Sunday worship gathering is where you invite guests to, it’s where you teach, preach, and worship the most.
In creating the flow of your worship service, you are creating the experience for the people that attend. In placing elements of your service in the order you want, you determine the journey in which they go on. So, how can you make it dynamic? Exciting? Cohesive? Memorable?
Here are 3 Tips for creating a dynamic service flow:
1. Plan ahead.
I know that a lot of your planning as a church media director is reliant upon your senior pastor working ahead. When I speak to groups of pastors, this is one of the main things I challenge them on. But you can take some initiative and be proactive in planning with your senior leadership. Don’t be afraid to let them know what you need to be successful – after all, you’re all after creating an amazing experience. Be sure to plan your services far enough in advance for you to be able to prepare teaching content, produce video elements, prepare your band and musicians, go to press on printed materials, and everything else you need for a Sunday. Planning is a crucial piece of preparing for a dynamic, enaging service. The same Holy Spirit that can change your plan spontaneously on a Sunday morning is the same Holy Spirit that will guide you as you plan your services.
2. Take your audience on a journey.
From the moment someone drives into your parking lot to the moment they drive away on a Sunday, you must take them on a journey. The experience even goes outside your auditorium. During your actual service, don’t just sing a handful of random songs and preach a message where nothing really connects and it’s not cohesive. Think through how every element affects every other element in and around your service.
3. Think through transitions.
Transitions are one of the most under-planned and over looked pieces of worship services. They are key to a great service flow. Once you have your service flow or order of service in place, spend some time during the week talking through how each element of your service will transition to the next. All your key people should be included in these discussions – worship leader, pastor, welcomer, any other on-stage leaders, representatives from audio, lighting, video, and any other key people that will be responsible for the execution of your service.
I hope these 3 tips help you as you are planning your service flow and creating weekly experiences at your church.
If you?d like more insight into how you can develop dynamic experiences at your church, check out our website at twelvethirtymedia.com.
