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October 1, 2000
Riding the Worship Express
Time-conscious church goers on board for shorter service.
The sign outside Family Bible Church near Orlando advertises "45 minutes, guaranteed!" The guarantee is working, drawing visitors and a lot of attention.
"I'm as surprised as anybody that it really works!" says Pastor Allen Speegle.
The congregation of 450 tried an early service once before, a copy of their 90-minute 10:30 a.m. service. It failed. This service, begun in March with 70 attenders, now averages 120. Speegle is pleased that more than half the worshipers are new to the church.
His newspaper ads show a shackled convict and ask "Is this your idea of church?"
"Some people aren't ready for an hour-and-a-half worship service," Speegle tells Leadership. "That's not where they're at spiritually. Religious people have the mindset that God can't work in less than an hour, but some of my deepest worship moments have been brief." The pastor says the short service whets newcomers' spiritual appetites. "Several couples who started coming to the express now attend the longer service. I hope that's a pattern."
After three songs and truncated announcements, Speegle delivers an abbreviated version of the sermon he will preach at the full-length service.
"It's made me a better preacher," he says. "I can't get off on too many trails." Response to altar calls is also better. Respondents are invited to stay afterward to talk with a counselor.
Worship Express, suggested by the church's worship leader, has proven popular among families. "Sunday is family day. We found that our later service was forcing some people to choose between family activities and church. This way, they can attend the earlier service and still have most of the day to go to the beach or ...
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