‘Something Different’
Contemporary Service Thriving At B’water UMC
Posted: October 13, 2012
The most unusual aspect of a new worship service at Bridgewater United Methodist Church isn’t its contemporary nature, rotating speakers or its evening time.
It’s the age of the person who started it.
Alyssa McDorman, an 18-year-old freshman at Blue Ridge Community College, has been going to Bridgewater UMC since she was in fifth grade.
While she was in high school, she asked God to reveal his purpose for her future. She believes the answer was that she should start a contemporary service at the church.
“At first, I was like … no way. I can’t do that,” she said. “It was about a year until I finally said something [to church leaders].”
But when she finally did reveal her idea in the spring, everyone was supportive, she said.
Less than a year later, the new 6:30 p.m. service is alive and well. About 85 people showed up to the first service on Sept. 30.
While all age groups are welcome, it was originally geared toward the younger crowd, McDorman said. She was hoping from the beginning that it would fit better with schedules and pull more participants through the church doors.
“There used to be a lot [of youth] that sat in the front, filling up two pews, and there were less and less,” she said of the two morning services at Bridgewater UMC. “I thought maybe we needed something different. A lot of people were saying, ‘We just can’t make it in the mornings.’ ”
But she was pleasantly surprised to see that the service appealed to more than just younger students.
“To me, it looked like a pretty even amount of all ages,” she said about the first service.
Nearly everything about the evening service is different compared with the two morning services.
The order is almost backward, with the announcements at the end and no special time for collecting an offering; people just leave their contributions in baskets as they walk in or out. A full band plays contemporary worship music and a different speaker is scheduled to grace the stage each Sunday.
“The morning services are important, too, it’s just something different,” McDorman said.
It’s the age of the person who started it.
Alyssa McDorman, an 18-year-old freshman at Blue Ridge Community College, has been going to Bridgewater UMC since she was in fifth grade.
While she was in high school, she asked God to reveal his purpose for her future. She believes the answer was that she should start a contemporary service at the church.
“At first, I was like … no way. I can’t do that,” she said. “It was about a year until I finally said something [to church leaders].”
But when she finally did reveal her idea in the spring, everyone was supportive, she said.
Less than a year later, the new 6:30 p.m. service is alive and well. About 85 people showed up to the first service on Sept. 30.
While all age groups are welcome, it was originally geared toward the younger crowd, McDorman said. She was hoping from the beginning that it would fit better with schedules and pull more participants through the church doors.
“There used to be a lot [of youth] that sat in the front, filling up two pews, and there were less and less,” she said of the two morning services at Bridgewater UMC. “I thought maybe we needed something different. A lot of people were saying, ‘We just can’t make it in the mornings.’ ”
But she was pleasantly surprised to see that the service appealed to more than just younger students.
“To me, it looked like a pretty even amount of all ages,” she said about the first service.
Nearly everything about the evening service is different compared with the two morning services.
The order is almost backward, with the announcements at the end and no special time for collecting an offering; people just leave their contributions in baskets as they walk in or out. A full band plays contemporary worship music and a different speaker is scheduled to grace the stage each Sunday.
“The morning services are important, too, it’s just something different,” McDorman said.
Contact Candace Sipos at 574-6275 or csipos@dnronline.com.