Super Bowl and Church Services

The simple solution is move here to the UK - go to church as normal and then watch the game. The time difference is perfect!

 

Our youth and college ministries have a SuperBowl party in the home of one of our members. We move our evening services up an hour.

 

My church changes nothing for the Super Bowl. Last year, I was in Massachusetts for a training class and didn't miss any of the game. 2 years ago, we got home right after the "wardrobe malfunction heard round the world".

At my last church, there were services as usual every year during the Super Bowl until 1997, when the pastor's team was in the game, and he cancelled that night's service. Not long after that, he cancelled Sunday night services all together.

I don't think it's a big hardship to be at church while the Super Bowl is on, but my team hasn't been in it for 20 years, so no big deal. However, if Nascar moves the start of the Daytona 500 back and church conflicts with it, that will be a major hardship.

 

We're having a pot-luck after the morning service followed by a "fifth-Sunday sing". I think I'll suggest the same for Daytona. I missed the last 30 laps last year! Guess I rather miss the first 30.....

 

When one cancels church so one can watch a sports game, that shows that man would rather take pleasure in worldly things than hear the Word of God.

When man moves church services to a different time slot so he has plenty of time to get home to watch a sports event, that man is placing sports before God.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

 

You are welcome to your opinion, but know it is just that an opinion.

Please show me in Scripture where a church must have services at a set time.

 

IF one is moving service slots to accomodate their own comfort zone of sports watching, they are putting sports ahead of God. Point blank,

If one had services at a certain time each Sunday, and one prayed and told God, 'Lord, I really want to watch that game, can I change the time of the services?' What do you think God would say?

James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.
James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:16 For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

 

Our first plan was to have some sort of evangelistic effort around the broadcast of the game - Big screen TV, lots of food, the Roman Road for halftime, fellowship... Too bad the cable company wanted so much money for a temporary hook up.

SFIC, I know what you're saying but we don't operate in a vacuum. Reality say we run near 100 in the morning service and about 25 in the evening. 75% stay home on Sunday night without the distraction of the Superbowl or the Daytona 500. Now of the 25 or so, I can figure on about half of them either not coming because of the game or, if they did come, sitting in church wondering what was happening in the game. The reality of it is there would be about a dozen or so who woud come with a heart ready to worship and focus on Him. The reality is that these same folks would come if we had a service at 3:00 am on a Tuesday or 11:30 pm on a Saturday.

Our church schedule includes about 12 hours each week for worship services, Bible study groups and prayer meetings. I really don't expect someone to attend all of them and will make no sweeping assessment of their faithfulness if they don't.

 

The service is being moved up to accomodate another church activity.

The Scriptures you have listed have been taken out of context completely, and do not apply to the situation or to the question that I asked.

But again, it is your opinion and you are welcome to it.

You can lead your church in the manner you see best. And I will lead my church in the manner I see best.

That is all I have to say on the subject.

 

Moving a service to accomodate a sports event, in my opinion, , sends out the wrong message. To me it says the church has lost its urgency.

I just can't imagine the Apostle Paul saying, "Hey Peter, James, we're changing the service so I can catch the chariot race on Sunday, k?"

I stress, that is just my opinion.

 

We don't have a Sunday evening service, so it is not an issue for us. Our senior high youth group meets on Sunday evening. They normally turn this into an outreach event and host a super bowl party for all teens.

I guess that there are always two ways to handle things like this. You can always be inward looking and state "we're not going to change our ways" or you can adapt and use this to reach out to others.

Also, the original time for worship (at 11 am) was set to accomodate their members. In this case, it was for farmers who had to do their chores early in the morning.

 

This is different but here in Pa.your not allowed to hunt on Sunday's .Boy do alot of hunters get mad over that .

 

You are absolutely right!

 

It shows no such thing. If a church changes its meeting times, for example, to an evening services earlier in the winter months so it's at least not completely dark when people get there, does that show that church places the creation before the Creator?

 

Amen, mnw!

When the church puts man before the plan, the church will not firmly stand.

 

Age group pot luck in homes. Devotion and service at halftime. Non-Christian friends are invited.

 

On any given Sunday 53.6 million people attend a church service. Last year 86.1 million watched the Super Bowl. Would you do something different to reach the 32,500,000 Super Bowl watchers that didn't go to church?

What is wrong with being creative to reach folks for the Gospel? Stuff like what WallyGator is talking about is an effective evangelism tool.