Church Start Times

Posted on March 21, 2008 by Guest Contributor

I’ve seen church services begin at 11:11 a.m. (perhaps for superstition’s sake) but never at these times:

… I just went to a website that advertises services at 11:01 and 8:01. What is up with that?! Does setting the time a minute or two past the standard time automatically make that service more hip? Does it add that sexy postmodern edge? Is it just a marketing ploy? I don’t get it.

Does it really matter? People will still walk in late. And the worship music is going to be playing for the next 324892342 minutes, anyway…

(via grrrl meets world)


[tags]atheist, atheism, Christian[/tags]

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  • http://themousesnest.blogspot.com Mouse

    I drove by a church yesterday advertising services at 8:23 and 11:45. I wondered why one was an oddly specific time and the other was fairly normal.

  • Cindy

    Supposedly there have been studies that show that people are more likely to be on time if the start time is not on the hour or half-hour. I remember reading a newspaper article about it, but can’t find anything online right now.

  • Tom in Iowa

    During my “on the church council” phase we had a similar issue, but with a much simpler explanation. The maintenance guy who took care of the sign had simply run out of or lost the “0″ letters that fit on the sign, so he figured a minute or two wouldn’t make any difference.

  • Cade

    Wow, over 617 years for worship music. That’s an impressive accomplishment.

  • Mriana

    You know, Hemant, maybe those who walk in late are in transition. I know there was a time I felt guilty if I was late and avoided it. Then I started not caring and not taking any of it seriously. I didn’t care what others thought because it was hype. Then I just stopped going because I realized the reason why I didn’t care was because I didn’t believe it anymore. So maybe those who walk in late are going through a transition. Which might not be a such a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

    Of course, this transition could go either way, but I think eventually many just drop out after a while.

  • http://blackskeptic.wordpress.com blackskeptic

    oh yes. that sexy postmodern edge. haha. her comment had me literally laughing out loud :) my family’s church starts at 8:25am instead of 8:30am. i guess that’s not as sexy as 8:01am.

  • http://emergingpensees.com MikeClawson

    My guess is that they figure unique starting times are more likely to stick in people’s minds. If you drive by a church sign that says 8:01, you’re more likely to remember it and even comment on it, than a sign that merely says 8:00. In other words, it’s a marketing ploy.

    As for coming in late, sometimes it’s people trying to avoid the worship music (many Christians really can’t stand it either), and sometimes it’s us parents of toddlers who struggle to be on time to anything when you have little ones to wrestle with.