The Problem with "Sandwich Services"

You know what I'm talking about - the "sandwich services" occur when a church squeezes a slice of Sunday School between the early morning and later morning preaching bread. Even though I went to seminary, and there should be some special theological term for a church with two services and Sunday School in the middle, I don't believe I ever heard one. Even in sem it was called 'sandwich services'. So, what's wrong with this arrangement for Sunday mornings? Nothing, IF YOU DON'T WANT YOUR CHURCH TO GROW.

Here's why: first some background; why does a church even consider the sandwich service approach? Typical little church has one service w/ SS either before or after; little church grows and needs a second service; typical conversation between members of the church is that 'if we go to two services then we won't get to know everyone, or see everyone each Sunday' (Which by the way is the number one mentality that will limit your church's growth forever; you must break away from modality thinking, and become a sodality (see C.Peter Wagner's works)). Someone suggests that if they do a common Sunday School, then they will still have a chance to see people; everyone agrees to this idea as a great way to meet the need for for two services and still see each other. But they are wrong.

Here's why: you are mixing philosophies which will limit your growth. Going to two services is a Growth Philosophy, but maintaining one SS is a 'Family' Philosophy. The Family Philosophy is the mentality that wants to keep one service and everybody together, while the Growth Philosophy says that since we need to reach more people for Jesus let's open as many services as we can to reach more people. But these two philosophies crash into each other - and the place where they crash is usually the parking lot. Yes, that's right, and more embarrassing than a Sunday morning crackup at church. Because what these people forget when they try to merge these two competing philosophies together is a basic law of physics: two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

For while you rightly make room for extra bodies to dwell in the same pew space by having multiple services, you can't do the same for Sunday School if you want to just have one Sunday School session, using the classic 'sandwich services' approach. If your church is tapped out w/ one service, then it is quite likely that your parking lot will be very close. The only exceptions would be a church with a huge amount of parking space (maybe somebody in a rural area). But most suburban churches are limited in the amount of space for parking. So if the desired goal is that all the early morning people are supposed to stay for SS ("so we can see everybody together"), then when the late morning people show up, they are quickly going to run out of space for parking.

Then you will be encountering the problem known as 'sociological strangulation' (again, see C.Peter Wagner's works). People will try to park, not find a spot, and drive away. You will never know they were there. The end result of this is that the growth you were hoping would occur by adding a second service will be slowed (I'm not going to say eliminated, just slowed down).

There is a reason why 85% of the churches are 250 or less, and this is one, but not the only factor.

If you really want your church to grow by adding two services, then you just need to bite the bullet and go for two Sunday Schools too. Yes, that's right, you need another theological term known as 'flip-flop' Sunday School, where you have both a worship service and Sunday School at the same time, and then the next session, you 'flip-flop', do it again, encouraging those in worship to go to SS, and those in SS to head to worship. I know it's harder. But if you want to grow, it is also more effective.

I'll share some more thoughts on competing philosophies of ministry in the future.

Until later,
Dr. Bill