SEEKING NEW FOLLOWERS: CHURCHES ADAPT MUSIC AND SERVICE TO A CHANGING AMERICA (WAYS WE WORSHIP)

As more and more people are seeking to find their faith, churches are examining different styles of music, embracing change, adding service times and developing new programs -- all in an attempt to create a sense of worship.

The Southeast Missourian begins today an occasional series looking at the ways we worship, whether in congregations large or small and whatever the denomination.

Modern missionaries

La Croix United Methodist Church tries to use a variety of music styles in its worship services to stay current with the culture, said Chris Nall, director of music teams and worship arts.

Just like missionaries to Africa first have to learn the native language and customs, La Croix tries to adapt to a changing American culture in conveying the Christian message.

The church has a program for "seeker-sensitive" worship, which blends contemporary styles of drama and music. The church first began meeting in 1988 in a movie theater.

People choose to worship for any number of reasons but musical style can have a great influence on the church they attend. Musical styles today help define a church better than any denominational label, said Dr. Andy Pratt, a Baptist campus minister who also teaches religion courses at Southeast Missouri State University.

"We're not boxing the music in but staying current," Nall said. "We use hymns every week but we do it in our style and change the feel of the song. It's the same melody."

"We do it because we're trying to target the people of today, not that the traditional or classical styles aren't effective," he said.

Some people prefer those styles. Worship means certain music styles to many people, Nall said. "Maybe it's because they met Christ to that music."

People associate songs with certain events in their lives -- hymns have that association for many people.

But La Croix tries to develop a style that includes Top 40 and contemporary Christian music. "That's what people listen to," Nall said.

The church is one of the first area congregations to develop a "seeker" style of service. People from any background could attend the worship and feel comfortable. Everything from the Lord's Prayer to offering collections are explained in simple terms throughout the service.

"You won't hear any church-type words," said Dee Dee Wilson, worship team coordinator for the church. "We want to speak and do things in today's language but everything is biblical. Everything we do is intentional."

Bringing comfort

"We do it because we want people to be comfortable there," said John Mehner, a church member and worship assistant. "It blends with our mission about bringing people to Christ and turning them into disciples."

For several years, the church would recite the Lord's Prayer during some of its worship services, but unless you knew the prayer by memory you wouldn't find it in a worship bulletin or overhead screen during the service.

"It finally dawned on us two months ago that some people might not know it," Wilson said. Now the prayer is printed in the bulletin for that service.

Congregations develop worship styles that make them unique.

But church leaders from all denominations are learning that it's more the quality of the service than the style.

"It's not so much the style of worship but the quality and vitality," said Elmer Revelle, coordinator of area ministries for the United Methodist Church in Missouri.

One of the fastest-growing Methodist churches is a traditional church with 5,000 attending and the pastor wears traditional robes, Revelle said. "They are more traditional than what is considered seeker but they are doing it in such a quality way they are growing."

La Croix is growing by leaps and bounds also. Attendance figures recently released in a church newsletter show that worship attendance was 633 in 1999. By 2000, it had reached 762 and is now at the 1,000 mark each week.

United Methodist churches, like those in many other denominations, have developed worship styles that range from seeker to blended to traditional. Some churches do one or all three of those type services throughout the week, Revelle said.

People come to a church for different reasons, but primarily for preaching and music, Nall said.

"We want them to know Jesus loves them," Wilson said. "True worship of any type does something to your heart and makes you want more. Hopefully that's what we achieve. "

Both Wilson and Nall come from other denominational backgrounds and realize that people are less linked by those labels today.

"You have to meet the needs where they are," Revelle said. "Each denomination brings a uniqueness of history and understanding of God."

Being open to new ideas, like seeker services or contemporary worship music, "helps us to have a renewed understanding of what it means" to be Christian, Revelle said.