South Roebuck ministering to the ‘dot.com generation’

South Roebuck Baptist Church has written a new Web page in Internet history.
   
The address of South Roebuck’s Web site, SundayNoon.com, is also the title of its noon service. The title SundayNoon.com describes the generation the church is aiming to reach, the “dot-com generation.”
   
“We’d never reach that crowd with a traditional service,” said Pastor Harry Gulledge, noting SundayNoon.com attracts a diverse crowd.
   
Along with the younger generation, Gulledge said an 85-year-old deacon of South Roebuck attends SundayNoon.com every other week. Middle-aged adults also attend. “People come in all kinds of ways. Some come in T-shirts and blue jeans,” he said.
   
The service is ethnically diverse also. South Roebuck youth and college student minister Marisa Ramsom said ethnic diversity was one of the goals for SundayNoon.com. Gulledge said the service’s target audience is those who have never been to church or rarely attend church. “Ninety percent of the crowd that comes to the noon service doesn’t have a Bible,” he said.
   
To reach this particular crowd, South Roebuck advertises SundayNoon.com on secular radio stations 97.3 FM, 103.7 FM and 107.7 FM. Gulledge said one advertisement describes SundayNoon.com as “a church with a heartbeat.” Gulledge described the service as one of high energy. “You have to have narcolepsy to be able to fall asleep in the noon service. The pews even vibrate,” he said.
   
The congregation worships to music inspired by Passion, WOW Worship, Centrifuge and Third Day CDs.
   
Gulledge prepares two messages for Sunday mornings: one for the traditional 9:30 service and one for SundayNoon.com.
  
“They are two different crowds with different backgrounds,” Gulledge said.
   
“There are different ways of communicating the message without compromising the message. All sermons are Christ-centered and all are biblically based,” he said.
   
The messages delivered during the SundayNoon.com services are simple and short.
   
“We have to learn how to help these people grow spiritually and understand the gospel,” Gulledge said. The messages “deal with real life issues,” he said.
   
Last quarter’s messages included fame, guilt, criticism, anger, ambition, disappointments and priorities. Gulledge said the messages are basic and practical.
   
For more information about the service, visit the Web site www.SundayNoon.com.