Josh Basil
Weekly Report # 5
20 February 2007
Discussion: Gathering Design and Planning with supervisor
When we talked about the gathering, I found that we had some similar ideas and some different views on things. He said that the elements in the gathering or even the order of the elements vary from time to time. The elements and order are usually the same, but we will change them for special events like guest speakers, holidays, or theme driven services. Elements that we sometimes include are special music, short video clips, or maybe a time of open prayer. We base what should be included in the gathering by what most other churches like our do and by what has worked well in the past. On special service days, the decisions might be based on time, weather, or other events that day. The process that guides changes from service to service because of who is speaking, what all is going on, and what message is going to be sent through the service. Putting the service together sounded a lot harder and time consuming than I thought. Most of the time we do the announcements first so they aren’t distracting later in the service. We pray before starting the worship band so that people realize that they are in the presence of a Holy God and that everyone is here to worship him. In the gathering he saw himself and the congregation both as participators. Being a pastor doesn’t exclude him from worship. He said he still keeps any eye out for what is going on and an ear open to what God is saying, but for the most part it is our time of corporate worship. The gathering within itself is a form of revelation/response. The prayers and lyrics of the song reveal a little about who God is and we respond by worshiping him together as one body.
This discussion helped me to understand what all goes into planning and putting together a gathering, let alone a whole service. I was surprised at why certain elements go in certain spots and I really learned a lot about preparation when it comes to the gathering.