ADVANCE COPY

HERE IS AN ADVANCE COPY OF A WORSHIP SURVEY WE’LL BE DISTRIBUTING ON SUNDAY. (Hope it comes through okay.) THE SURVEY PERIOD WILL RUN THROUGH MID-OCTOBER AND WILL INCLUDE AN ON-LINE RESPONSE OPTION.

WORSHIP SURVEY
St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church
October 2007

In the Gallup Organization Membership Engagement Survey, Item #17 reads, “As a member of my church, my opinions seem to count.” We are soliciting your opinion to help us make important decisions about the worship life of our congregation.

The current St. Andrew’s worship schedule evolved around the limitations of worshiping in the Family Life Center. We presently offer three Sunday Morning worship services. The 8:00 service is marketed as “traditional,” including material from the United Methodist Hymnal. 9:15 & 10:45 are “contemporary,” featuring praise songs with a full band. On a given Sunday, St. Andrew’s will average about 800 people in worship: approximately 75 persons at 8:00, 475 at 9:15, and 250 at 10:45. The same sermon is preached at each of the three services. All three services are held in our 900 seat sanctuary.

The Mission of St. Andrew’s is Sharing The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Among our strategies is “Heart-Warming Worship.” We have been asking ourselves: How can we share the heart-warming gospel of Christ most effectively with the most people? We have been intrigued by the possibility of offering an early-Saturday Evening service. The explosion of youth sports into Sunday Morning makes Saturday Evening a potentially attractive option. The strong Roman Catholic influence in Omaha is another factor favoring a worship service on Saturday, as many residents of the area are already familiar with the Saturday worship option.

There is a strong consensus among our worship leadership that if we commit to a Saturday Evening service, we will offer two Sunday Morning services instead of three. The quality of our worship experience is at least as important as the quantity of services offered.

If we were to indeed reorganize our worship schedule, the logical launch date would be the first weekend of Lent, 2008.

A final note before you take pencil to the paper: This is a survey; it is not a vote. The surveys will be tabulated. The pastors, staff and Administrative Council will review the results and make decisions based upon an interpretation of those results. The decisions will then be clearly communicated to the congregation. If there is not a strong case to be made for changing what we’re doing now, we’ll stick with what we’re doing now. Your response to this survey will help us make informed decisions. Please return this to the church office by October 15.

WORSHIP SURVEY


1) Service You Regularly Attend:
8:00AM 9:15AM 10:45AM It Varies

2) Your age:
13-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-older

3) How long have you been attending St. Andrew’s?
<6>10 Years

4) Do you have children currently attending Sunday School? If YES, circle all groups that apply:
Infant Pre-School Elementary Youth

5) How frequently do you attend worship at St. Andrew’s:
a) I am here most Sundays of the year.
b) I am here more than half the Sundays of the year
c) I am here fewer than half the Sundays of the year
d) I rarely attend.
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6) If a 5:00 Saturday Evening Worship Service was offered, modeled after our current 9:15 & 10:45 services, including a band, how often would you participate?

a) Regular attender at the Saturday service.
b) Regular attender at the Saturday service w/ exception of football
conflicts.
c) Attend when I can’t be here on Sunday Morning.
d) Never Attend.

7) Would you consider being a pioneer for the 5:00 Saturday service, with a six month commitment of regular attendance?
Yes No

8) In his influential book, “The Emerging Church,” Dan Kimball writes that a new generation of believers is being drawn to “vintage”/traditional expressions of the faith. Kimball posits that what was “contemporary” a decade ago is quickly becoming dated. St. Andrew’s has been moving in the direction of more “blended” services, fusing the praise sounds we do so well at 9:15 and 10:45 with more traditional hymnody (Holy, Holy, Holy/Standing On The Promises) set to gospel beats. What’s your position on “blending?”
Opposed Enthusiastic
1 2 3 4 5

9) Which of the following best represents your personal preference in church music?

a) Praise songs of the variety currently featured at 9:15 & 10:45
b) Traditional hymns from the United Methodist Hymnal
c) A blend of praise, traditional, gospel, classical and other expressions as may fit the theme of a given morning

10) Rate the following worship service options:

a) Have a Saturday Evening service with two services on Sunday Morning.
Opposed Enthusiastic
1 2 3 4 5
b) We don’t need a Saturday Evening service, but it makes sense to go to two
services on Sunday Morning.
Opposed Enthusiastic
1 2 3 4 5
c) Make no changes to the worship schedule. Retain the current Sunday Morning
schedule. We don’t need a Saturday Evening service.
Opposed Enthusiastic
1 2 3 4 5

11) Rate the following Saturday/Sunday Worship Service options (assume a solid child care/Church School program would be available for each service.)

A) 5:00 Saturday Evening (with praise band)
8:30 Sunday Morning (w/piano & organ)
10:00 Sunday Morning (with praise band)
Opposed Enthusiastic
1 2 3 4 5

B) 5:00 Saturday Evening (with praise band)
9:00 Sunday Morning (w/band)
10:30 Sunday Morning (w/band)
Opposed Enthusiastic
1 2 3 4 5



We invite your comments on any of the above, to help us understand your thinking:


Your name (optional, but helpful, particularly if you answered YES to #7)