Background
On two consecutive Sundays, August 21st and 28th, the Session invited worship attendees (members and friends) to express their preferences for what time Sunday School and Worship should start. This came after a 4-month period during which Sunday School was held at 8:30 and Worship at 10:00 to experiment as to whether an earlier start time would be more desirable for younger families.
Three options were presented, and families were asked to rank them in terms of preference – “1” being the most preferred schedule and “3” being the least preferred schedule.
- Option A: 8:30 Sunday School and 10:00 Worship
- Option B: 9:00 Sunday School and 10:30 Worship
- Option C: 9:30 Sunday School and 11:00 Worship
Responses
There were 31 respondents and, in many cases, although not solicited, many provided their ages and other commentary. Below is the tabulation of the responses:
Analysis
Options A and C: There is a virtual tie for both options where the same number of respondents classified the options as either their most or least preferred schedule. Selecting either of those times could cause much dissatisfaction.
Option B: A result where 26 of 28 respondents (93%) ranked this option as their 1st or 2nd choice for the schedule. This sends a clear message when comparing it with either of the other two options.
Additional feedback: For those identifying themselves as 60+ years old, there is a strong dislike for the early start time, but an equal low dislike result for each of the other two options.
For the respondents that either stated their age as under 60 or did not provide an age, their preferences are very mixed and did not provide any clear direction.
Other comments shared on the feedback forms:
- Retired – current hours will be very difficult in the winter
- Wife would choose Option C as #1 so I may be in trouble.
- K-5 Family
- Family with no kids
- Have teenagers (3x)