Seekers' Service/Believers' Worship Description

The seekers' service is a form of evangelism more than a form of actual worship. The model has been developed at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and has spread across the United States, particularly among newer churches.

Normally, Sunday morning is reserved for a nonthreatening presentation of the gospel through Christian entertainment, a public witness of faith, and a sermon on a real-life issue that reflects a Christian point of view. Believers bring their unchurched friends to this service as a way of introducing them to the Christian faith and community. Believers' worship is conducted during the week. This service consists mainly of singing (praise-and-worship style) plus instruction and a monthly celebration of the Lord's Supper. Believers are organized into small groups for prayer, Bible study, fellowship, ministry, and service and usually meet in these groups weekly. Service for Seekers: An Analysis Leaders involved in the ministry at Willow Creek Community Church believe that it is not possible to evangelize, edify, and worship within the confines of one service and minister effectively to those who have needs in each of these areas. Seekers, the recipients of the evangelistic message, have needs that differ vastly from those of believers. It is difficult for a seeker to relate to the terminology, customs, and routines that are often part of a service that incorporates worship and teaching designed to minister to the believer. Willow Creek Community Church strives to reach these individuals by providing a service that is designed specifically to meet their needs. Market Research and Analysis. The service for seekers was developed from the results of a community survey taken by leaders of the church prior to the establishment of the church in 1975. Members of the community were asked one question: "Do you actively attend a local church?" If the response was yes, those conducting the survey thanked them for their time and left. If the answer was no, they asked them why. The survey results strongly indicated that individuals with no interest in church attendance had five basic reasons for their indifference. 1. Churches are always asking for money (yet nothing significant seems to be happening through the use of the money). 2. Church services are boring and lifeless. 3. Church services are predictable and repetitive. 4. Sermons are irrelevant to daily life as it is lived in the real world. 5. The pastor makes people feel guilty and ignorant, so they leave church feeling worse than when they entered the doors. If a church for unchurched individuals was to be developed, it was important that the obstacles hindering their attendance be identified and removed. For this reason the church leaders took the results of the survey seriously when they began designing a church service for those who had given up on the church ever holding any significance in their life. These leaders also believed that it was important to identify a target audience. Knowing who they wanted to reach allowed them to focus their efforts and energies. It was not enough just to state that the target audience was the unchurched individual, but rather to become more specific and narrow down the target audience. Professional men between the ages of twenty-five and fifty are the target audience for the Willow Creek Community Church service for seekers. The community surrounding the church encompasses many individuals who are employed in professional positions. All age groups are represented at Willow Creek Community Church, but the service is targeted for those between the ages of twenty-five and fifty. Since men are more difficult to reach with the gospel message and are forceful in their demands upon the church, the services are designed to speak and appeal to men. Women tend to be more open, forgiving, and easier to please in church matters. Therefore, if the service for seekers reaches men, it will reach women as well. Additionally, men are traditionally the role model within the family. If the man in the household is not involved in the spiritual life of the family, the spiritual growth of the family is curtailed. Philosophical Principles. Foundational values and principles must be identified before embarking on any major endeavor. In order to know what would and would not be done in a service for seekers, it was important to discover the basic philosophical beliefs that would guide the formation of a service and the attitude toward the seeker. Willow Creek Community Church is founded on the following philosophical principles: 1. All people matter to God; therefore, they must matter to us. 2. Lost people need to be sought out and found. 3. Evangelism and edification cannot effectively be done in the same service since the needs of the churched and nonchurched individual differ greatly. 4. Respect for the spiritual journey of the seeker must be communicated, allowed for, and legitimized. 5. Seekers do not want to be embarrassed, singled out, pressured, or identified. 6. Excellence reflects the glory of God and has a positive effect on people. Strategy Identifying the obstacles and the philosophical principles allows Willow Creek Community Church to develop aggressively and thoughtfully a strategy for a service for seekers. Every aspect of the unchurched individual's experience is filtered through these principles and obstacles to determine how best to reach him or her with the message. The ingredients of a service for seekers: 1. A belief in the biblical mandate to evangelize the world, beginning with our own community. 2. The desire to never bore anyone out of the kingdom of God; therefore a commitment to being contemporary and creative. 3. A deep respect for the anonymity of the seeker. 4. An understanding of the seeker's need for time in making a decision; therefore, an emphasis on the process, not the event. 5. The recognition of the need for excellence in everything we do, especially with those things that communicate the very character and nature of God. 6. An understanding that people will desire to support the cause with their time, talents, and treasures since the cause is handled with excellence, integrity, and honesty, and leads to results. 