I have been reading a book on church growth and development by Rick Warren, and so I have been thinking about this question: when a church gathers on Sundays, what should its purpose be? Any thoughts?
28
Feb
08
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Hope For More 
Rick Warren is all about the “seeker service.” Everything they do (and everything his book is about) has to do with this very fact. He sees the Sunday service as evangelistic in nature, and so everything Saddleback does reflects this. But I don’t think this is the way I see things. I don’t think that the primary focus of the Sunday service should be catering to the unbeliever. I am of the opinion that if a church is genuinely seeking God and their lives have been transformed, then unbelievers will be drawn to that without a “seeker service.”
It seems that most seeker services that I have experienced (including Saddleback) do not feed the Christians much. They do not seem to promote growth and development of the Christian. Of course, most of these churches would agree with that approach. It seems much too easy for someone to accept Christ and never grow unless they actively seek out that growth. It would be so easy to go to church each Sunday and not get fed and be challenged to get deeper with God.
So with all that said, I guess I think that Sundays should be more about growth and development of believers. Certainly there is to be sensitivity to “seekers” who are in attendance, but I don’t think Sundays should be totally focused on the seekers at the expense of the believers.