Sacred Space: A Hands-On Guide to Creating Multisensory Worship ...

UNDERSTANDING THE LIMITATIONSOF THE “SERMON”Studies have shown that within aweek, an incredibly high percentageof people can’t recall what wastaught in the sermon the week before.Think about it. How much doyou remember from the sermon lastweek? How about two weeks ago?Three weeks ago? I’ve found youcan ask the preachers themselveswhat they taught two weeks before—and even they have a hard time remembering.I’m not saying sermonsaren’t needed, or that they don’thelp people grow. At Vintage FaithChurch, the sermons run 35 to 45minutes long each week. Sermonsare important.But let’s be realistic. In terms oflisteners remembering and internalizingsermons—even a week or twoweeks later—we often believe sermonshave greater staying powerthan they actually do.What we desire through experientialworship is to enhance the learningand enhance the remembering.It’s important to also create ways forstudents to be in the Scriptures andlearn outside of the worship service.In youth ministry, perhaps we canbe teaching theology, apologetics,church history, and how to study theBible as a normal part of what we do.Small groups are another major waywe help students learn and developthe skills of personal Bible study. Butour single gathering each week mustbe designed to have the maximumimpact on students’ lives. That’s whywe believe paying attention to howstudents learn in our main youthgatherings is very important.—Dan KimballWhat we teach about God shapes our attitudes towardGod. However, we need to also consider that teachingnonverbally is a valid and necessary (and biblical) way toteach as well.We should always be asking ourselves, Is how wepreach based on the Bible, or is it our own particular preference?For example, the Bible never says that we shouldgive three- or four-point sermons. The Bible never sayswe should always end sermons with application points.What it says is to watch doctrine and preach with the wisdomand power of the Spirit, not our own wisdom andpower. So there may be many valid ways to preach—andwe rather should be asking ourselves, Is our preaching accurateaccording to Scripture? and Is our preaching effectiveand changing lives?This book is designed to assist you in proclaimingthe truths of Scripture and doing it in new ways to moredeeply reach your students.So please understand; we don’t view experiential,multisensory worship as simply a fad. We don’t see this aswatering down the Scriptures. We see this as teachingthe Scriptures in ways that help students learn and rememberthem.Knowing How We Learn Is Crucialto Spiritual Growth and How We TeachDid you know that research shows that only 20 percent ofthe world learns through their ears? Thus, if we want theother 80 percent of us (and our students) to “get” the storyof God, then we need to teach the Bible in more ways thansimply auditory (i.e., sermons or talks).Of course this doesn’t just mean simply adding a videoor a slide show to your “up front” time. The latter visualsare fine, but they still make the members of your group16