Grace Fellowship Church Gets to the Point

When members of Grace Fellowship Church stepped up to take communion Sunday, Sept. 12, there was no music to accompany them as they stood in line. Their worship was carried out in a moment of silence, and instead of passing a collection plate (an act that traditionally requires music), they were reminded to give at the door on their way out.

It was the non-denominational church's first 2-the-Point service, a new program that aims to pull in more churchgoers by removing one of the essentials of Christian corporate worship: the music.

The end result is a shorter service, stripped down to a few prayers, a sermon and, on this day, communion. Around 25 people were in attendance at the 8:30 a.m. service on Sept. 12, a substantially lower number than the 180-200 who attend the regular 10:30 a.m. service.

John Morlan, pastor of Grace Fellowship, said he got the idea for the new service when he read a May 2010 study of 1,000 men, conducted by Christian Vision for Men and Sorted, a British Christian magazine. The survey found that most British men would rather be in the library or the hospital or caught in a lingerie shop than be in church. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they felt uncomfortable in a pew, while 67 percent said they do not feel comfortable singing in church.

Morlan was also spurred by conversations he had had with friends who wanted to be churchgoers but felt out-of-place.

"It occurred to me for the first time that men don't not want to go to church, but they just don't want to sing," he said. He added that while the service was created with men in mind, he hopes the service will connect with all types of people who are not used to the contemporary Christian music the church usually offers.

"Worship is not music," Morlan said as he addressed the congregation before the silent prayers. "Music is worship, but worship isn't music. ... If this is a put-off to people, why should we do it?"

John Makarowski, a member of the church since 1995, described the service as "barebones, no frills, it was nice."

His daughter, Donna Laib, plays piano in the worship team during the regular service at Grace Fellowship. Though she said the music-less service was hard for her, she did think it served a purpose.

"Whether it works out or not, it's neat that the church has a goal to meet the needs of the community."

Linda Bretall, a member of Grace Fellowship for more than 10 years, said she did love the music at the church. However, she said she does "sometimes crave a quieter service."

Morlan said the 2-the-Point service will continue on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. at least through Christmas. Contemporary services with music are at 10:30.

The number of attendees at Grace Fellowship Church's regular service is 180-200. This article originally misstated the number of attendees.