It's Not the End of the World...

For over 22 years we have had a mid-week service. I remember when we first started it in 1985; I was 15. In the early 80's, mid-week services were like leather Nike's, everybody had to have them. Now after 22 years our schedule is changing.

Why are we changing? The first time I heard Ed Young say in 2003, "Our church has grown as much through subtraction as it has through addition" I knew our mid-week would someday change.

We are subtracting the "every Wednesday" approach to accomplish three things. First, only 35.5% of our church is from the town of Monroe. We will establish TRC's presence in other cities. Second, the addition of Regional Reach Teams. Reach Teams began in 2005. Regional Reach Teams will be a successful small group ministry meeting on 1st and 3rd Wednesday's. Third, only 42% of our church connects to our current mid-week strategy. With an emphasis on FUEL (4th wed) and JAM (5th wed) we are expecting great experiences. For example, the first JAM all family service included a presentation by Bibleman and over 700 people attended with over 30 salvation's from kids and adults. It was our biggest Wednesday ever!

Our county demands change. There are 660,000 people in Snohomish and Northern King Counties. 1 in 4 attend church on Sunday, and that is absolutely frightening to me. Friends, it is not because they haven't seen our church signs; in fact, there are signs on every corner. They are not coming because they don't want to.

TRC is willing to do whatever is required to present the gospel to those Jesus Christ gave His life for. Our new schedule allows for Regional influence, Reach Teams in homes and effective mid-week services. The bottom line is, effective ministry has a price. The price is less effective ministry. It's not that our mid-week was bad or wrong, people love it; instead, our church is at a place where we need to be more effective with our mid-week strategy. It's not the end of the world, just the beginning of brand new one!