The purpose of these worship resources is to help congregations—especially those without pastors—lead meaningful, faithful worship that strengthens Christian community and helps the church move forward.
While these services are designed with churches without pastors in mind, pastors and other trained leaders are also encouraged to use, adapt, and revise these materials for their local context.
Using These Resources
- Each worship service is formatted for easy use on smartphones and tablets.
- Leaders are encouraged to copy, paste, and adapt these services for printed bulletins, projection, or other digital formats.
- The “Shared Reflections” sections may be used as guided group conversation or adapted into a more traditional sermon or teaching moment.
- Please cite this work when reproducing or adapting it.
Leadership is Shared
Every congregation will organize leadership differently. Some will rely on elders, others on rotating lay leaders, teams, or trained facilitators. These resources assume that leadership is shared and learned over time.
The goal is not to reduce leadership to a few people, but to grow more leaders within the church. All leaders are encouraged to continue learning, to seek training, and to ask for help when needed. If support or training would be helpful, leaders are invited to reach out to Matt directly.
Silence and Pacing
Silence can be a powerful and faithful part of worship.
- Silence allows Scripture to settle, emotions to surface, and the Spirit to work.
- Leaders may need to hold silence gently—long enough to be meaningful, but not so long that it becomes uncomfortable or confusing.
- Over time, congregations can be taught when silence is helpful and when guidance is needed.
There is no need to rush. Faithful worship values attentiveness over efficiency.
Conversation and Difference
Shared Reflection is not about finding the “right” answer.
- Leaders are encouraged to hold differences gently and respectfully.
- Faithfulness is not uniformity of thought, but learning how to live and worship together.
- There is a difference between the center of the faith—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and matters where faithful Christians may disagree.
Leaders may affirm participation and honesty without affirming every theological claim. Listening itself is a form of faithfulness.
Emotional Expression and Care
Worship can open deep emotional space.
- At times, open emotion is appropriate and faithful.
- At other times, leaders may need to gently regulate the depth of sharing for the sake of the whole group.
- Leaders help congregations learn what level of intimacy fits the moment—and when a story or concern may be better shared in another setting.
This is not about shutting people down, but about caring well for the community.
Sacraments in the PC(USA)
Communion is encouraged and may be celebrated as frequently as each congregation discerns.
In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):
- Ministers of Word and Sacrament and Commissioned Pastors (Commissioned Ruling Elders) may preside at Communion.
- Local elders may be trained and commissioned to lead Communion within their congregation.
- Currently, baptism is administered by Ministers of Word and Sacrament or Commissioned Pastors (Commissioned Ruling Elders-CREs).
Congregations are encouraged to follow their denominational guidance while seeking faithful and hospitable practice. Congregations may also want to work to change the system in the PC(USA) so local elders can be commissioned to administer baptism within their local faith community.
Adaptation to Local Context
These worship services are resources, not scripts.
- Leaders are encouraged to shorten, simplify, or reshape services as needed.
- Music should reflect the gifts, culture, and needs of the local congregation—live, recorded, sung, or spoken.
- Physical space matters. In some contexts, gathering around tables or closer seating may better reflect the size and relational needs of the community than using a large sanctuary designed for many more people.
Changes to space and practice should be approached thoughtfully, with conversation and care.
The Larger Goal
The goal of these resources is not simply to keep church doors open.
The goal is to help Christian communities grow in trust, faithfulness, and shared leadership, so that congregations not only survive, but thrive—especially during seasons of transition.
Theology and the Order of Worship
You will notice a change in the order of worship. Typically, we think about confessing our sins, and then receiving an assurance of forgiveness. One of the hallmarks of the reformed faith is that God acts first. In this spirit, we often have liturgy for assurance before confession. Our liturgy should match our theology. This change is a strong opportunity to talk to your people about how the early reformed church embraced God’s saving action as the first step: You did not choose me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16).