Making Sunday Night Services Sparkle!

Any good preacher will have people to preach on to on Sunday morning. Bu

t what about Sunday night? How do you get them to come back? Is it possible to c
ompete with television, ball games, family rides, reunions, and just plain indif
ference? Yes, it is! Nevertheless, do not wait until Sunday night to start compe
ting! On the radio every day, I was pushing for Sunday night. If I had an intere
sting topic, the town knew about it before Sunday night. If I could think of a c
atchy or enticing title for the message, I advertised it in blockbuster letters
in the church mail-out, the bulletin, and of course, in the daily papers, as wel
l as on radio.
The choir would have some of its most beautiful and rousing numbers all
ready for Sunday night. The quartet or trio would sing on Sunday night. If we ha
d a good brass duet or cello or string number available, we would have them do t
heir best for Sunday night!
We did everything possible to make the Sunday morning crowd feel they we
re really missing it if they were not in church on Sunday night.
In other words, build all week toward Sunday night! Sunday morning, then
, will pretty well carry itself. People with any religion at all will come on Su
nday morning. However, in times like these you have to have something out of the
ordinary to get a good crowd and keep them coming consistently on Sunday nights
. And you have to work at it. Here is how!
1. Train Your Sunday Morning People to Be Sales People for Sunday Night
Not all of them will do it, of course. Nevertheless, the good Christians
in the Sunday morning crowd can be taught to be friendly and to be genuinely he
lpful in getting people for Sunday night.
You will have to stress this friendliness constantly. People forget. The
best of Christians are taken up with their little “tempests in teapots.”
It is natural after church to want to rush over and speak to those frien
ds or our own loved ones who may be in the congregation. So the matter of being
friendly to others, and especially to strangers, has to be drilled into them all
the time until it becomes as natural as breathing.
In our travels through the years, my wife and I have slipped into servic
es of many churches and often we are completely unknown to the pastor or people.
On many occasions, we have gone in and out with scarcely a nod or a smile and s
eldom a handshake. And this is in our good, warm, evangelistic churches, some of
whom bill themselves as “The friendliest church in town!”
It is ludicrous, if not pathetic, to go to the church that advertises, “
The end of your search for a friendly church,” and have people pay absolutely no
attention at all to you when you worship there. Nevertheless, it happens all th
e time!
Again, it depends upon leadership. If the pastor and deacons and other l
eaders do not set the example and constantly gear others toward this, the friend
ly church just will not evolve automatically.
How do you go about curing this malady?
Get your Sunday morning “friendliness crew” out of your Wednesday night
crowd. On Wednesday night you can informally and earnestly explain to your peopl
e what “we must do” if we are going to reach people and keep them coming. In add
ition, the recruiting of such representatives can be done through Sunday school
classes and among the people who come to visitation. They are usually your soul
winners, the people who really care about others.
Then the pastor as he preaches on soul winning can constantly stress tha
t this is vital if we would reach people. Remind them that the lost people who d
o venture into our services (and many of the saved ones) are people with problem
s, burdens, heartaches and some of them are lonely and searching for friends, wi
shing for someone to care that they exist. Then, you can appoint certain of your
personable folk to be hosts and/or hostesses on set Sundays to watch out for pe
ople and be acquainted with the new people and prospects. Teach them that on the
days they are the official church greeters that neither flood nor storm nor win
try blast can deter them from mingling with those newcomers and other nonmembers
and making them feel at home. Be sure they pass the names along to others—to th
e pastor, the Sunday school superintendent in whose department they would be, ev
en to the teacher in whose class they probably would be. If they are Christians
and you find out they can sing, let the choir director know about it. If they ar
e young people, be sure and “sic” the youth director or youth leaders on them. D
o not let them get away unloved and unwanted!
2. Make Much of Music on Sunday Night
Be sure your music director or choir leader keeps his choir pepped up an
d excited about the Sunday night services. No exceptions! This is the big one! I
f you have a real good choir, you might want them to open with a number and then
sing another or two before the song service is over. If your choir is small or
mediocre then it may be best to use them for the congregational singing but only
use them once for a “special.” Do not bore the people with second- or third-rat
e “specials.”
