The first service at the Pacific Union College church commences with the rich tones of the Rieger organ. Not long ago, this “early service” started at 8:45 and housed a very small congregation, mostly white-haired. Now the first service is called the Majestic and starts at 10 a.m. It is purposeful in presenting a quality traditional service, and is more intergenerational and attended by about four times as many people as before.

These positive changes are part of a larger picture that includes both worship services (the Majestic and the Gathering, which meets just after noon). Led by senior pastor Tim Mitchell, worship and outreach pastor Jessica Shine, and campus chaplain Roy Ice, the church recently began to study how the worship services and congregational community could be strengthened.

“We asked ourselves, what does the congregation need?” Shine recounts. Church members filled out surveys; and focus groups made up of a people from a wide spectrum of ages and roles met to provide feedback and ideas. Then the staff began to consider practical and focal changes to accommodate the needs expressed. Instead of trying for the impossible task of creating a service that would suit the huge spectrum of worshippers, they looked at the two services as individual personalities.

That’s why the Majestic service kept its traditional style, but with a renewed clarity of vision using classic formats and gospel music. The Gathering follows a more contemporary model with a more conversational, informal style and less traditional music. Other changes came, too: creative, short-term “community groups” meet at Sabbath school time, and a hospitality committee encourages fellowship between services by serving refreshments.

The goal is to recognize different styles of community and worship and build on their strengths. Some people need the formality and familiarity of the Majestic; others, the creativity and enthusiasm of the Gathering. “We have the resources to address the interests and felt needs of a broader cross-section of our people,” says Mitchell. He and others recognize that style differences are not merely generational — demonstrated by the fact that students and older community members are now attending both services.

Student Krista Brieno has observed this flexibility. “The Gathering is perfectly geared at college students and young adults, yet it remains all-inclusive.” She recounts a family visit: “The Gathering really passed the test when my dad (a very conservative Adventist) came up to visit me and was pleased with what he experienced.” For Krista, both services are a positive change. “I think that the new services can bring about spiritual changes that will have a campus-wide effect,” she says.

Sean Brizendine, a student who attends both services, quotes Ephesians 2:14: "For He Himself is our peace, who made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility." This, he says, applies to the services. “I feel offering two services has helped reach more people and allows people to attend a service that they enjoy in terms of music and style, while still keeping what is most important at the forefront: Christ.”