In the summer and fall of 1999, Pastor Spence and I learned some things at seminars about the world and the people we want to reach. A central learning was this, that a major cultural shift took place around 1960. This shift affected the kind of worship that those born before 1960 and those born after 1960 would respond to.

Those born before grew up in the age of radio, and rely on written and spoken words to experience the world, the church, Christ and God. Traditional worship, with bulletins, written and spoken prayers and praise, along with the preached word, speaks their language. Those born after 1960 grew up in the age of television, computers, and screens. They rely on visual pictures to experience the world, the church, Christ, and God. In addition, they rely on all their senses, not just hearing. Multi-sensory worship, worship that engages all the senses, especially the visual, speaks their language. We learned that these people make up the vast majority of the 60% un-churched in our community. Churches are reaching these folks who use praise teams, dramas, bands, symbolic objects to touch and feel, and especially, video screens, with still or motion pictures supplementing word of mouth messages. Through our Church Council, we formed a New Directions Team, and explored what other churches, who were successfully reaching the un-churched, were doing in these in these areas. We visited, dialogued, and proposed the launching of a New Horizons service. Church Council gave its approval and blessing to this endeavor, and we began New Horizons (a Contemporary Worship Service).

What's on "the horizon for New Horizons? " it seems to me we are on the verge of a significant breakthrough in reaching un-churched people for Christ. Whether it will come next year, or the next or next, I don't know. But I think we're getting close.