If you have a male quartet or women’s trio or a good singing young peopl
e’s group, this is the time to let them “rise and shine.” However, do not compro
mise your convictions and let them use cheap, worldly music just to “please the
youth.” Use good music.
USE GOSPEL CHORUSES. From two to four good choruses during the Sunday ni
ght service will do wonders to loosen up or liven up the song service. Caution:
Do not sing the same ones repeatedly. “Heavenly Sunshine” or the first verse of
“Amazing Grace” will lose some luster (and some meaning) if sung every Sunday ni
ght from New Year’s to Labor Day! Use a chorus or two that will appeal to the ch
ildren, then one that teens love, and then a more serious chorus for the older f
olk. Keep a variety of choruses before the people. Moreover, learn a new one now
and then. Occasionally you can have “request night” for choruses the people lov
e. Sing some old ones and some new ones. Do not get in a rut.
When switching from chorus to chorus do not make it a stiff thing. Try t
o avoid long pauses. Instead of announcing, “It is now time for us to sing some
choruses,” and then proceeding methodically down the list, try saying happily, “
It is chorus time now! And we will start with ‘Some Golden Daybreak.’ “Notice th
e sequence in them as we sing this medley of choruses tonight!” Chorus time is f
requently spoiled by a long pause between numbers while the pianist looks for th
e next one in the songbook. Have them planned and the pages already clipped and
ready for action. Of course, if you are fortunate enough to have a musician who
can play them all by ear or by memory and modulate one out of one into another,
that is all the better.
Young people love choruses and so do the children. But adults, too, will
loosen up and warm up to good-spirited choruses.
USE INSTRUMENTAL NUMBERS on Sunday night. In addition to the piano and o
rgan if you have a few students who play in the band at school it is likely that
some of them are capable of playing along with the hymns on Sunday night in a l
ittle “orchestra” of their own. If you have a trained orchestra man, of course,
then he may be able to actually produce a good church orchestra that will add gr
eatly to your “drawing card” for the services.
If several of your people play instruments then vary the special music.
Again, do not get in a rut. Good violin music is beautiful but very few people w
ant to hear the same person playing the same kind of special every Sunday. Next
Sunday let it be a trombone special or the bass trio or something else.
If your trumpet virtuoso for the musical service be sure he doesn’t stan
d so that every loud blast goes right into the microphone to be amplified fifty
times for the ears of the listeners. Sometimes older people complain about instr
umental music hurting their ears. A good soundman will turn the volume down (or
off) if the trumpet or other instruments are to be played right into the “mike.”
USE EVANGELISTIC MUSIC and spirited songs on Sunday night. A vesper serv
ice may sometimes have its place, but to play soft, dreamy music on Sunday night
will not have the people very wide awake or receptive by the time the sermon be
gins. “Holy, Holy, Holy” or “The Stranger of Galilee” hardly prepares folk for a
 message on “’Prepare to Meet Thy God.’”
Of course, if the pastor is planning to preach to Christians at the Sund
ay night service the songs can be adapted accordingly but they still should not
all be long, slow, dismal songs. “Count Your Blessings” or “To God Be the Glory”
will do well just ahead of that sermon on “The Trials of Life,” or “What to Do
with Life’s Burdens.” If the Sunday night sermon is on prayer, why not keep “Swe
et Hour of Prayer” for Wednesday night and try “I Believe the Answer’s on the Wa
y” or “Tell it to Jesus” for Sunday night? Of course, such prayer songs as “What
a Friend We Have in Jesus” and “Did You Think to Pray?” can be sung with a movi
ng spirit and a stepped-up tempo at times. Far too many song leaders drag songs
that could be easily sung with a bit more life and feeling.
Be sure your music director or the pastor or someone in charge carefully
“screens” the special numbers, and never throw the special music “open” to just
anyone who cares to sing. You may please those amateur would-be concert soloist
s in your crowd, but you sure will not excite your Sunday night visitors about c
oming back regularly. Now, it would be better if the decision about who is to si
ng the special did not have to be made by the pastor. At least, do not let it be
known that he is the one who decides! Of course, he can always make a “request”
that the trio or the quartet sing just before he preaches.
Another word of caution, do not let the song service get away from you.
Do not allow the song leader to schedule so many “specials” that the people are
exhausted before the message begins. Be sure the song service is so well planned
that the service does not drag.
