There are a lot of things I could write about this, but I'll pick four things. Four things that I pray God does. Four things that each  of us have a part to play in. 

Sunday Mornings are a time to:

1. Ignite or Re-ignite Our Awe of God

If we are not driven by awe of God, we will be driven by awe of something else….regardless of how much we know the bible.

So our hope for everyone – adults and kids – is that Sunday morning is a time when our awe of God is ignited or reignited. This may happen through the preaching of Scripture, or the singing of a specific song, or a timely conversation with someone in the lobby, or the sharing of a testimony.

But the job of each of us is to come expectant for God to fill us with awe of Him. Our job is to resist the tendency to overly-focus on the things that are not yet resolved in our personal lives. Our job is to resist the urge to overly-focus on what needs to be improved or reorganized in our church ministries. Our job is to want to be filled awe of Him. 

2. Challenge Christians

Most Christians, if they are honest with themselves, know far more than they care to apply. We have a tendency to want to learn new things, “feel convicted” (which often means intellectually stimulated) but change little about our lives. I know that’s my tendency. Part of our vision statement is about letting the grace of Jesus Christ deeply impact every area of life. So our goal for the Sunday service is to challenge Christians to live out by faith what they say they believe. 

Our job is to be prepared to make changes and take faith-filled risks in response to God challenging us. Our job is to recognize that we have not yet arrived at spiritual perfection, and therefore God will undoubtedly call us to greater surrender, greater sacrifice, and greater dependence. 

3. Accept New People Where They’re At
This one may seem to contradict with #2, but it doesn’t. Our hope is that, while challenging Christians, we are also an inclusive community that meets new people – particularly non-Christians -- where they’re at in their spiritual journey. We want them to know that they can belong to our community without believing what we believe.

So what can you can do? Look for opportunities to make new people feel welcome. If you see someone you don’t recognize – introduce yourself. But I'm pretty new myself, Chris. Great!!! Who better to assuage the awkwardness that a new person feels than someone who felt that same awkwardness recently.

4. Build Relationships
The reason our hospitality team works hard to have bagels and coffee ready at 10, the reason we gather for Intercessory Prayer at 9:30, and the reason we try to end service early enough to hang around before needing to pack up, is to build relationships. They are the backbone of our church.

So recognize that even if you are not volunteering in an official role on a particular Sunday, God may want to use you to bless someone else through an encouraging word, a simple introduction, or empathizing with a difficulty. He may even lead you to ask someone to grab a cup of coffee or a lunch during the week. 

That's my prayer for Sunday mornings. And I believe that God always answers that prayer -- for those who want him to and prepare their hearts for it.