Six Reasons Why Church Members Choose One Worship Service Over Another

By Sam Rainer 

My church has five services on Sunday morning across two sites and in two languages. I preach three services in English, our Hispanic pastor preaches a service in Spanish, and our campus pastor preaches at our second site. Why do people choose one service over another? I’ll give you six reasons from the perspective of my church. However, I believe these reasons apply to many churches offering multiple services. 

1. Language preference. This reason is obvious. If you speak only Spanish, you’ll likely choose our Hispanic service. However, it’s not as simple as you might think. Children and students of those who attend the Hispanic service often end up in our children’s ministry and student ministry. Some of our bilingual members go back-and-forth between English and Spanish services.
2. Time preference. Some people choose a service because the time slot works well for them. I have a friend who goes to the 8:00 a.m. service simply because he’s up early and likes that time.
3. Style preference. Some pastors and church leaders believe style is the driving factor for service selection. It’s important, certainly. A monastic chant service is not likely to grow. But we should not fall into the trap of believing one service is more highly attended than another simply because of style.
4. Group preference. A worship service is often the front door to a church, meaning people will attend a worship service before doing anything else in the church. However, once people decide on a church, a…