This is part of a series of interviews with pastors of churches whose attendance has grown 20% or more in 5 years. We hope this series will be a resource of ideas to help increase worship attendance at your church.
Creating a Growing Dynamic Worship Service

By Rev. Dr. Derrick R. Rhodes

My District Superintendent invited me to a meeting recently. Although she explained why she wanted me present, I was still not clear, after I arrived at the meeting and heard what was being said, why I was invited to the meeting. Finally, one of the staff members of Connectional Ministries said “Derrick, your church has grown in worship attendance in a geographical area where the population is decreasing—and we want to know why.”

Since that time, The Foundation for Evangelism has asked me that same question. Enough of the questions already. Here is how we are doing it:

• One of the reasons Kelley Chapel United Methodist church worship service is growing is that we have created an uplifting worship service. We cheer, have fun, and do the wave at the football game and the basketball games; why can’t we have this same energy in the church? Why does the church have to have a sad funeral service atmosphere? Christ is alive not dead. We serve a risen Savior. A Savior who was beaten and battered and spit on and crucified but rose on the third day and cried out “where Oh death is your sting….”  With a Savior like this, parts of our worship service ought to resemble a football or basketball game:  shouts and cheers of joy!

• Another reason Kelley Chapel United Methodist church worship service is growing is that we involved every age group in our service. At Kelley Chapel, we have a Sunday dedicated to our children and youth, and young adults. In each of these services, the children and youth, and young adults lead the worship. They are responsible for leading the songs, ushering, leading the Affirmation of Faith, collecting the offering, and greeting the visitors at the door and during our special welcome of visitors during the worship service.

On the other Sundays, it is a blended service—everyone participates. Our adults, senior adults, and ministers lead the worship service. The children and youth, and young adults mime and dance. Sunday morning is praise and worship with every instrument that we have and in every way available to us.

• Another reason our worship service is growing is that we realize that music plays a major role in creating a dramatic growing worship service. Hip Hop, Anthems, Spirituals, Gospel, etc, you will hear it all on any given Sunday at Kelley Chapel. This works because our members are very tolerant of each others music traditions and culture. They don’t have the attitude “it is either our music or there won’t be any music at all.”

• I believe everything else that I have mentioned would fail if the sermon is not strong in the area of teaching. People want to be taught the Word of God. They want to know what the Bible says and how to apply it to their daily lives. People don’t want surface messages, messages empty of content and power. They want the preacher to help them dig deeper into the Word of God. In other words, it is not enough these days to say love your neighbor. People want to know what this looks like in the 21^st century. I use every sermon I preach to teach and illustrate how the message is to be lived out in my member’s homes, jobs, etc. Every Sunday, I want my members to leave the church empowered to do all things through Christ because they have learned how.

Many times pastors stunt the creativity of their members because the pastors plan everything themselves, or they get in the way of the planning process of others. Pastors do you want your worship service to grow? The bottom-line is this:  if you want your worship service to grow, then create an inspiring worship service, involve all members in the service, praise God in a variety ways: dance, mime, instruments. In addition, sing songs that wake people up and not put them to sleep, share your vision of the kind of worship service you want and the kind of ministries you want to offer to the community. Then, get out of the way and let your members be innovative and plan for the whole body to worship and praise God.

Rev. Dr. Derrick R. Rhodes -  dzr8649derrick@bellsouth.net

Church website – http://www.kelleychapelumc.net