Turkeys, Hot Dogs, Teenagers, The Gospel.
Ok. I will try and explain this the best I can….
Yes, we bowl with turkeys in the church fellowship hall. Yes they are frozen. Yes, the trustees know about it. Yes, students from all over come to find out if we are really using turkeys. Yes, we use the opportunity to share the Gospel.
I have had more conversations like this in the last four years than I can remember. It always seems to be one of those above answers coming out of my mouth. I would not trade it for anything. This event reminds me more of the ministry of Jesus than many on our youth calendar.
– It sounds totally outrageous. Check.
– It sounds completely out of character for our church to do. Check.
– People show up that would maybe not otherwise even set foot in a church. Check
– People show up mainly out of curiosity. Check.
– The people present are pointed to Jesus. Check.
– It’s something that hasn’t been done before in this area. Check.
It sounds cheesy, but you would think that we might serve turkey at Turkey Bowling. Nope. We serve hot dogs. mainly because it gives the students something they didn’t really expect. Secondarily, because you can feed a lot of students for cheap with hot dogs. However, there is always a second thing the students don’t expect when they attend turkey bowling. We intentionally program the event where they come face to face with the God of the universe that loves them. Not in a pushy, overbearing way, but in a blunt, direct, unmistakable way.
This year, that Gospel presentation is going to come in the form of the MyHope with Billy Graham Film called “Lose to Gain“. It is a very well done film that weaves together the story of three people that thought they had everything, everything left them empty, until they found Christ. It is a powerful film geared toward youth and young adult/college age groups.
My challenge to you is to ask yourself some of the above programming questions on some of your upcoming events. Do they look like the ministry of Jesus?
Brent Lacy
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