Maybe it’s a catch phrase, but the concept is catching on: experiential worship. It’s worship that’s not just seen or heard, but experienced. Bill Carroll defines it as “interactive, bringing ideas to life, and taking people to a place where they’ve never been.”
People in Naperville, Illinois, call Bill’s church “the yellow box” because it’s, well, a canary-colored cube. But Community Christian Church is better known for what happens inside. Each worship service is a hands-on experience built on a single theme, the “big idea.”
Here are a few of 27 experiences Bill describes at next-wave.org. While many of CCC’s experiential services are much more involved, these may serve as a good introduction for any size congregation.
The Potter’s hand: During a message about what we believe God wanted to mold our career lives into, we gave everyone a small piece of clay and asked them to form something that represented their true passion. One made a test tube. One made a Bible. Someone even made a convincing computer. The most important part was that the teaching pastor had several stand up and talk about what they made.
Small world, big job: During one communion service, we emphasized the global nature of worship. While the band vamped on “We Fall Down,” we had five people from our church who grew up in other countries come forward and sing that song in their native tongue. On the video screen above them, we had a map of their country with facts about population and the percentage of people who are currently Christian. I don’t think you can ever hit the global impact of Christianity enough.
Putting feet to prayers: One service with the most impact we completely stole from another church. We called the homeless shelters and asked what they really needed. They said shoes. (First they said underwear, but you’ll see that was not a viable choice.) The service ended with a challenge to use that day as a marker if they were really serious about having a Christ-centered heart for helping the poor. We invited them to come forward, take communion, remove their shoes and leave them on the stage, and return to their cars barefoot. Besides 1,600 pairs of shoes, people also left coats, hats, and gloves.
—from What Experiential Worship Looks Like (pts. 1 and 2), www.next-wave.org
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