Seeker styles are geared toward simplifying the gospel message and welcoming the non-believer, so that people from non-Christian backgrounds can feel more at ease attending a church service. This type of approach, to win the lost, is exactly what the church is called to do. Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Furthermore, in Matthew 18:11, Jesus said: “I have come to seek and to save, that which was lost.” Clearly, the church is called to seek the lost out and to preach the gospel to them, so that they may know and serve Jesus Christ.
Willow Creek Community Church, in the mid-70s, was the first church to break from tradition and explore what seeker services might look like. The seeker service style approach was born out of the desire to fish for men, to see the lost found.
According to Spectrums of Worship, aspects of the Willow Creek seeker service included, “From the very beginning we decided to devote our weekend services to evangelism and outreach. We wrote dramas, created multi-image slide shows, and gathered in the wee hours of the morning each Sunday to set up some basic sound and lighting equipment in the local movie theater.”
The seeker service is designed to be more evangelistic in nature, rather than assuming the people in the congregation understand the concepts of the gospel. This approach is excellent and requires that the gospel is shared in simple terms each week in the church.
How then is the “seeker” service better in its approach than the traditional style?
The seeker service is designed to be more evangelistic in nature, rather than assuming the people in the congregation understand the concepts of the gospel. This approach is excellent and requires that the gospel is shared in simple terms each week in the church.
It is absolutely essential that the church remains focused on simplifying the gospel, so that anyone who attends a service can understand. Therefore, the move from a theological hymn based worship service, complete with expository preaching to a service with more dramas, gospel videos, and story-like sermons, positively affected the way in which outsiders were able to hear the gospel.
The long-term negative effect that occurs when the church is too seeker friendly on Sunday mornings, is the lack of discipleship and teaching that believers need in order to really grow up in the knowledge of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Unless there are opportunities for spiritual depth in the body, the church will suffer lack of community and spiritual nourishment.
How has the “seeker” service had a negative effect on the church?
The long-term negative effect that occurs when the church is too seeker friendly on Sunday mornings, is the lack of discipleship and teaching that believers need in order to really grow up in the knowledge of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Unless there are opportunities for spiritual depth in the body, the church will suffer lack of community and spiritual nourishment.
Willow Creek Community Church said: “If weekends were for outreach, however, then we quickly realized that we would need an additional time designed to grow and deepen our believers’ relationship with God.”
In short, seeker services can have negative and positive effects. The goal of a seeker service is certainly godly in nature and worthy of a church's time and effort. However, unless balanced with programs designed specifically for the believers to receive deeper nourishment, it has the potential to weaken the body of Christ.
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