The Springs Gives Back

Although it's not the most important thing about the Springs, the most attention-getting aspect of our church is the fact that we don't have services every week. A consultant recently called it "gutsy." Many people think we probably just don't have enough resources to have weekly services. Others just think we're weird. I'd like to offer another explanation: The Springs Gives Back.

For the past two services (which is three weeks, since we don't have a service every Sunday), we've been talking about margin in life, particularly time margin. Time is the most precious commodity in our community. I would argue that it's more precious than money: you can't get more than 24 hours each day. People in our community, if they can afford it, often use money to buy time: by hiring lawn services and house cleaners, by hiring day care and child care, purchasing airline tickets, and the like. Time is so valuable that anything fast is also valuable: fast internet, fast cars, fast food, microwave ovens. "Multitasking" has become a buzzword because of its time promise. We're even willing to jeopardize our health to get more time, by getting less sleep or trying to squeeze more into our days.

Competition for your time is fierce. Everyone seems to want some. Most church leaders, including me, have usually seen this as a competition we must join. Whoever gets your time wins. When I was a kid, churches often required 4 or 5 time slots each week for the faithful: Sunday School and worship, Sunday evening services, committee meetings, weeknight prayer meeting, and perhaps neighborhood visitation. But the church has been losing the time war: she now has a white-knuckle grip on Sunday morning--her valiant last stand--while the beach, professional sports, and kids' soccer leagues are trying to pry those fingers off one by one. How is she doing? -80% of churches' Sunday morning services have declining attendance.

Rather than begging for people's time, or attempting to use spiritual authority to demand it, or enticing people to church with the promise that it will be more fun or entertaining than all other options, we have decided to try something new. We're giving time back. We're still sounding the alarm that we collectively stink when it comes to how we allocate our time. But instead of joining the fray, we're learning and teaching simplicity, sanity, and relationships as Biblical life principles.

So what do you do with 2 or 3 Sunday mornings each month and no church services? Hopefully the things church is really all about, whether you're in a "service" or not. Spending time with God, investing in family, friends and neighbors, serving people in need. No time to get to know your neighbors or serve the poor? No time to invest in biblical community with other Christians? No time to actually do Christianity instead of talk about it? We can give you at least 2 time slots per month, each lasting from 4 to 6 hours. Compliments of Church at the Springs.