Two Services FAQ
Why two services?
The most direct answer is because God has many people in Oshkosh that he wants to bring to himself through RiverValley Church. We want to make room in our hearts and in our Sunday morning services for them as future brothers and sisters in Christ. (Acts 18:10 God had people in Corinth; John 4:23 worship was key in connecting people to God as seen with the woman at the well; 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 in our worship as believers, the unbeliever can see God among us and want to worship him too).
What times are the services?
Both services will be 75 minutes with one starting at 9:00am and the other at 10:45am.
When will KidsConnection, Adult Connection, and Café happen?
We have a spread sheet that shows the coordination between the main Sunday ministries with their times (titles Two Services Spreadsheet). KidsConnection will run 9-10:15am with parents picking up their children by 10:25am. Junior Church will run from 11:15am until noon with parents picking up their children by 12:10pm. Adult Connection will be 9-10:15am. Café will be open 9:30am to 11:30am.
What Sunday do we start?
Our first Sunday of two services will be September 19, 2010 when we have our “Kick Off” Sunday.
For how long will we do two services?
We are committed to this step of faith for the coming school year so that enough time is given for sustained growth. We will begin our single summer service on memorial day Sunday and continue with one service through Labor Day Sunday when (if we determine to resume two) would begin the Sunday after Labor Day.
Who do I contact with ideas and concerns about two services?
Fill out the Suggestions and Questions form. Each Monday we will email you the best answer we can provide as there will likely be things we will not know until we do two services. All our staff and elders would also gladly help answer your questions in person, which you can call to church office and request to meet with them. At our “How To…” booth we have materials that might help answer your questions.
Why not keep one service and simply increase our seating capacity?
Though at first this might seem an easier and more efficient solution to increased attendance, it only postpones addressing our need. According to church growth experts there are ceilings to attendance that unless removed a church will not sustain growth beyond them. When a room and/or parking reaches its 80% capacity (which is 175-185 in our worship area) attendance drops below to a more comfortable feel. This past school year we had six Sunday over 200 but could not sustain that capacity and dropped below. So by adding more seats we do not address our present 200-attendance plateau.
How do we handle our limited parking with more cars from two services?
This will be a great towel-over-the-arm opportunity for our members and regular attendees who are able at Sunday worship and celebration to park in the Oshkosh museum’s two lots. This way the church lot and on street parking will be more accessible to new comers to RVC.
Where are the new people going to come from?
As Paul in Corinth learned from God that people were already in the city for whom God would bring to Himself so God has people already in Oshkosh and beyond that He wants bring to Himself (Acts 18:1-17).
This also gives us the opportunity to ask God to show each of us one person He would have us bring to church in the next school year. If we each brought one soul to church, we would grow from 180 to 360 adults in less than a year. In a city of 65,000 souls, I believe God already has those He wants to bring into his family through us.
How to we keep a family feel with different worship times?
When going to more than one service the greatest fear people have is that we will loose our present family feel.
On the suface we could worry that such a loss would happen but such a fear seems unfounded when we think how in our own families we celebrate the addition of a new son-in-law or daughter-in-law through marriage and even greater joy when children are added through birth or adoption.
How much more our joy at God adding to our spiritual family new brothers and sisters in Christ! (Read Luke 15 to see how excited God and all of heaven gets when souls are added to the kingdom.)
To help keep our family feel we will have our Café for fellowship on Sundays and be even more intentional in connecting people into more intimate community with our varied small groups during the week.
Can we financially sustain two services?
Yes. For the coming year by increasing our Communication Director’s, Crystal Sachau’s, weekly hours from 15 to 30 hours for added staffing support in children’s ministry and volunteerism, we have made a reasonable faith-step financially. Often, a four to six month financial increase follows an attendance increase. We will trust such giving will be sooner as we grow numerically.
Who made this decision and how was it made?
The elders made the decision. After prayer, fasting, and evaluation of our needs as a local body of believers, we trust that our decision is in response to what Jesus desires for us. We do not make such a decision lightly knowing that God’s will for his church are what matter ahead of any plans we may attempt. As we step forward in faith our hearts match what James wrote, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15).
What happens if this does not work? Then what?
We are committed to this step of faith for the coming school year so that enough time is given for sustained growth. We expect there will be ups and downs in attendance from one Sunday to the next. If this were not the case, then we would make a decision to return to our present worship time before Memorial Day weekend.
How can I help?
Great question! The best way you can help is to make the most of this opportunity for reaching out to family and friends you know for whom church and God are not part of their weekly experience. Invite them to RiverValley.
Next, you can help build an expectant and gracious spirit at church as we take this faith-step this fall. There will be some bumps and bruises as we make our way in somewhat unfamiliar territory. When you see someone or someway you can help, take the initiative.
One of the greatest ways to help is by offering a friendly smile as you reach out to that new person and say, “Hi. I’m glad you’re here. How are you this morning?”
For the first eight weeks, we will need an “all-hands-on-deck” approach by our members in their faithfully coming to church every Sunday. We also might need them to switch initially their preferred service time to help establish a steady attendance pattern, and then return to their preference.
