Worship Services: For Believers or Unbelievers?

As a pastor, one of the things I’ve thought a lot about is whether our services should be geared towards believers or unbelievers. I think the most biblical answer is both.

I think it goes without saying that corporate worship gatherings are to build up the body of Christ. Worship and Bible preaching definitely strengthen believers (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; 1 Tim. 4:11-16). If church services are not strengthening believers we are not being 100% faithful to our calling as a church.

However, if we neglect the evangelistic element in our services we are being equally unfaithful. Why is this? Several reasons from Scripture:

• In the context of public worship, Paul expected unbelievers to enter Christian worship services (1 Cor. 14:23)

• Paul expected unbelievers to be converted to Christ in Christian worship services (1 Cor. 14:24)

• Paul urges sensitivity to unbelievers in corporate worship for the sake of the gospel. In the gathered community, he urges intelligibility in the use of spiritual gifts over unintelligibility for their sake (1 Cor. 14:23b)

• In the context of preaching the Scriptures to the gathered Christian community, Paul told the young pastor Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5). Whatever Paul may have intended by this, he surely expected Gospel-centered Bible preaching to lead to the salvation of sinners

• In the early church, God “added to their number daily those who were being saved.” This would include their day of corporate worship.

In our services I will typically give unbelievers and opportunity to give their lives to Christ because of the above biblical reasons. Also, I’m not at all suggesting that the evangelistic ministry of the church be restricted to Sunday mornings. Indeed, believers should be sharing their faith all week long.

When it comes to corporate worship, I don’t think we need “believers only services” and “unbelievers only services”. The biblical picture of the church is the regenerated family of God worshipping, fellowshipping, and receiving teaching from the word of God on a regular basis in a local community. At these gatherings, unbelievers will be present and should come to faith in Christ. So I opt not for “believer only” or “seeker sensitive” services, but rather “Holy Spirit sensitive” and “Gospel-centered” services. The Gospel builds up believers and saves the unregenerate. The presence of God’s Spirit builds up believers and convicts unbelievers at the same time. In a Gospel-centered church believers will be strengthened and unbelievers will be saved.