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Before I got here in June, the church council had realized in a visioning process that they wanted to start an alternative service. I was drawn to the challenge of starting something new and learning about what is involved in the process. The future of the church is going to rely heavily on church starts, satellite campuses and new services. We are revitalizing our denomination.

The first thing I began to do was talk about who we wanted to reach and what ways we wanted to do that. We spent time researching different styles, trends and best practices of churches, and talking to people who had done this before. We also visited a couple of different services.

The worship team began to decide specifics, such as when do we want to start it, how many people do we want for seeding and what kind of marketing do we want to do? We also identified our priorities, one of them being music, and we went about finding key people we needed for the service, such as a band director and musicians.

We also set some deadlines. Deadlines are important to make sure you're moving forward. We even set goals for the end of our first year, such as how many people we would like to see in worship.

One of the things we agonized over was what to call this new worship experience. We didn't want "service" because we wanted to avoid terms that are churchy.

This was one of the longest processes; it took three to four months to figure it out. But the name was very critical. It was difficult because we were trying to be relevant and fresh, and a lot of the things we were coming up with weren't speaking to us, not reflecting our community and who we want to reach.

Having the right space also is very important. We knew we wanted to use multimedia and multisensory elements, so it helped to find space that was conducive to that.

We decided to use our sister church, St. Luke's UMC, instead of holding it at Metropolitan. That led to questions such as, "What kind of equipment are we going to use," and figuring out those logistics.

One of the key factors in starting a new church is to give yourself time. In our research, some churches took as much as two years. The total time for us was right at one year.

Make sure you're strategic about when you're starting it; we started the first Saturday in Lent.

With marketing, one thing that worked well for us was getting out of the religion section of The Washington Post and getting into the sections we thought people we want to reach are looking at, such as the Washington Post Express, which people read on the Metro.

We also asked church council, the worship team and members of our congregation who had been especially interested to commit to being present as much as they could for two months. It's absolutely essential to create energy and a critical mass of people for the first few services.

Ninety-six people came out for the launch of Crossroads at 5 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28, and not all of them were from Metropolitan and St. Luke's. Some said they heard about us through family and friends; others saw our ads or on the Web.

One of the rewards for me has been watching something develop and come to fruition.

Often in a church we are risk averse and get analysis paralysis. We gather and gather and gather, and then we are afraid to move forward. Now, to see it come together and have the first experience be so well received ... well, if I had written a script, it couldn't have gone any better than this.

Was it perfect? No. Were there glitches? Yes. But one of the things we set out to do was create something different, and I believe we did that.

Just don't underestimate the amount of details involved in planning and putting together something of this magnitude.

That's been the biggest surprise: the sheer amount of details you must consider - parking, childcare, etc.

The details can be overwhelming. It's not as simple as putting together a band and having a worship service.

One person who came to Crossroads told me, "It's obvious you didn't think of this on Monday and pull it together for Saturday."

I actually think some of our greatest challenges are yet to come as we move forward.

We have to be able to honestly evaluate ourselves, to step back and say, "This isn't working." How we evolve in the first three to six months and listen to the Spirit will determine how effective Crossroads will be.

It's important to reflect theologically on why you're doing this: is it just to increase numbers, or is it to make disciples? I think it's the latter. We are seeking ways of building deeper relationships with people and inviting them to experience this thing we call church.

I don't like labels. I don't want to be seen as contemporary or emerging or alternative. We are Crossroads, and we are elements of all those things. We just want to be in relationship with God and with each other.

For more information, check out www.xroadsdc.blogspot.com

Liturgy Imagine a new worship experience so unique that it needed its own blog to introduce it to the community. Envision worship so innovative that traditional church language doesn’t do it justice. Imagine worship that dares to promise life-changing transformation and risks uncertainty and failure to do so. That’s the experience Metropolitan Memorial UMC recently unveiled. Its creator, the Rev. Jimmy Sherrod, shares some of his thoughts on the launch of Crossroads. Multi-sensory stations Post-modern worship draws on ancient wisdom and tomorrow’s traditions to create authentic experiences that draw people into the presence of God. Trying to fit worship into a template for today’s culture usually fails. Find the things that make members of your community vibrate and pursue them. Let the inspiration begin when you explore www.theooze.com . It’s a conversation for the journey. Hospitality Church is a “tag-team sport,” says Mark Batterson, one of Washington, D.C.’s most innovative pastors. “The best form of advertising always has been and always will be word of mouth. I’m also a big believer in word of mouse. ... It’s as simple as that: friends inviting friends. Read Batterson’s e-votional at http://evotional.com . How to start a new service Plan. Plan. Revise. Plan some more, and then step out in faith, giving the Holy Spirit permission to move in your midst. Francis Chan of Cornerstone Church in California asks: “Is there any logic in believing that God started his Church as a Spirit-filled, loving body with the intention that it would evolve into entertaining, hour-long services?” Read more at www.catalystspace.com . The General Board of Discipleship offers a vast array of weekly worship planning resources. Visit www.gbod.org/worship. Ways to communicate Prevenient, justifying and sanctifying? Forgo the jargon; just give them “grace.” Learn more about how your church can be relevant. Visit www.churchmarketing.com or http://churchrelevance.com . Looking to blog? Check out www.wordpress.com ; www.typepad.com or www.blogger.com .