100 or more

These were the words uttered by my senior pastor regarding our new Saturday night service. I have taken them quite literally (well, almost). We’re cancelling our most populated, highest attended, greatest energy service for high school students for the month of June. As such, the high school ministry at Mariners Church will not be meeting at 11 on Sundays this month.

At present, the church meets at 5 on Saturday, 9 and 11 on Sunday. On this Saturday, we add a second Saturday service — we’ll have one at 430 and another at 630. As you might expect, Sundays at 11 are packed. There’s no room for someone looking for a church to find a seat in the worship center (let alone a parking spot). So, we’re making that oft-heard request of our people, to consider another service, to make room for the people who aren’t yet in our midst.

I actually believe there is more and better ministry to be had on a late Saturday evening than on Sundays. On Sundays, the amount of students that can spend time with leaders or each other decreases as the day goes on. On Saturdays (up to curfew) students can spend more time with leaders and other students. We’ll feed them. They’ll connect with each other. We’ll start a grassroots “what everyone is doing after the service” campaign so people connect outside the service. The students will sleep in on Sunday. Or (in youth pastor dream world), they’ll serve during one of the Sunday morning services. But, either way, the church and our ministry ought to do well… 

So, in deference to our pastor lighting himself and the worship team on fire this Saturday night, the high school ministry will do the same. However, what separates our pastor from me… the likelihood that parents will actually be the ones burning me at the stake for messing with their schedules on Sunday mornings for 4 weeks.

We’ll see. Bring your s’mores. Come warm yourself by a youth pastor who is on-fire.