3. Use the Element of Surprise
You can preach on the great themes of the Scripture, do so in a reverent
way, and still keep the people guessing about just what that topic in the bulle
tin means. You may or may not want to always let the people know just what new s
eries the pastor starts this Sunday night. Be sure that enough is said about it
that they would surely not want to miss the first one in the series.
“Our mystery soloist will sing tonight,” or, “We will have a guest music
ian you will greatly enjoy tonight—do not miss her,” keeps the element of surpri
se. If you plan to start a new attendance contest on Sunday night, do not let th
em in on the details Sunday morning. Save it as a surprise for Sunday night.
If awards are to be given for something special, let them be made on Sun
day night. People will come to see who wins.
Have a good testimony or two sometimes on Sunday night. In some cases, y
ou may keep it a secret as to who the guest “testifiers” will be. If it is one o
f your own people you can say on Sunday morning or in the mail-out to members, “
One of our very own men will be heard from this pulpit Sunday night! He will giv
e a brief testimony about an exciting rescue (or a “thrilling conversion,” or a
“wonderful answer to prayer”)!
Baptize on Sunday night at the close of the service. Make much of it. Be
sure the relatives and friends of the ones to be baptized are notified. You thu
s will have a larger crowd to preach to and some of them will probably be unsave
d folk. Your people may be surprised to see who some of the visitors are who cam
e to see their friends baptized.
4. Keep Things Moving
Do not let the Sunday night service (or any other one) drag along at a p
oor, dying rate. From the opening song or chorus to the closing “Amen,” keep thi
ngs moving and interesting.
Be sure the choir is in place and ready to go on the stroke of seven (or
whatever time you begin the service). Musicians should have their cue cards wel
l in advance of the opening moment of the service. Ushers should be the alerted
if the pastor wants anything passed out or taken up that is out of the ordinary.
Let no delays take place.
Fortunate the pastor who has some radio and television experience. If yo
u do not have, it would be good to observe some good pastors whose services are
telecast and whose success is evident. Watch how they do it. Then pretend you ar
e on the air even if you are not. I do not mean that we should be precise and “p
rofessional.” I do mean we should be synchronized, smooth, alert, and well organ
ized so that the service moves along beautifully and in such interesting fashion
, that no one would dare sleep through a minute of it.
If a deacon has that opening prayer, be sure it is one who will pray out
clearly and distinctly and is not afraid of the “mike.” If yours is a very smal
l church, he may stay at his seat to pray, but be sure he stands and speaks out
very clearly. Though he talks to God for us, he will not edify or encourage the
saints if they do not hear him. If he is to come to the platform let him know ah
ead of time so that he can be making his way up there and already at the pulpit
when the pastor says, “Let us pray.” The pastor may say, “Brother Jones is comin
g to lead us to the throne of grace. Let us remember especially to pray for….Now
let us bow as Brother Jones leads us.” By that time, Jones is on the spot and r
eady to pray.
Be sure song numbers are chosen in advance. Do not let long pauses put a
damper on your service. Make certain the ushers know where the visitors’ cards
are ahead of time. Do not have the hands of the visitors in the air while some u
sher runs out into the vestibule to try to find the cards, as I have frequently
seen them do.
If the trio is going to sing, be sure the song director motions to them
to be making their way to the platform on the closing verse of the proceeding so
ng so that they immediately step into place to sing.
Do not allow your singers to give a speech before they sing. Some singer
s, both male and female, think this is their chance to “preach.”
Be sure that your song leader does not consume time by talking about eve
ry verse of every song, or by pumping the people with anecdotes all along the wa
y to try to keep them singing. Encourage him to use songs the people can sing. “
Wonderful Grace of Jesus” is a good number for a trained choir but most congrega
tions choke to death on it! To be sure, occasionally a good music man will refer
to the “wonderful truth” contained in this next verse, or will sometimes call a
ttention to “the words in this oft-neglected third verse.” Nevertheless, such co
mments and commentaries should be rare.
If “The Old Rugged Cross” is to be sung, I would two or three verses ins
tead of 5 or 6. Then let the next hymn be a fast moving one. Stay out of the rut
.
