Newer Service Times

Why are we changing our service times again?
Over the past number of months we received feedback that for some people the new service times were creating real challenges. As we listened to people, we felt that our separation of music from teaching was not working well for many. Although our new service times solved some issues for us, particularly the concern with Cineplex, it was not working well enough for many people. Rather than continue, we felt it was better to get everyone’s input and then look to find a new set of solutions. We were able to find some new solutions that have opened up these new service times as legitimate options and as we have tested them with our church family, the majority of our church family feels excited that these new times will work much better for them.

Why didn't we go to these times when we first changed service times?
We didn’t have this option at our Regional Sites when we made the switch last year. Cineplex was requiring an earlier exit time and was not going to allow us to launch any more sites unless we made a significant change. After we made the change, they were very appreciative. Over time, they have softened and are now open to working with us on a more middle ground solution. These new times will still need to be evaluated with Cineplex to see if they are sustainable and workable over time. Pray with us that we can find additional solutions to improve our setup and takedown times.

I noticed that there is no common service time between Oakville and the Regional Sites. Does this mean we’ll never have live teaching again at our Regional Sites?
No, we will have that option again if we decide that it is best for our church family. We originally worked to keep all of our sites fully aligned in both structure and times. We are still working towards this goal although right now our Oakville and Regional sites are offset by 15 minutes.  We have two key issues to resolve before we can reconsider a live connection. First, we need to rebuild our equipment in Oakville. This is under way. Second, we have to determine if these new times will work with Cineplex long term. Once we have resolved both of these issues then we can look at the various issues involved with going live (cost, stress on volunteers, benefits, additional changes needed if any, etc.). We believe we can go live again but we felt with all the variables involved that it was best to simply get the service times close and to select the best possible times for our church family. It’s important to note that over 75% of people responding to the survey in our Regional Sites indicated that they either like it, or that it doesn’t matter being in a week delay teaching reality.

Will the Parry Sound site always be off of the standard times?
At this point our Parry Sound site is enjoying how the services are flowing and so we don’t feel the need to force a change. They meet in a high school and so also enjoy a bit more flexibility for their exit times. In time if they feel they would like to align with the other sites or we decide to go live again, then we can revisit this with them to see what is best.

How does Cineplex feel about these new exit times?
They are willing to work with us to see if we can achieve these times and also address the exiting concerns that they have raised with us. So again, please pray with us that we can find additional solutions to help us more efficiently exit the theatres. We are optimistic that we will be able to make this work.

Why didn’t we go back to the original service times in Oakville?
One of the challenges we had with our original times was that we had one service that was completely packed and experienced consistent logistical challenges around children’s ministry and parking. Also, we had two other services that we could not fill to capacity because of their very early and very late service times. After taking in feedback from our Oakville church family, these new service times provides the best combination of excellent service times and creating the maximum number of seats at two services, rather than just one.

How does Cineplex feel about these new exit times?
They are willing to work with us to see if we can achieve these times and also address the exiting concerns that they have raised with us. So again, please pray with us that we can find additional solutions to help us more efficiently exit the theatres. We are optimistic that we will be able to make this work.

Why are we having an 8:00 service in Oakville?
First, we benefit by doing a full service before we capture two complete services on video. This allows us to get all of the technical bugs worked out and also allows Bruxy (or whoever is teaching) to get feedback before we record the teaching for our sites. By doing an 8am service we can pick between the two later services and determine which one is best for our sites. Also, ten percent of our Oakville community prefer this earlier time. Finally, it helps relieve pressure at the later services and helps to create space for more people.