Collideoscope

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

In the Once & Again section of ninetyandnine.com, there's a "Classic Survey Sez!" about Sunday night services during the Super Bowl. The question is about adjusting the time of the service because of the Super Bowl. Most of the responses are against it and I tend to agree that it sends out a wrong signal. But there are some interesting comments about having a Super Bowl "party" that is a church-sponsored event.

I know that I will be in a minority here, but I have seen several churches that take it one step further and have Super Bowl parties in their fellowship hall. It gives the men (and ladies!) a chance to get together and invite their neighbors. Neighbors that might not otherwise come, and they are afforded the opportunity to hear the gospel. Usually, this takes the form of a video either shown before the game or at halftime that features athletes which they already admire sharing their testimony. This is a powerful outreach tool. Too often, we view “outreach” as something that's done for two hours on Saturday morning (if it isn't raining!) knocking on doors. Outreach can be much more than that! We should never pass up the opportunity to tell our friends and neighbors about Christ. This is one way.

This seems like a good idea that would attract people who wouldn't normally attend a church event. It could show non-church goers that a Super Bowl party can be fun without alcohol and the usual "party" atmosphere. This correlates somewhat to the Sunday Evening Basketball post of our new "A Month In My Life" blogger. This out-of-the-box thinking may lead to a lot of new connections for church outreach.

Has anyone out there ever been a part of a church Super Bowl-type party that's mentioned above? If so, I'm curious to know the results. Do you think it was good or bad for the church and the community?