When I was 16 years old, one of the hardest things about learning to drive wasn’t navigating traffic, staying in my lane, or even learning how to parallel park. It was letting go of the wheel.

You know that moment when you’re coming out of a turn, and you’re supposed to accelerate as the wheel glides through your fingers and snaps back to center? I could never quite trust it. I wanted to muscle the wheel back myself, hand over hand, white-knuckled, trying to force it into position.

It didn’t work.

Eventually, I learned: there are moments in driving when the right move is to let go a bit and accelerate.

And that’s what I want to talk about when it comes to adding a third service at your church, especially the part where we all seem to tense about the actual time we’re going to offer that new service.

Churches Overthink the Clock & Underprepare the Team

I’ve increasingly been coaching dozens of churches through launching a third service. And if there’s one pattern I’ve seen over and over again, it’s this: we spend way too much energy worrying about the perfect time to offer that third service… and not enough effort getting people to attend it or building the teams to sustain it.

It’s like we think there’s some magical time slot, the one that guarantees attendance will just spill over and balance across all three. (Spoiler: there isn’t.)

The truth? Picking the time is one of the least important decisions in your third-service launch. You should be focused on building systems, training volunteers, and planning for momentum.

But that doesn’t mean service time doesn’t matter at all.

In fact, we recently did a deep-dive analysis of 86 campuses from 19 of the fastest-growing churches in the U.S. to see what service times churches actually pick, especially when they go beyond two services. What we found may surprise you.

What the Data Says About Two vs. Three Services

Before we talk about what time your third service should be, let’s look at what’s happening out there.

We analyzed service times from 86 campuses across 19 of the fastest-growing churches in the country, and here’s what we found:

The Most Common Two-Service Pattern

Nearly half of all campuses (49%) offer two services.

The most common pattern?

• 09:00 and 11:00 (or something close, like 09:30 & 11:15)

This setup makes sense:

• 09:00 is early but not painful.
• 11:00 is guest-friendly.
• There’s breathing room for transitions, kids, parking, and coffee.

If your church is running two services like this, you’re in good company. However, if one of the services is feeling crowded, it might be time to make a move.

What Happens When Churches Add a Third?

Here’s where things get interesting.

Churches don’t just tack a third service onto the end (like 13:00 after 9:00 and 11:00). That rarely works.

Instead, most rebuild the entire morning. Popular time configurations include:

This helps:

• Spread people out more evenly.
• Keep two-thirds of your services in the “inviting zone.”
• Avoid pushing into awkward post-lunch territory.

Is the Third Service Always on Sunday?

Not always, but most of the time, yes.

From our research:

• 85% of all services in growing churches still happen on Sundays
• But among churches with 3+ services, a notable number experiment with other days:

Thursday Evenings

• Example: The Rock Church (18:30)
• Great for shift workers and families with weekend sports

Saturday Nights

• Example: Mariners Church (16:00 & 17:30)
• Allows space for Sunday volunteers and momentum.

How Many Services Do Most Campuses Offer?

Out of the 86 campuses we studied:

Most fast-growing churches operate within the two- to three-service range, with a significant number pushing to four and beyond.

So, if you’re sitting at two services and bursting, you’re in the right neighborhood to start planning your third.

Should You Just Add a Service or Change All Your Times?

Let’s say your church is currently running at 09:30 and 11:15. The 09:30 is full, and the 11:15 is sluggish. What do you do?

Here’s what we recommend based on both the data and what’s working in the field:

Don’t just add a third service. Change your entire schedule to make all three services feel fresh.

For example:

• Instead of 09:30, 11:15 → 13:00
• Shift to 08:30, 10:00, and 11:30
• Or even try 08:00, 9:30, and 11:00

This gives you breathing room between services (for parking, kids, and volunteer reset), allows you to keep two services in the “prime window” (between 9 and noon), and avoids placing your new service in a dead zone.

Read this for a step-by-step guide: Thinking About a Third Service? Here’s the Right Way to Do It

Why Overthinking the Time Can Derail You

In an earlier post, I shared how launching a third service can feel like opening a second room in an escape game … you think you’ve solved the puzzle, but all you’ve done is reveal the next challenge.

Adding a third service doesn’t automatically create new capacity; it creates new problems to solve. (Especially if you’ve already maxed out the “optimal inviting hour.”)

If you’ve got 9:30 and 11:15, and you add a 13:00, only one of those is in the peak window. That’s just 33% of your services in the ideal zone. As a result, you get diminished returns, and possibly lopsided attendance.

Want to go deeper into that logic? Why Launching a Third Service Won’t Solve Your Capacity Problem (And What Will)

Pro Tip from a Fast-Growing Church

At the XP Summit earlier this year, I got to hear Ryan Britt from The Church of Eleven22 in Florida describe how they manage growth across their many locations. (Over 11+ locations and over 20k in attendance and counting when I last checked in!)

They have a simple tripwire:

If any service hits 70% attendance for four weeks in a row, they trigger a plan to launch another service (or campus) by the next momentum season.

So, if your 09:30 is jammed this fall, your job isn’t to sit and stew all winter. Your task is to plan for the new service to be operational by Easter or the next school break.

It’s not about waiting for the perfect time slot. It’s about having a bias for action.

Strategic Takeaways from the Data

Here’s what else we learned from the data on service times at fast-growing churches:

1. Most campuses offer two or three services

• 37 campuses (43%) run two services
• 17 campuses (20%) run three
• Only a few go beyond four

That means you’re not alone, but if you’re already bursting, it’s time to move.

2. Later times are growing in popularity

• 12:00, 12:30, 13:45, even 18:00–19:00 are all being tested.
• These options serve volunteers, families with sports, and shift workers.

3. Multisite churches harmonize core times but customize the rest

None of the multi‑campus churches in our dataset operates with a fully identical schedule across all locations. Instead, several churches anchor their campuses around one or two common service times and then layer on additional slots to suit local circumstances. For example, Manna Church offers 9:30 and 11:00 services at every campus but adds extra times at its larger sites; Two Cities Church does the same with 9:00 and 11:00 across campuses. Others, like Mariners and Liquid Church, vary schedules even more to accommodate parking, language needs, and community rhythms.

Translation: Harmonize around a core time or two, but feel free to add or adjust services based on the unique needs of each location.

Try This: Our Favorite Third-Service Schedule Configurations

If you’re ready to move to three services, here are a few templates we love:

Still Not Sure? Check Your Pinch Points First

If you’re trying to decide whether it’s time to add a third service at all, step back and evaluate your current setup:

• Auditorium: Are you regularly over 70% full at prime hours?
• Kids Ministry: Is it overflowing in the most popular service?
• Parking: Are guests leaving because there’s nowhere to park?
• Volunteers: Do you have enough people to staff a third service?

If you’re struggling in those areas, a new service might help, but only if you’ve got a plan to support it.

Trust the Wheel

Learning to let the wheel glide through your hands and trust it to return to center is similar to this process.

You can’t brute-force a third service into perfection by agonizing over the time slot. You’ve got to keep your eyes ahead, accelerate through the turn, and trust the system you’ve built to snap back to center.

Oh, and one more thing…

I should probably admit that three weeks after I got my license, I totaled a car and lost it. 😬

So maybe I shouldn’t be giving you driving advice.

But when it comes to launching your third service, this isn’t my first time around the block. Trust the data. Build your team. And take the turn with courage.