Multiple Sunday Worship Services

Calvary has offered multiple Sunday worship services for quite some time now.  Over the last year this has consisted of an early classic style service in English, two mid-morning contemporary style services in English and one mid-day contemporary style Spanish language service.  Recently some have asked whether the two contemporary style services should be combined.  The reasons for this inquiry may be varied but they can be narrowed down to a couple of primary reasons.  Some wonder if the attendance numbers justify having two contemporary services.  They wonder if combining them would provide a greater sense of unity to a "spread out" congregation or if combining them would provide a greater sense of energy and enthusiasm in worship.  Others are hoping that this kind of change would move the classic service to a later hour.

After much thought, prayer and consideration, as lead pastor, in agreement with the rest of the pastoral staff, I have decided that we will not change the times and worship/language style for our Sunday morning worship services in the near future.  Below are the reasons for such a decision.

We must keep in mind that the reason for having multiple services is to reach as many people as possible.  We believe that when people can sense God's presence in worship, feel his love through people and hear the message of the gospel we are being faithful stewards of the gift of salvation.  For us at Calvary McAllen, that means we need to provide at least three things in regard to our worship services:  (1) worship style preference; (2) language preference (English and Spanish); and (3) space for growth.  That is why we provide a classic style service in English which combines hymns and contemporary songs with a choir and an orchestra, contemporary style services in English which use mostly contemporary songs with a praise band, and a contemporary style service in Spanish which uses a latin-flavored praise band.

The early service has had an attendance of around 200 for several years and it continues to have that.  The 9:45 am service has fluctuated around 300 for the last couple of years and is currently averaging below that level.  The 11:15 am service has had between 200 and 250 over the last couple of years and that trend remains today.  The Spanish service has gone from having under 100 in average attendance two years ago to having about an average of 140 last year.  It is averaging more recently around 240.

It is readily apparent that our Spanish service is the fastest growing service and that the current time allotted is working well.  If it continues to grow at that rate, at some point in the future, we may need to consider multiple Spanish services and/or a change in the service times.  However, for now, it is working well and we will continue to leave it as is.

The contemporary services have a combined attendance that is usually below 500.  However, in the present calendar year, there have been five Sundays where the combined attendance reached close to 600.  Since the seating capacity for our worship center is about 650, including the balcony, this represents a combined attendance of almost 90%.  In other words, if we were to combine both contemporary services and have more Sundays like those five, we would not leave enough room for growth.  The population growth in Hidalgo County is projected to be at almost 14% over the next five years, which is almost triple that of the national projected growth.  We need to make room for the people that God wants us to reach with his love and his message.  We need to pray and be about sharing the gospel so that the Lord will bring the harvest he has in store for us.

According to recent demographic studies, the largest age group segment in our area is that of ages 9 through 28 consisting of 33% of the total population compared to a national average of 28%.  We are a younger county than most of the nation in terms of population age.  This means that we are going to be effective in reaching those in our county, we need to provide services that are relevant to youth & young adults (and their children).  Of course, we desire to be a church for all people of all ages.  It is important that we minister to median and senior adults also.

Although there are always exceptions, generally the classic style of worship is preferred by older adults and generally they prefer early hour services.  In the same way, in spite of notable exceptions, we assume that generally the contemporary style of worship is preferred by younger and median adults and that they generally prefer later hour services.

For these reasons, we feel like the current provision of an 8:15 am classic service in English,  9:45 am and 11:15 am contemporary services in English and a 12:45 pm service in Spanish are the best way to provide for our current congregation and for the population that we are trying to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What remains now is to pray and witness so that we can see the harvest of people that we want God to send to us.