Do You Know Who Is Coming To Worship? … WOW Worship Weekend

For whom do you plan your worship? Now I accept that it is planned with the Lord in mind. What I am referring to is what type of worship service attendees do you have in mind when you pick the songs, study for the sermon, etc.? Do you plan for Believers? Members? Seekers? Lost?

Something interesting happened this week. I meet some type of people that I thought no longer existed. I almost did a blog entry like Steve Irwin, typing with an Australian accent. (Read like an Aussie …) Crikey, there they were. A male and a female. A pair of those whom reports said no longer existed. I was bewildered and excited at the same time. And here, the pair came out of their hidden lair in the wild and meandered right into the middle of the den that would change the future of their species.

Okay, enough of that. I am referring to two people that had never eaten at the magic chicken fast food center where I work. They are in their 80s and live in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. Yet in over 8 decades – no chicken nuggets, no chicken sandwich, no waffle fries, and no wonderful chicken on a salad from this number one rated chain. My restaurant has a motto to develop raving fans that frequent often. So, they do not really plan on people coming in that have never before experienced them.

Now here is the amazing part of the story. The couple tried the Cobb Salad and loved it, I mean really loved it. They wish the Whataburger in their hometown could have such a Cobb. They will seek out a sister franchise within an hour of their home (they let me take their picture … attached to this blog).

My point … church leaders (especially in the southern states where I have lived) often plan services thinking everyone there knows the ins and outs of church life, at least partially. I mean, rarely do we think that someone will enter our doors totally unaccustomed to the procedures, the language, the music, and such. I think that even though this is rare, we should be prepared.

Here are some things I thought of in relation to this …

– They were brought by someone who knew what was being offered

– They were greeted, treated kindly, talked to, shown interest in, and invited back

– They experienced the fullness of what we had to offer

– They left desiring to experience the fullness of it all again

– And even though they would probably never come back to this location, they loved the experience so much they promised they would find one close to their home

Now, I call that someone who has taken steps to becoming a true follower (of chicken in this story). If this was the same story of one who who came to church, I call that a good story.

So, are you ready for everybody and anybody this weekend?