Easter is just days away, and – with churches starting to refill as Covid winds down – there may actually be crowds in 2021! Two quick and hopefully helpful tips [one Covid specific, and one for any busy time of the year]:
1. Provide a social distancing option – If you know that services on Easter Sunday are going to be packed, consider a Saturday service that will allow those not yet comfortable with crowds to spread out. It won’t provide “critical mass,” but it will give an option with a sense of more safety for those desiring it;
2. Don’t allow seat saving – This should be a rule any time of the year. I don’t mean a family saving a seat for dad while he parks, or for mom as she checks in the kids. I mean the wholesale blocking off of chunks of seats [or even entire rows] in the hopes that friends or family may show up. This especially gets annoying when the whole room is full as the service is starting – families and guests who have been waiting are not able to sit together while large groups of seats sit unoccupied [I sadly saw two families nearly come to blows over saved seats one Christmas Eve…].
It’s going to be awhile until things are back to normal, but giving options and providing for guests with compassion and clarity can help this Easter at church to be a great experience!
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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