Big news, Chapel Hill!
In consultation with the Session, we’ve decided that starting Sunday, January 9, our classic worship service will be at 9:00 am and our modern worship service will be at 10:30 am (with nursery and children’s ministry at BOTH service times…yes!).
There are a few reasons we’re making this change: the first is resources. Our services require a ton of teams: worship team, welcome team, tech team, security team, and kids’ ministry team, to name a few. We can better resource two back-to-back services than three. Plus, it simplifies choices for our worshippers.
That leads me to the second reason: convenience. The primary reason people choose to go to a worship service at a certain time is convenience. We heard from people that the 8:30 am classic service was too early and the 11:30 service was too late. We want our services to be as accessible as possible!
The third reason is experience. Even with the continued growth of our in-person worship attendance, our sanctuary is large enough to accommodate increased attendance for the foreseeable future at both of our services. And the bonus is an increased excitement and energy that comes from two larger crowds, singing, praying and worshipping the Lord together. We believe it will facilitate a greater sense of community and richer experience that will encourage continued growth.
Advent is the perfect time to invite a friend to church. I notice a squad of new folks in the balcony at 10:00! Welcome! It’s so exciting to receive new friends into the Chapel Hill family. Whether it is GLOW, five Christmas Eve (and Christmas Eve Eve) services, or our regular Sunday services, the house is decorated, the warm welcomes are ready and the Holy Spirit is waiting! So, do your part and bring someone along. It might change their life!
Pastor Mark Toone
Chapel Hill Gig Harbor
P.S. — Please note that because Christmas and New Year’s Day are on Saturdays this year, we’ll have only ONE service on December 26 and January 2, at 10:00 am. We’ll run the nursery and elementary school kids’ program during the service, but families are also invited to worship together on those days.