People come to worship with a reasonable expectation of experience. The hope is to see, to hear, think and feel something of God that makes a positive difference in our lives.
Most worship services have all the elements folks are looking for but they lack the things that tend toward a dynamic experience. There is little sense of mystery, little anticipation and little surprise. Sometimes there is humor but often the content that stimulates, inspires, excites or even interests is missing. As a result, those who come in a genuine quest to find God too many are disappointed and few return. The good news is this type of problem can be changed and not all steps are that difficult to put in place.
One step that can build interest in the worship that is relatively easy to do is eliminate the empty spaces.
The empty spaces in worship experiences are the moments between, the time everyone waits between the end of one worship element and the start of the next. Examples of empty waiting include: watching a leader(s) move from one place to another; pauses between songs; changing gears from one type of element to another like from song to prayer etc.
Admittedly there are times for silence in worship but they need to be by design not accident and incorporated into the context of a specific element. An example here would be to introduce prayer, set the mood, and create the moment for silence. A still moment well designed becomes full of spiritual power, whereas a pause of waiting steals the energy from the service and the participants alike.
What we are talking about is planning and pacing. To add interest in your worship practice designing the energy and flow of worship elements to be very smooth, and swift, eliminating the waiting between. When there is a swift and smooth transition it builds interest and attention to each part of the worship. Instead of starting and stopping which gets tiring, the experience becomes like climbing a mountain of inspiration culminating in connection between all in worship and God. In that moment of connection people aren’t looking at their watches. In fact they don’t want the moment to end.
Way Stations consulting services for multimedia design, worship planning, and implementation are available. For information email
