By Joyce Dalrymple
I remember coming to Wellspring for the first time this summer and feeling the Spirit in this place! It’s hard to describe but something sacred is happening here every Sunday. We are not just hearing a good sermon, singing, and praying but we are standing in the very presence of God and declaring praises to His name. We are worshipping the living God. We are glorifying God by our worship. We are doing what we were created to do.
But the reality is, it’s hard to get to church some Sundays. Our bodies want extra sleep. The winter weather makes it hard to leave our homes. If we have children, they often don’t cooperate. Then when we finally get our kids in the car, they bicker on the way to church. We are already running late and can’t find a parking spot. By the time we finally set foot through the church doors, we are feeling a little annoyed and not in the most worshipful mood. Maybe it’s just me, but I bet some of you can relate.
The truth is worship is conducting spiritual battle against the enemy of our hearts. The enemy wants to take our focus away from praising God. He wants to distract us and hinder our worship. At Wellspring, we want to remove as many hindrances to worshipping God as we can on Sunday mornings.
Here are some practical ways to help us create the kind of space (both in our hearts and in the sanctuary) that we need to worship God better during Sunday service. First, before service begins, we invite people to come early to prepare their hearts for worship. To that end, we will provide prelude music and display slides to create an environment for prayer and quiet reflection before each service. Even if you can’t make it early, we encourage everyone to try to arrive on time.
Second, we want to create physical space to accommodate as many people as we can to come into the sanctuary to worship. We praise God that we are growing in size! However, that also means we need to do our best to fill every seat without distracting those already seated and worshipping. So, we are asking everyone, if they can, to sit toward the front and move toward the center aisle. Then those arriving later will be able to locate open seats more easily and without distracting those already seated.
Third, we are providing an overflow room in the gym for those who cannot sit in the sanctuary. Thanks for your patience as we have been working to improve the sound and video quality there.
While we seek to worship and glorify God in all we do (not just on Sundays), we realize that this time is set apart for the Body of Christ to come together to worship Him together. It is a joy and privilege to gather together to worship Him at Wellspring!