By the time the choir or the quartet takes their seats, the pastor shoul
d already be making his next introduction or the song leader should be starting
the next song. If there was as much “dead space” on television productions as in
the average church service, the persons would lose millions of dollars in adver
tising time. Keep things moving.
At invitation time, be sure the musicians are near their instruments and
do not have to travel from “the backside of the desert” to get on the bench for
this important song. When the pastor starts his invitation the whole staff—pers
onal workers, choir, musicians, ushers, all—should be most alert. Never have a m
usical introduction for the invitation hymn. Strike while the iron is hot. When
the preacher says, “Now we will sing,” the chord should be sounded and the invit
ation hymn begun at once. Do not give the sinner out there a second or a minute
of silence or delay to change his mind about coming forward.
5. Have Plenty of Light and Sound
Be sure the lights are all on and bright, especially over the pulpit and
choir. However, do not let it be too subdued in the congregation either. People
do not doze very well under bright lights.
Make sure the sound system is on and that it is turned up loud. This is
the most important message in the world. Do not muffle it. If young people are t
o sing, children are to recite, or a testimony is to be given, the sound technic
ian will probably need to raise the volume or the effectiveness may be lost. The
n, of course, the sound will be adjusted again when the preacher (most of us are
loud mouths) or the choir comes back on for the next thing to be done.
Make sure the choir comes aloud and clear on the invitation song. Some p
eople never hear the words of an invitation appeal, the words are sung so softly
.
6. Be Optimistic and Encouraging
People have left churches and moved away from good pastors because the d
iscouraging word and the minor note were sounded so frequently from the pulpit.
Read some good motivational material now and then. Be optimistic and cheerful. “
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” Many of these people chose you tonigh
t over their favorite comic or some exciting story on TV. You are not to be an e
ntertainer or a dunce but at least you can be happy and cheerful. It is contagio
us. Use good psychology with your people. Some Christian leaders are so down in
the dumps themselves that their followers can hardly be expected to be otherwise
.
Instead of emphasizing how many are absent tonight, rejoice over “all of
you who came.” Never fuss at those who came for the sins of those who did not c
ome. Remind them that “a crowd draws a crowd” and that by being faithful in thei
r places, as they are, others will be encouraged to come, too.
Keep your chin up during the service even if you feel like falling on yo
ur face when it is all over.
7. Plan a Series of Messages or Follow Through on Some Exciting Themes from
Time to Time
While the series should not be too long, I find that a frequent series o
f messages will do much to generate interest.
“The Book of Revelation Speaks,” “Thrilling Themes of the Second Coming,
” “Successful Giants of the Old Testament,” “Men Whose Prayers Were Answered,” “
How to Have a Successful Marriage and a Happy Home”—these and many others could
be the subject for a fascinating series of messages.
“What the Bible Teaches About…” is another way to go about it, dealing w
ith worldliness, abortion, lust and pornography, capital punishment, marriage, c
ompromise, music, the Holy Spirit, Hell, etc., etc.
Try to get the people committed to attend the first message in the serie
s and then enlist them for the rest in the series. We will always pick up a few
regulars for Sunday night who were not regulars before.
When Bishop Pike died in the desert, when Marilyn Monroe, the sex goddes
s, died from an overdose, when the Silver Bridge fell in the Ohio River, when th
e lights all went out in New York City, our people knew there would probably be
an exciting message on the subject in the light of the bible soon. So on Sunday
nights we had such sermons as:
The Case of the Wandering Bishop
What Killed Marilyn Monroe?
The Fatal Fall of the Silver Bridge
The Night New York Disappeared
The Death of the Rock King
The Invasion of the Beatles
The Space Walk
My Trip to Outer Space
Was Betsy [a hurricane] an Act of God? Etc., etc.
A brief story for the little ones sometimes during the song service, a s
pecial presentation by the teens, a “pocket sermon” for the kids (speaking brief
ly on some object a child takes from the pastor’s coat pocket), a contest to see
which boys and girls can bring the most visitors, an occasional (or perhaps a r
egular) refreshment time for the youth afterwards—all of these things help to ke
ep some “sparkle” in the Sunday night service and also keeps the interest of the
younger generation we’re always fuming about.
