Empty Seats at Optimal Times

Bill Hybels, Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, says one of the keys to church growth is "Empty Seats at Optimal Times". In order for new people to come to a church, the church needs enough space (chairs, parking, room in the children's area) for the new person to come. If a new person shows up and there is no room for them, they will not come back. So, if the church is full, she needs to create more space. One way of doing this is building a bigger facility. Graystone Church is in the process of designing and building our first permanent church facility on Ozora Rd which is 3 times the size of our current rented facilities. Lord willing, we will be breaking ground in the next 3-4 months.

In the meantime, we have added a 3rd service at 5:00 PM on Sundays to accommodate for our growth. Now, last Sunday, we had 130 people attend the 5:00 PM service. Well, that was awesome, but we need a 100 more people to move from the morning services to the 5:00 PM service. Sunday mornings is the "optimal time" for people to worship, so we need to create more space at those times for new people, especially in the 9:30 service. If 100 men, women, and children would transition from the 9:30 AM service to the 5:00 PM service, I honestly believe that we would reach 100 more people in the next few weeks. If there are "empty seats at optimal times" our church will continue to grow. 9:30 AM appears to be the most optimal time at Graystone Church.

So, if you are reading this blog, I want to ask you to pray about coming to the 5:00 PM service, so that we can create more space at the 9:30 and 11:00 AM services. I know that 5:00 PM may not be optimal for you, but by you making the sacrifice, we can reach more people for Jesus Christ. Also, it is Biblical to attend church worship services at night.
Plus after the 5:00 PM service, we are serving free pizza and ice cream and enjoying a great time of fellowship. And if it sounds like I am begging you to come to the 5:00 PM service, I am.