New Worship Times

Starting May 26th

9am - Contemporary

10:30am - Traditional

 

New Worship Service Times

Starting MAY 26th:

9am - Contemporary

10:30am - Traditional

 

Why are we changing service times?

On Tuesday, April 9th, the Church Council (the elected lay leadership of the church) voted to move to two services starting on Sunday, May 26th: 9am Contemporary, 10:30am Traditional.

As Suntree UMC enters its next season of ministry, the SPRC committee has been working hard to make staff adjustments that will enable SUMC to continue to provide mission and ministry opportunities that will enable the congregation to thrive and be the best stewards we can be of our current resource base. Our work has also taken into account some unexpected staff transitions, trying to capitalize on the opportunities these transitions have created for budget reductions.

One of the ways we are doing this is by not replacing two full-time positions and, instead, retooling the Associate Pastor position description to incorporate some additional responsibilities along with hiring two part-time positions without the expenses of full-time benefits. With that in mind – the Associate pastor will be responsible for our Grow and Outreach Ministries. To do that – the Associate Pastor will not be on the preaching schedule every week. This will allow more time for leadership and oversight in these important ministry areas. They will preach once every 4 – 5 weeks, be part of the creative team, and lead in worship each week. Not having preaching weekly responsibilities frees up time to lead other ministries.

Considering this change, moving to 2 worship services, one traditional and one contemporary, makes this change possible and most effective. It also streamlines our needs around Sunday morning servants in technology, guest services, and children’s ministry. We understand this change will require sacrifices from everyone. We also believe that it will enable Suntree to continue to offer the full scope of ministry and mission as we seek to live into our vision to love God, love each other and love our neighbors in extraordinary ways.

Considerations

As we sought to make the best decision for Suntree, here are important factors that we took into consideration:   

  • What services are our younger families attending? We find that our younger families typically attend the contemporary service, and also prefer an earlier service time (9am - 10am) because of nap schedules and family activities.
  • Technology needs / concerns. We need at least 30 minutes in between services for a smooth transition between online worship services.
  • Children’s Ministry. Having two services would allow us to bolster our servant volunteer team. Having a larger gap in between services creates a need for more programming that we may not be able to support.
  • Hospitality / Guest Services / Usher team. Having two services would allow us to bolster our servant volunteer team. 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who made this decision? This decision was made by the entire Church Council on April 9th. Your leadership engaged in prayerful conversation discussion, and was ultimately voted upon unanimously.

  • Why 9am and 10:30am? There were lots of conversation around which times would be best for Suntree taking into consideration our current worship schedule, consideration around our Suntree’s current worshiping demographics, and looking at what other churches in our area are doing successfully. Church Council agreed that 9am and 10:30am were the best choices because it was most equitable for everyone. With these times, everyone “has to move”, which we believe is the most fair decision.

  • What about Sunday School? Sunday school will continue! Each will be able to choose their own meeting time based on what is best for the class. We are also working on plans to create to Sunday School opportunities for everyone, no matter which service you choose to attend.