Some quick thoughts on connecting after the service… Many times, there will be someone who wants to connect with the preaching pastor after the service [that can also be true of the worship pastor]. A quick rabbit trail – I would have whoever did your welcome and/or announcements out at your info booth, if possible. It gives first timers a face that they have seen before to connect with.
In most cases, it’ll be the preacher people want to talk to. I would suggest that you have a room or space in the atrium area to do that in, for several different reasons:
You don’t have people going against the flow and causing jam ups as the congregation is heading out;
The worship and production teams and ushers are able to prepare for the next service, and the room can get a quick cleanup, if necessary;
You don’t need to hold the volume down [thereby lowering the walkout energy] for quiet conversations;
If it’s something serious, you can more easily relocate to offices or another part of the church.
There needs to be backup available for whoever is preaching if it is a serious personal issue or in-depth theological discussion. The preacher needs to preach the next service, but there are some things that can’t wait until Monday. Figure out in advance who will be the person who takes over if the preacher needs to leave a discussion mid-stream. #creativeworshipideas
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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