MEPC new service time: Sundays, 12pm

Tomorrow, MEPC going to start a new church service.

Until now, there were four (!) meetings at 10:30am: Arabic-language service, English-language sunday school, English-language youth group, and English-language church for young adults (post-high school). From tomorrow, the Arabic meeting, sunday school and youth group will be at 10am. The English service is moving to 12pm.

By moving to the new time, the English service gets access to the main church hall. Until now, we've been in the side hall, which is small, and the acoustics are hopeless. By moving to the main church hall, we double the capacity, and the main hall just has a better "feel" about it.

For years, MEPC has been trying to make its English congregation accessible to the local area, and reach out not just to people from an Arabic background, but all nations. We want this new service time to be a key step forward for that part of our mission. This new service is basically open to everyone who speaks good English. Given the majority of the congregation looks middle eastern, I expect in the short run we'll still attract second-generation, English speaking young people from the middle-east. But hopefully not just the middle-east - after all, I'm there, and if people visit they'll see me up the front. So I hope we quickly reach sub-continentals too. And I know there are some east Asians around as well - we saw a group of them last night at the kebab store.

The changed time also frees up the side hall for the youth group. They used to be relegated to this poky tin shed. They can now have the hall formerly used by the English congregation, all to themselves. That gives them a lot more space to have games and activities. And they can have their own band, and own music now.

So, this change opens a lot of opportunities. What are the costs?

12pm is a funny time. Church will only finish about 1:15, maybe 1:30pm. So people will be pretty hungry by then. Maybe that'll be a motivation for regular fellowship lunches. I hope it doesn't keep anyone away.

Many of the people who come to 12pm church will be asked to serve at 10am sunday school & youth group. And that means turning up at 9am. That's a long & exhausting morning. I hope we can keep it up. It's okay for me: I have a quiet Monday. But the rest of them have to go to school or uni or work.

Hmmm.

Anyway, let's see what God has in mind for us.

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