Welcome to Willow Creek
Sunday’s come around with weekly regularity, whether we are ready or not. It can be a challenge to make sure we are ready and prepared. There are 168 hours a week, we get to craft 1 maybe 2 of them into a corporate worship experience. If we miss the target, that’s it for another week. All of us want our weekend services to make an impact.
Going to church ought to be one of those “we’re different because we came” occasions. We’ve had a perception check, a heart encounter with God and others and maybe even received a challenge we can embrace, to “up our game” in our Christian walk. “Reveal” research by Willow Creek Church tells us that over 80% of people in every congregation every weekend want relevant Bible teaching to help them with everyday life and they want their experience to be challenging or thought provoking.
How will the message I am going to share today make a difference? Being clear about what you want the people to know, see, feel and do as a result of being in church will guide your planning and the implementation of your message. By message I am not just talking about the talk or the sermon. We must communicate the same message all the way through the service. Firstly raising the relevant issue, then discovering the life-changing biblical principle, and then unpacking ways we can live it out. It is the same way an advertising company, raises the perception of the audience and creates a felt need, then offers a solution. That’s why we suddenly feel thirsty after seeing a can of cold coke opened on TV! This is where the creative Arts can be a real plus – not presenting answers but raising the question.