8. Variety Is the Spice, Here, Too!
Perhaps a series of “pulpit editorials” on current events in the light of the Bi
ble, brought by the pastor and well-planned, can be intriguing. They would be fr
om 3 to 5 minutes and would be read during the song service or just before the s
ermon.
A pew-packing contest among the adults when the pastor is preaching a se
ries of sermons to the unsaved would be good.
Some unusual contest with couples or individuals competing to get people
to church will help in regular services (if not done too often) as well as duri
ng revivals or for Sunday school contests.
A presentation from our Christian school or some other good Christian sc
hool in the area occasionally is good and makes for variety.
Carefully chosen and well-named topics for a sermon will help gather int
erest even if the subject matter is that with which they are quite familiar.
A fellowship time afterwards, either at the church social hall or in the
homes of the people, will sometimes help. Adults as well as young people need s
ome times to get together just for fun, food, and fellowship.
9. A Few Things to Remember:
Start on time—always, and end at a decent hour, too.
Pick a starting time that will help you reach the most people. It is eas
ier to start early in a city environment, perhaps, than in a farm community wher
e many have to do the “milking” before they can come to church.
Get your ushers excited about this important service. Make sure they are
there early to greet people and that they really serve as ushers, before, durin
g and after the services.
Make sure your deacons are geared-up for the Sunday night service. They
need to be with you in making this a great “church night” or “soul-winning effor
t” or whatever you are striving for currently in your Sunday night services. The
deacons and their wives should always be a welcoming committee to mingle among
the people and make sure weak Christians are encouraged and visitors come back.
Youth meetings or other training services before the main Sunday night h
our will often feed crowds and interest on into your evening service.
However, I would not let the early study or training hour degenerate int
o a dry, dull, lifeless meeting where your main workers feel obligated to attend
when they could be out witnessing and bringing people into the night service. D
ecide which is most important to what you are trying to do.
Play up the Sunday night service in every way possible. Advertise widely
. Announce it on the radio in exciting terms. Get television spots if you can af
ford to do so. Use the church page in the daily paper.
Do not let the service drag. Keep it alive. Keep announcements brief and
to the point. Do not call on men to pray who will pray all around the world and
put people to sleep. Do not have too many preliminaries. Have plenty of spirite
d music and singing, but not too much. Do not keep the people overtime too often
if you want to keep them coming.
Have a good, clean, and well-staffed nursery in which parents can have c
onfidence. Many will come so they won’t have to wrestle with the baby for an hou
r or so.
Watch the kids! Do not let children or teens talk, giggle, and otherwise
disturb your service. The very people they are disturbing may be the ones you a
re trying to reach for Christ. Keep at least 1 or two staff members on the platf
orm to “eyeball” them while you preach. Make sure the ushers are alert to “troub
le spots” in the congregation. Don’t hesitate to let parents learn that children
are big enough to sit by themselves or with other church only if, they’re old e
nough to be still and listen reverently. Try to train a host of your youth to si
t near the front. This encourages other to do so, too. It is better for parents
or ushers to handle the discipline problem than for the preacher to have to call
down offending children from the pulpit.
(In the case of teens, make friends with them, love them, let them know
you want them there, and are genuinely interested in them. If they like you and
know that you like them, you will not have as much discipline problem with them.
)
Stress your Wednesday night service to this Sunday night crowd. Let them
know about the absorbing Bible studies and the important prayer time while you
have them there with you. You may soon have as many on Wednesday night as you do
on Sunday night!
10. Good Choruses for Sunday Night Services:
My Lord Knows the Way through the Wilderness
Come and Dine
Christ Is All I Need
Some Golden Daybreak
It Is Summertime in My Heart
All Because of Calvary
Safe Am I
He Owns the Cattle on a Thousand Hills
We’ll Never Say Goodbye in Glory
Sing as You Ride
Constantly Abiding
Surely Goodness and Mercy
The Windows of Heaven Are Open
I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord
Behold He Comes
Happiness Is
My Sins Are Gone
I Am the Resurrection
If You Want Joy
Every Day With Jesus
Everybody Ought to Know
Altogether Lovely
He Careth for You
Lead Me to Some Soul Today
Jesus Is the Sweetest Name I Know
There are many, many more. Do not get in a rut!