Most people who have attended the same church for more than a couple of years have likely forgotten how uncomfortable they felt the first time there, especially if they didn't have a church background to begin with. One of the more uncertain elements in any service is the order of the service. Today, I provide some practical tips to making your order of service easier for the visitor.
Many church have complicated orders of service. So complicated, in fact, that the order has to be printed in the bulletin. It might look something like this:
Welcome
Congregational Song
Congregational Song
Prayer
Responsive Reading
Offering
Special Music
Congregational Song
Prayer
Preaching
Invitation
Benediction
Congregational Song
That's pretty complicated, and for most folks rather unnecessary. One of the best things I've seen churches do is to simplify the order of service and drop some of the formality. What do I mean? Well, I'm all for having a service planned out, so everything flows smoothly, but when you break up a major segment of the worship service out of it's flow for something different, then return to it, you kill your momentum. In the example above, the prayer, responsive reading, and offering are all out of place. You can keep them, but breaking the music up like that makes for some very awkward moments in any church.
Don't believe me? Try inserting some of that in the preaching part of the service. That's right. You can't. It breaks up the flow of the message.
So, simplify your order of service. Make it easy for everyone to follow, and keep it flowing smoothly. Want to print it? Go ahead. Just be sure your 3rd grader can understand it. If they can, then you can be sure your visitors can as well, and they'll love you for it.
What are your thoughts on the order of service? Any other suggestions?
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