Over the past couple of years we’ve floated the idea of a morning service a number of times in a number of different forms. We considered a morning service in Kelvin Grove, Southbank, New Farm and most recently partnering with St Paul’s in Spring Hill. For various reasons these didn’t eventuate or we didn’t feel the time was right.
With some big upcoming changes, and where Village is at, the staff and elders have become convinced that the starting of a morning service in the near future is something that needs serious consideration. So we’re going to have an informal congregational meeting after church on 12 July to outline the proposal, answer your questions, then ask you to think and pray about it. We’ll get back together two weeks after that (26 July) to vote on whether we move forward.
The idea of a morning service is neither new nor radical, but because of other circumstances we’re looking to move quickly. To help you think it through, here’s the thinking of the leadership. If you’ve got other questions, feel free to email us, or come along to the meeting on 12 July.
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[ut_toggle title=”Why now?”]
We realise that a morning service has been needed for a while now, but for various reasons hasn’t happened. With Derek leaving at the end of this year, if it doesn’t happen now, it won’t happen until mid 2016, which may be too late for some. So having weighed up the pros and cons, getting the feel that there are a number who would be keen to go to a morning service, and confident that the evening service would continue strongly, we feel that now is a good time to start it up.
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[ut_toggle title=”Where will it be and what will it look like?”]
At the start, the morning service will be a mirror image of our current evening service, just at a different time. Same location (N Block), same format, same talk, same kids program – just at a different time, with 9:30am being proposed.
So Village morning will have the same mission to our friends, family and the local Kelvin Grove community, continuing to build on the hard work and foundation VC has laid for the Gospel over the past 6 years.
The hope is that we can set up the gear in the morning, leave it set up for the day, then pack it up in the evening.
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[ut_toggle title=”Who will / can go?”]
That’s entirely up to you. It’s not a service for families. Just as our evening service isn’t for young adults. It’s for anyone who is keen on growing followers of Jesus and whom 9:30 works for.
So while it might be that some families go to 9:30am because it’s more convenient for them, we know as well there will be other others who are married without kids, or single, who 9:30am works better for them.
While like attracts like, VC has always been a place where we’ve strived to embrace & encourage diversity, because we’re convinced that the expression of unity in diversity together brings about maturity in Christ. So if you’re keen on going, it doesn’t matter your circumstances, you’re welcome to go!
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[ut_toggle title=”What will be the interaction between the two services?”]
Close. That’s the hope. We’ll meet in the same place, have the same mission, in the same area. So one of the benefits we hope we’ll see from this will be that we grow in different demographics, so we can see cross-generational discipleship, wisdom sharing and encouragement.
So we’ll work together to reach & serve our friends, family & Kelvin Grove so that they can see and come to know Jesus.
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[ut_toggle title=”Are all the VC leadership onboard?”]
Absolutely. Otherwise it wouldn’t be coming to you. We’ve kicked this around in depth, have weighed up the risks and the opportunity and so are bringing it before you (VC) to see whether you agree and want to walk down this path with us.
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[ut_toggle title=”How will it work with current staff?”]
The current VC staff have spoken about this, and are all really keen. We’re still working out the finer details, but it’s safe to say that you’ll see all the full-time staff (Derek, Mitch, Bridget, Nat) at all the services while we get things up and going. Because Emma & Lauren are part-time, we’ll be talking to them about what they can manage.
But in short, whichever service you choose to attend we’ll be there.
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[ut_toggle title=”How does this affect our search for a new VC Pastor?”]
A little, but not a huge amount.
In some ways it grows what we’re asking them to do from the moment they walk in – oversee two services and the team along with that. But the idea was always to head towards a morning service, so it just moves the timeline up for when they need to do this.
So we’re tweaking the job description to reflect this. But we think for the person we’re looking for, we would be hoping they’d have had the skills / experience to do this anyway.
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[ut_toggle title=”How much more financially will this cost?”]
That’s a good question, and one which we’re working on some exact figures. There might be some increased incidentals associated with another service (i.e. more photocopying, kids material etc.), but the real cost is going to be in extended lecture theatre & room rent. This won’t be double the cost though, as we are effectively just extending our rental period (it just happens to be split by a few hours in the day) and the way billing works for rooms is that you book it for 4 hours (which we already do) and then it’s a lesser amount for each hour after that. A rough guesstimate is a between $100-200/week, but we won’t know for sure until we book.
To balance this out, we should also consider the fact that if a morning service grows, financial giving to support that service will grow with it to offset this growth. That’s not guaranteed, but that’s how it’s always worked with Village in the past, so it’s not unprecedented. It’s a step out in faith, but it’s certainly not blind.
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