Three Services FAQ

Why add a third service?
Simply put: The reason that we are adding a third service is because there isn’t any room left in either the auditorium or the children and student classrooms. For eleven years we’ve prayed that God would bring the people he wants to The Crossing and he’s been answering that prayer by bringing more and more people each Sunday. For the past several months we’ve used the rooms at the back of the auditorium for “overflow” seating. These seats are less than an ideal way to attend church and having an “overflow” room keeps us from having Adult Connections Classes.  Running out of space has brought us to a new crossroads. We must either figure out new ways to accommodate growth or we have to stop letting new people come.

Of course, the latter is not really an option for us. We follow a Savior who said he came to seek and save lost people. Since that’s his mission, it must be ours too. By adding a third service we hope that we will have the necessary space (both in the auditorium and in Crossing Kids) so that new people will have an enjoyable first visit and will want to return and eventually become part of The Crossing. That’s why this is the right time for us to transition to a third service.

What are the new service times and when will we switch to those times?
8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. beginning August 21, 2011.

Why add a morning service and not an evening service?
Our current space limitations are mostly felt in our auditorium and our children’s ministry. So the new third service needs to open up significant space in both the auditorium and children’s ministry so that more and more people can come and visit the church. In order for an evening service to accomplish that goal, people (including families with kids in preschool and elementary school) would have to stop coming on Sunday morning and start coming consistently to an evening service each week. In other words, because of our children’s ministry space limitations, a new family would need to be just as attracted to bring their kids to the third service as to the other two times. We don’t think that enough people (and especially families) would be attracted to an evening service to significantly alleviate our Sunday morning space issues. 

If our only space limitation was the auditorium, then an evening service could be a more attractive option. But that’s not our situation at The Crossing. We also need to free up children’s ministry space with our third service.

In addition, for an evening service to work, we must find enough volunteers to staff all the ministry positions related to the worship service. That means we’d have to find approximately 300 people who would come to the evening service, not to worship, but only to serve. In order to go to the worship service, those people would also have to go on Sunday morning. That seems like a lot to ask.

Why are you asking me to consider going to the first or third service?
In order for this third service to really work and create the necessary space for new people to visit, we must spread out as evenly as possible over the three services. In the past, we’ve noticed that a lot of new people, and especially new families, are attracted to the middle service (9:30). So we are asking those who call The Crossing their church home to consider committing to attending the first or third service. We know that this won’t work for everyone and that’s okay.
Why are you asking me to commit to serving on a Sunday morning team twice a month?
Currently, it takes 600 volunteers serving twice a month to operate our Sunday morning ministries at The Crossing. So when we add a third service in August, we are going to have to add another 300 or so volunteers to our Sunday morning teams. There are many places to help including Crossing Kids, parking, greeting, hospitality, café, etc… If you don’t currently serve on Sunday morning, please consider helping out twice a month for the next year. We can’t reach out to more people without your help.

During which services will Crossing Kids be offered for infant – 5th grade kids?
All three services
During which service will 6th – 12th grade classes meet?
9:30 a.m.

During which services will there be Connections Classes for adults?
9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. These will be different classes during each hour, not a repeat of the same classes during both hours.

Will you serve a light breakfast before the 8:00 a.m. service?
Yes, we want to make it easier for you and your family to get out the door and to church on time for the early service. So to help you do that, for at least the fall we will stock the donut table with fruit, yogurt, juice and a wider variety of pastries. Just another example of that old adage—“The early bird gets the worm,” …or in this case, the better worms.
Why are we talking about worms?
Are we?