What follows on this page is a celebration of what God is doing at Holy Cross. As an overflow of our vibrant mission to connect more people to God, to one another, and to our communities, you'll read about our vision for multiplying our church worship service from one service to two identical services, beginning March 5, 2023.
I pray this conversation will energize you, encourage you, and stir in you a heart of praise unto God who is forever faithful.
(Be sure to see our FAQ's at the end of the page)
A healthy church gathers and scatters, multiplies and expands, considers others, is much more than a weekly meeting.
Multiplying from one service to two identical worship services helps us all grow towards Christian maturity. And as we multiply into two identical worship services, it affirms our unity of faith, vision, mission, and friendship.
Beginning Sunday March 5, 2023 you will have two identical opportunities to worship and serve on Sunday mornings. 9:00 am and 10:45 am.
Multiplying to two Sunday worship services gives us the chance to better serve the people whom God has brought to us, open our doors to new relationships, and fuel our outward-focused mission.
Our weekly Life Groups, monthly Evening Prayer gatherings, Outward-facing events, and other gatherings throughout the year will help cultivate meaningful fellowship as our church continues to grow.
A desire for a second service flows out of our calling to connect people to God, connect people to one another, and connect people to their communities.
- We are called to magnify God's glory: Connecting people to God through the gospel brings new life and shapes the church. There is nothing more glorious than to share in the blessings of Christ with others.
- We are called to live as God's people: We pursue relationships that are created by the gospel and flow out of the gospel. Multiplying our Sunday worship means that God is growing the church. We celebrate his movement and grace.
- We are called to engage in God's mission: We must go beyond our own fellowship and embrace Jesus' command to be a faithful witness. As the gospel changes us inwardly, we will see an overflow of blessing to others. We are blessed to be a blessing.
An upcoming teaching series will lead us all through the primary motivations for this vision. Join us on these Sundays to explore God's calling together.
- February 12: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 - "Connecting People To God"
- February 19: Colossians 1:3-14 - "Connecting People To One Another"
- February 26: Luke 2:24-27 - "Connecting People To Their Community”
Prayer
- For God's movement and vision to be so compelling to our church that it would lead to a culture of sacrificial commitment.
- Meaningful relationships would continue to deepen and flourish.
- Our multiplication would open new opportunities to bring the gospel to people in our community who don't know Jesus.
- New leaders, volunteers, and fresh ideas would be produced from within.
Action
- Consider serving on a ministry team. Access our volunteer form HERE to let us know you're interested in helping.
- Consider serving more than once per month. Now, serving on Sunday does not mean missing out on the worship service.
- Adopt a ministry mindset. As we multiply, there will be many opportunities to encourage, support, and come alongside one another.
Q: Why two services?
A quick way to address this would be to say that we've reached capacity in our children's classrooms and our sanctuary is filling up--with new families every week. But that's really a secondary motivation of ours, and mostly a strategic one. The primary motivation flows from our mission as a church. We believe it is our mission to consider ways in which to connect more and more people to God, to connect people to one another in rich gospel community, and to connect people to their communities through faithful witnessing. Multiplying our service is a faithful response to God's movement in our church and it opens the door to live out our mission in broader ways.
Q: Will there be any differences between the two services? (For instance, traditional vs. contemporary)
The only difference between the two services will be the time at which they are held. You'll have the opportunity to worship and serve at identical worship services. This also is motivated by our convictions and values. We are one church, with two services. Each service will offer Holy Cross Kids for Nursery and Pre-school, with alternating weeks for grades 1st - 5th grade, like we currently do.
Each service will serve The Lord's Supper every week. Each service will continue to draw us to remember the gospel story, re-orient our hearts and minds around this story, and cultivate habits that are an overflow of this great story. Our single worship service typically lasts 75-80 minutes. With a two-service format, each service will now be about 70 minutes.
Q: How can families with children make the best of the service multiplication?
As we encourage adults to worship in one service and serve in another ("Worship One/Serve One"), it brings up a good question of how to best engage our children. The answer depends on their age and other factors but one great option is to have them serve with you. Serving together cultivates good habits of generosity and sacrificial service in our children at a young age.
Another option is for your children to attend Holy Cross Kids (nursery - 5th grade) both services as you worship one/serve one. Some kids would function well in this and others might not want to repeat the class. We will also have Family Worship Bulletins designed for kids ages 7-11 to follow along in the worship service.
You can use your best judgement for your children. Whatever you decide, we hope it's intentional and motivated by a desire to model for your children what it means to replace our natural consumer-driven mentality with a mentality that we belong to a community knit in love and on mission together.
Q: Are there long-term solutions to our building needs?
The topic of long-term building solutions are a regular conversation among the Elders' meetings and have been for years. We want to remember how grateful we are for the space God has provided for us, while maintaining a forward-looking mentality. Multiplying our services is the best option right now. We desire to prepare for future building needs, whether that means land and/or building acquisition, or improvements to where we are.
If you'd like to learn more about our vision for a future home for Holy Cross, go to our REACH Initiative page.
Q: What are some ways I can maintain fellowship with church family members I may not see as often?
This is a great question and we have so many environments in place at Holy Cross that connect people to one another in real ways. There are many opportunities weekly, monthly, and quarterly intended to build gospel-centered community such as weekly Life Groups, our monthly Evening Prayer gathering, and other events throughout the year.
As always, spending time with others outside of church-related activities has tremendous impact to building friendships. You may feel a sense of loss when you think, "This means I may not see 'so-and-so' if we go to separate services." This sentiment is a great sign that friendships are being cultivated at Holy Cross. Be encouraged to invite "so-and-so" over for dinner one night, get coffee before a work-day, go on a weekend outing. Be friends!
Finally, stay connected on upcoming events by filling out our online Connect Card to receive our weekly newsletter.
Q: What are new ways that I can help?
A two-service Sunday removes common barriers to serving, allowing all to serve in one service and worship in another, more often. When we choose to serve, we are expressing our love towards others as a church family. One of the natural reactions people might have upon hearing of our service multiplication is, "How will this affect me and my family?"
We hope this exciting season in our church will empower all to think beyond themselves and consider how to use their gifts to build up one another in love as God's brought-together people on mission.
If you're not currently serving on a ministry team, you can fill out the volunteer form, here. If you're already volunteering on a team, thank you! Your team leader will communicate specific team needs with you soon. And, as always, please join us in prayer; asking God to continue to shape our hearts and minds according to the love of Christ as we move together in the same direction.
