This past sunday September 7th, Terra Nova became a multi-service church and things went surprisingly well. One could have expected all sorts of snags and bugs to work out, but that did not happen! If you were there at the 10AM service, you noticed fewer rows of chairs both up and down and no risers (the set up and tear down team is rejoicing). You might have noticed a few people arriving ready for church at 11AM, only to realize that they were either an hour late or an hour early. Other than that, it sort of felt like daylight savings time with church starting an hour early. We expect the 10AM to continue to be the larger of the two services mainly because Terra Nova Kids is only offered then. In terms of size, it felt like where we were about a year ago. Roughly 75% of everyone who attended Terra Nova on sunday were at the 10AM service. That’s pretty close to what we expected.

If you went to the 12NOON service you saw fewer people all sitting downstairs (we are closing off the balcony during the second service at this time). Honestly, it felt a lot like our first sunday back in January of 2006. A lot has happened since then. We were hoping for 50 at the second service, and in the end about 60 were there. Ultimately, we’d love to see 40% of everyone who calls Terra Nova home attending the second service. We think that a number of people will grow to enjoy the smaller nature of the 12NOON. One person commented that it’s almost like a church plant within a church plant. That’s a great way to see it.

We would encourage you to try out the 12NOON service sometime. You might really enjoy the more intimate setting with fewer people, more chances to connect with the pastors before and after church, and the sleeping in till 11AM is not so bad either.

If you were at church on August 31st, you noticed that we were almost at standing room only, so this whole two service thing came at just the right time as people settled back into fall routines, and our many college students returned for the semester.

On behalf of all the pastors, I want to express thanks to all the volunteers who are working overtime to make this transition a smooth one. You are appreciated!