Purpose and Philosophy of our Sunday Night Ministry

History of the Sunday Night Service

Honestly, the very first Christian gatherings would have been in the evening. Before the ‘Christian era’, Sunday was considered a workday. As such, New Testament era believers would have worked at their jobs all day and then gathered together on Sunday evening for worship (in individual homes). However, for our purposes we can look back to the sixth century when the Catholic Church began to have regular prayer and worship times throughout the day at the local churches and monasteries. The first of these was called Matins (morning) and the last Vespers (evening)—though these were not ‘services’ in the Protestant sense of the term. Many Protestant churches kept these two gathering times, though they placed a greater emphasis on the Word (actually, during the Reformation it was common for Protestant churches to have daily lectures on the Bible). In the 1660’s the Puritans in America had a Sunday morning and a Sunday evening gathering time as well as a Thursday morning lecture. Later, mainly through the influence of revivalists like D.L. Moody, the Sunday evening service became a staple in many conservative churches. Some churches used this service to train & equip its members in God’s Word whereas others used it as an evangelistic opportunity.

Quite often the Sunday evening ‘service’ never occurred in the Church building. Instead, God’s people went out on Sunday afternoons and evenings to hospitals, orphanages, & prisons to minister to the lost and hurting. As such, they were offering “service” to God (from where we get the word ‘church service’ today). Thus, ‘church services’ historically was something that was missional, active, and outreach oriented.

The Sunday evening service, sadly, began to displace the much more ancient (and biblical) practice of meeting together in homes for worship, prayer, and Bible study. Many churches today are trying to reclaim the biblical practice of “small groups”, which allow for deeper discussions on Scripture and more intentional discipleship. However, the Sunday evening service still has much to offer—and it doesn’t have to be an ‘either-or’. A healthy and vibrant congregation, if it is willing to be flexible, can (and should) accommodate both structures.

Purpose & Philosophy

We see the purpose of the Sunday service primarily as a tool to equip and train believers. Furthermore, we feel it is a mistake to simply make the evening service a ‘repeat’ of the morning service—either in terms of content or form (e.g. order of service). Whereas the morning service is generally larger, more formal (e.g. the message is a lecture), and static (i.e. its format doesn’t really change that much), we believe the evening service (which attracts a smaller audience) is most effective when it is informal (e.g. the message is a dialogue rather than a lecture) and varied.

We seek to create an environment that focuses on (1) teaching, (2) training, (3) equipping, and (4) involving God’s people in the work of ministry.

• By teaching we mean an emphasis on Bible knowledge and content.
• By training we mean learning practical skills to be more effective for Christ.
• By equipping we mean helping each other identify & develop their spiritual giftedness.
• By involving we mean creating opportunities (during the service time) to plan for and be engaged in the mission of Jesus Christ.

©2009 Indian River Baptist Church. Pastor Josh Gelatt

Strategic Plan

1. TEACHING

Interactive Teaching Time

• We will intentionally move away from a lecture-based sermon to more of an interactive model. Pastor Josh (and others) will still lead and teach, but it will be a little bit more like a small group or classroom format. We will strive to provide everyone with study notes or workbooks to help facilitate learning.
• Our teaching series will generally be shorter (4-8 weeks for each topic/book of the Bible).
• Stress will be placed on group discussion & interaction.
• Most of these teaching times will be conducted on the Church property, but we will occasionally make use of member’s homes.

Exposure to other acclaimed Pastors & Professors

• One of the great gifts God has given us through modern technology is the ability to hear from godly men like R.C. Sproul, John Piper, John MacArthur, and Ravi Zacharias. Though we will not use videos excessively, we will incorporate video teaching occasionally.
• Nowadays many Bible schools and Seminaries offer free courses—many of which are specifically designed for church groups. Occasionally utilizing these will allow our congregation to develop a deeper faith in Jesus.

A ‘Learning Atmosphere’

•We will try to be creative with our physical environment. Though we will continue to meet in the auditorium from time to time, we will also utilize the foyer, tables, & classrooms.

2. TRAINING

Practical Skills

•Developing skills in things such as music, evangelism, leadership, parenting, finances, & leading small groups.

Developing Body Life

• “Sing & Praise” Evenings. On these evenings we will simply gather together and sing hymns & choruses, focusing on unfamiliar songs and teaching through them (very similar to what the Calvary Baptist group did when they were with us).
• Testimony Evenings. Though we plan on including personal stories in all our services (especially Sunday mornings) we recognize the value of having special evenings dedicated to hearing each other offer a devotional from God’s word or sharing how God has impacted their lives.
• Nights of Prayer. Occasional times when we come together for the sole purpose of engaging God in reverent prayer.

3. EQUIPPING

Focus on the Spiritual Gifts

•Helping members know, understand, and develop their unique Spirit-given gifts.

4. INVOLVING

Real-life ministry

• Occasionally use the Sunday evening service for congregational meetings (which we currently do) and committee team meetings. Such meetings should not be viewed as competing with Sunday evening, but should be viewed as an intentional and vital part of our mission for Jesus Christ.
• In the past, IRBC would occasionally shut down the Sunday evening service and encourage people to go out and engage in some sort of ministry within the community. We believe this was a very wise practice that should be resurrected. We will explore ways to make this meaningful and to provide direction & accountability.

The key to making Sunday evening a deeply meaningful and beneficial service is to allow it the flexibility to accomplish these goals.

©2009 Indian River Baptist Church. Pastor Josh Gelatt