7. Commitment to providing a relevant connection between Christianity and the seeker's daily life. Seekers who come to Willow Creek Community Church are aware of every component of the church that they encounter. Looking for anything that will discredit what they are about to experience, the unbeliever scrutinizes all aspects of the church, including the facility, the grounds, and the actual service. For this reason, staff members and volunteers at Willow Creek Community Church are dedicated to excellence. This dedication permeates all areas of ministry, from building and grounds maintenance through every aspect of the actual service. The experience that a seeker will encounter upon visiting Willow Creek Community Church is described below. The first impression of the church is given as soon as a seeker enters the grounds. Initially he will encounter policemen at the entrance to the grounds who are there to facilitate traffic control. The grounds are immaculate, the lawns are mowed, trees and flowers have been planted, and the overall appearance is pleasing to the eye. Entering the grounds, he is assisted in parking by members of the traffic control team who are easily identifiable by their bright orange uniforms. As he approaches the church he is once again assisted by a member of the traffic control team who monitors the crosswalks, stopping traffic to allow people access to the church building. Once inside the building, the seeker will find individuals who are happy to answer any questions he may have but who are careful not to overwhelm him with friendliness. Upon entering the auditorium, the seeker is handed a bulletin that contains information on activities that he as a seeker might find relevant. As he sits down in the auditorium he will find himself listening to taped music that is designed to allow him to feel comfortable since silence is unsettling for most people. Examining the auditorium he finds nothing that is offensive or even questionable. There are no crosses or other religious symbols that may distract him. The entire experience is designed to put him at ease and allow him to be receptive to the message. The seeker is surrounded by creativity and variety in every aspect of his everyday life. To capture the attention of the seeker it is imperative that all aspects of the service be interesting and contemporary. It is important to inform the seeker through music, drama, and media that leadership at Willow Creek Community Church is in touch with reality and that they know what is going on in the secular world. Components that make up the programming session of the service are described as follows: Music: The music performed is upbeat and contemporary. The seeker is invited to participate in one chorus during the service. The remaining musical selections, designed to minister to the unbeliever, are relevant to the message that will be given during the service. Musical selections may be performed by members of the vocal team, orchestra, or band. Drama: The majority of weekend services include a sketch performed by Suitcase, the Willow Creek Community Church drama team. Drama does not attempt to preach or answer questions; rather, it is used to provoke questions, provide identification with the issue, and prepare the thought process for the message. These sketches deal humorously or dramatically as well as sensitively with current issues and concerns and are relevant to the message that will be given during the service. Scripture Reading: A member of the ministry staff is responsible for the Scripture reading each week. Generally a personal story or current event corresponding with the Scripture is related, illustrating the fact that Scripture is relevant in today's culture. The Scripture reading is always relevant to the message that will be given during the service. Announcements: Announcements are given by a member of the ministry staff and are informative for the seeker as well as the regular attender. This portion of the program is not designed to give details of an upcoming church picnic or to ask for volunteers to teach Sunday school; this time is designated to welcome everyone who is in attendance and to inform those who would like additional information about the church how to obtain this information. Registration details regarding upcoming classes that may be of interest to seekers are also relayed. The announcements provide a smooth transition into the offering portion of the service. General announcements, service opportunities, and employment opportunities are given in the New Community Update, which is distributed at the midweek service. Offering: This portion of the service for seekers is presented in a very low-key style. A disclaimer is given at the beginning of the offering by the staff member who has made the announcements. The seeker is told that he is a guest and that as a guest he is not expected to participate in this portion of the service. This is designed to put the seeker at ease, and to reinforce the fact that he is welcome at Willow Creek Community Church for himself and not for his financial contribution. Message: The message or sermon is the final component in the service for seekers. The pastor giving the message strives to ensure that the message is relevant to the audience that has been targeted. Using contemporary examples to illustrate biblical principles, the message deals with current issues and problems and emphasizes the relevancy of Jesus Christ in the lives of seekers and believers today. Anonymity: An underlying belief that permeates every aspect of the service for seekers is that seekers desire anonymity. Participation for the seeker during the service is limited to singing one short chorus and greeting those sitting around him. Every other aspect of the service requires only the attention of the seeker, and it is the responsibility of the programming department to capture his attention. An altar call is not given during a seeker service because it is the belief of the key leaders within Willow Creek Community Church that seekers need time to assimilate the information that they have received prior to making a life-changing decision. Choosing not to be event-oriented, but rather process-oriented, leaders at Willow Creek Community Church recognize that it will take a seeker a period of time to come to a rational understanding of a need for Christ. It has been determined through the testimonies of those who participate in baptism that it takes an average of six to eight months for a seeker, once he has set foot in the doors of the church, to make that decision. During that process, the nonchurched person is encouraged to consider the claims of Christ, talk about them with the friend who brought him, and become involved in other activities and classes designed to assist in his search. When he is ready to acknowledge his desire to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, members of the church body are available to guide him as he embarks on his spiritual journey. Although the weekend services at Willow Creek Community Church have been designated as seeker services, the truth of the Word is such that it will help all who attend. It is recognized, however, that the believer needs an opportunity not only to receive more "meaty" teaching, but also to join in corporate worship of the God who has called each person to himself. Therefore believers are encouraged to attend the New Community service, which is held midweek. The New Community service is designed specifically to meet the edification and worship needs of the believer.