By Tom Bandy
Lifestyle diversity and cultural change have created new challenges and opportunities for worship designers. The challenge is that the basic question people ask themselves on Sunday morning is no longer when to worship or preferred style of worship, but why should we bother to worship at all? Prior to the millennium change, worship designers tinkered with the method, music, and format of worship. In the new millennium worship designers must refocus the point or purpose of worship itself.
The MissionImpact Guide identifies seven basic kinds of missionally targeted worship popular in America today. These are more fully described in the book Worship Ways co-authored by me and Lucinda Holmes (formerly worship director with Church of the Resurrection).
| Worship | Purpose | Experience |
| Educational | Listen & learn | Consistent liturgy, expository preaching, focus on doctrine, ethics, and history |
| Inspirational | Optimism & hope | Uplifting music, motivational speaking, focus on joy, optimism, and encouragement |
| Transformational | Rescue & a new life | Spontaneous, expectant, personal transformations, Higher Power interventions |
| Coaching | Tips & tactics | Informal, dialogical, topical, practical coaching on how to live better & faithfully |
| Caregiving | Family & friends | Slow, meditative, family-feel with pastoral prayer, children’s time, senior celebrations |
| Healing | Health & wholeness | Quiet, prayerful, expectant of physical, mental, relational healing and hope |
| Mission-Connection | Service & sacrifice | Unity of action/reflection, all about outreach, volunteer empowerment |
Just as people approached Jesus for different existential reasons in the gospels, so also people seek Jesus for different reasons today. Some seek to Jesus for insight and others for hope. Some seek Jesus to be liberated from “demons” while others seek Jesus for coaching to lead a better life. Some just need to be loved and accepted, while others are desperate for healing. And still others just want to know where Jesus is going so that they can follow him in mission.
Lifestyle diversity has made it very difficult to “blend” worship like we did in the 90’s. People seek to experience the full force of Christ’s presence to meet the urgent need. And because they are so mobile, and life is so uncertain, grace is not something to be doled out over 52 Sundays, but in the here and now.
What United Methodists often call “traditional” worship is a blend of education and inspiration (usually churches over 250 in worship), or it is a blend of education and caregiving (usually churches under 250 in worship). It’s not just that the former combines great preaching with uplifting music in a fast-paced liturgy, and the latter combines pastoral prayer with classic hymns and meditative moments. The point of worship is different.
Some people are motivated by theological questions, ethical confusions, and growing sense of hopelessness. They gravitate to “traditional” worship that is both educational and inspirational. These include lifestyle segments like empty-nester C11 Sophisticated City Dwellers and C13 Philanthropic Sophisticates, families like B07 Across the Ages and B10 Cosmopolitan Achievers and educated boomers like E19 Consummate Consumers. If you examine your PeoplePlots, you will see that UMC participation includes majorities of these segments. Clearly, “traditional” worship blending educational and inspirational elements is very meaningful to them regardless of what kind of language, music, or technology you might use. It addresses the point of their need.
Other people are motivated by lifecycle worries, health concerns, and a growing sense of loneliness. They gravitate to “traditional” worship that is both educational and caregiving. These include older lifestyle groups like J35-36 (Autumn Years) and Q61-65 (Golden Year Guardians), but also struggling urban households like S68 Small Town Sophisticates and rural households like N48 Rural Southern Bliss. UMC worship participation also includes many of these households. Unfortunately, as many churches are discovering, it is very difficult to blend worship to satisfy both expectations. This is why UMC churches often get stuck at 250 or fewer in worship, despite a growing population around the church. Worship change can be very stressful.
When you study your ComparativeInsite reports, you may well discover that many lifestyle segments in your mission field are under-represented in worship. This is not because the time or style of worship is irrelevant. It is because your worship does not address their deepest need. The point or purpose of worship misses the reason why they might seek Jesus. The national worship trend is that participation in “traditional” blends of educational/inspirational or educational/caregiving worship is declining. The need is still there, but many are finding their education, inspiration, and caregiving elsewhere, and many others are realizing that they need Jesus for other reasons. Coaching, transformational, and healing worship combine to be the fastest growing worship alternatives in America.
- Coaching worship is particularly popular among significant singles and starters and urban solos (e.g. Group O, G, and K) as well as young families like B08 Babies and Bliss, D15 Sports Utility Families, M45 Growing and Expanding, or R66 Passionate Parents. They are more like motivated to worship by the need to find meaning and purpose in the daily grind. More affluent households like A03 Kids and Cabernet or multi-generational middle-class households like C14 Boomers and Boomerangs may also be urgent to discern meaning and purpose to cope with the materialistic world.
- Transformational worship connects with people across the lifestyle spectrum because it helps people experience the power of God to change their lives, accept their new identities, and reform bad habits. Lifestyle segments especially vulnerable to poverty, abuse, or injustice may be particularly drawn to it (Groups R, S, and M or Segments like P57 Modest Metro Means or K39 Metro Fusion.
- Healing worship also connects across lifestyle segments because it helps people cope with catastrophe, chronic disease, and (for poorer lifestyle segments) the gap between healthy living and dysfunctional health care systems. It is especially common in mid-market cities where health care and social services are being concentrated, attracting lifestyle segments like S68 Small Town Sophisticates, J36 Settled and Sensible, or Q65 Mature and Wise.
Mission-Connectional worship has been slow developing in the US, although it is much more visible in other countries. It blends personal religion directly with social service and resembles a non-profit at prayer. It is all about volunteer empowerment for outreach, finding yourself through helping others, and discovering God in cultural change. But it is growing in popularity among disenchanted boomers and younger generations with a sense of urgency for personal and social change. These include many church households who are dropping out of “traditional” worship, including C11 and L41 Baby Boomers, F22 Gen Xers, and O54 Millennials.
(Of course, these are broad generalizations. Worship expectations for every lifestyle segment in the MissionImpact Guide are color coded to reflect these nuances. Green color indicates the most likely worship expectations. Yellow indicates openness. And red color indicates worship option they likely to ignore.)
These trends bring new challenges and opportunities to worship designers. No matter how much you tinker with the method, music, and format of “traditional” worship it will still not keep pace with community change and growth.
| The Lifestyle Challenge: | The Lifestyle Opportunity: |
| Not Sunday-centric Do not follow a lectionary Do not rely on professional clergy Are not linked to fellowship or membership | Different times, places, spaces, technologies Customized themes and targeted topics Lay leadership, guest speakers, and local bands Small groups, mission teams, and glocal service |
“Blending” styles no longer works for church growth. Instead, worship designers (even in small churches) are developing at least one alternative worship experience, designed to address under-represented or incoming lifestyle segments, who may be motivated to meet Jesus for different reasons than current churchgoers. Worship becomes a priority for people when it is motivated by a sense of urgency. Worship attendance grows when it is sensitive the lifestyle needs of the community.