The second service - how's it going?

"How is the second service going?" is a question I am now regularly asked.

We now have a core group of people attending the service which is good to see. The group is still relatively small. Today we had about 45 present which was great. There are still quite a number of folk from the main congregation who are dropping in to see what it is like. The size of the second service means that we can do some things which are more difficult in the main service. I'm looking forward to the communion at the second service next week. I hope to introduce one or two elements to the communion service which will be easier to do in a smaller setting. In general terms, we want to be a bit bolder in a variety of ways at the second service, and we hope to try a variety of different things over the coming months. The whole set up still feels quite unfamiliar, and I think it is only by running it for a much longer period of time, that we will get a clearer picture of the answer to the question - "How's it going?"

On a practical note, we are still struggling with the lack of a regular person to lead the worship at the second service. It was our hope that we might have someone to lead, who had a commitment to being involved in the development of this service. We're still praying and planning in this direction, and waiting for God's answer. I was reminding myself last week, that its only a matter of about 9 years since we didn't have a single person who was able to regularly lead worship at the main service. We prayed about that, and look where we are now with so many different bands and musicians. I'm sure God has plans too for the second service. As always, I find it very difficult to wait and to be patient for his time.