Abstract
Nothing is more important, more strategic and more urgently needed than the local Church (Hybels 1995:203). What people need most in life is to have a relationship with Christ, therefore one of the main thrusts of the Church should be evangelism. Hybels repeatedly declares that lost people matter to God and therefore should matter to the Church (1995:186).
The Church has used a myriad of ways to evangelize their communities. A relatively unknown (in South Africa) tool for evangelism is a special service designed to attract and convert seekers. The leaders of Willow Creek Community Church do not believe it is possible to minister optimally to both seekers and believers within the confines of one service. Seekers have a need to hear and receive the gospel message in an atmosphere of anonymity whereas believers, on the other hand, need to regularly participate in worship as a body and to receive biblical teaching that enables them to more fully live their lives as believers.
In honouring the needs of both groups, Willow (Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois which is pastored by Bill Hybels) and Saddleback (Saddleback Valley Community Church in Orange County, Southern California which is pastored by Dr. Rick Warren) has chosen to minister to each group through separate services. They believe that seekers can be optimally reached in a type of service geared primarily to them. The type of service that has been developed there, to serve this purpose is the Seeker Service.
Although both these Churches employ the seeker service to fulfill the Great commission, they approach the service from different perspectives. Hybels’ version of the seeker service could be more aptly termed a “Seeker-driven service”, whereas Warren’s approach is a “seeker-sensitive service”.
In the seeker service, conversion is seen as a process and not a momentary experience, where the so-called “journey of a seeker” is identified and legitimized.
Some mainstream Churches and theologians question and oppose the validity of separate services designed to attract and entertain seekers only. They are convinced that the seeker service is a humanistic attempt to please the unchurched and raise the concern for more sensitivity to God and not man.
Proponents of the seeker service maintain that although the message of the Gospel should remain untouched, the methods should reform to reach a changing generation with the gospel. They are convinced that the seeker service is an excellent tool to reach the lost.
What every Church needs to figure out, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is how to fulfill the front end of the Great Commission (Hybels 1995:175).
The specific goal that I have in mind is to evaluate the seeker service to determine it’s validity as an evangelistic tool for the Church today and the Church tomorrow and to find possible practical recommendations for interested parties.
Dr. Johan Geyser