Some critics find fault with what certain new-model churches do in their prime-time Sunday morning worship services in general and what seeker model churches do in particular—they focus on unchurched, lost people.

The argument

My experience is that many critics don't understand the seeker concept. They assume that the Sunday morning worship time at a seeker church is a normal worship service for believers and judge what takes place accordingly. Obviously this is unfair to the seeker church and is a straw man argument logically.

Critics who do understand the seeker model argue that Sunday morning should be a time of edification for the church, not of evangelism for the lost.

I see several advantages to the seeker worship approach. First, it encourages and can potentially involve the entire congregation in evangelism, which simply doesn't happen in most churches around the world. (Far too many congregations believe that it is the pastor's job not only to do the work of the ministry for them but to win people to Christ.)

A second advantage is that it allows the church to focus what they're doing. Willow Creek Community Church, located in Barrington, Illinois has separate services for believers, meeting on separate nights during the week. Thus their approach allows them to focus specifically on the purpose and nature of each meeting. One service is designed for lost people, and the other for saved people.

Objections

What does Scripture say about the seeker concept? Does the Bible speak against such an approach? The answer is an unequivocal no!

Here are some of the objections I've heard to the seeker approach. One is that, according to Romans 3:11, people are not able to seek after God. However, in Acts 17:26-27, Paul talks to a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers about people seeking God. I believe the difference is the convicting and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in an unbeliever's life.

Another objection to the seeker approach is that the meetings in the church facility should be only for believers, to train them in the Bible so that they can go out into the world and win people to Christ. This is merely an opinion. Those who argue this way don't cite any biblical support. The reason is there is none.

A third objection is that the church (believers) should meet on the weekends because the early church met on the first day of the week. Scripture does say that some churches met on the first day of the week. However, these passages are descriptive and not prescriptive. In addition, Luke observes that the Jersualem church met every day (Acts 2:46). What's important isn't when a church meets but what takes pleace when it meets. Furthermore, Paul clearly warns those who would judge others in these matters not to do so (Romans 14:10-13).

The challenge

Having said all this in favor of the seeker model, I do believe that seeker churches aren't without their difficulties. They are difficult to plant, and like all models, they have a shelf life. My concern is whether seeker churches will make the adjustments necessary to reach a younger, postmodern generation or go the way of other models that have reached the end of their shelf life.

Adapted with permission from "A New Kind of Church: Understanding Models of Ministry for the 21st Century," by Aubrey Malphurs, Baker Books 2007.