A “fun church”?

Our church sponsored a car show last Saturday. It was open to the public…free admission, free registration for exhibitors, free food and drinks for everyone, free music. The show attracted more than 100 vehicles (not the 40 that the newspaper reported) and it was estimated that several thousand people wandered through the five-hour event. It was the first time we’ve tried something like that, and it proved to be such a big success that we’ll probably do it again next year.

One of MLB‘s co-workers told her this morning that she and her family attended the show. They were very impressed and are planning to visit our church because it looked like we “knew how to have a good time.” They currently, albeit infrequently, attend another church which, presumably, isn’t as much fun.

That made me think. Is that how our church should be viewed…as one that “knows how to have fun”? Would God be pleased by that reputation? Should we feel good about being perceived like that?

Well…yeah!

If a church — and I’m really referring to the members, just so we’re all on the same page — is really a family of believers, the ability to enjoy each other’s company would seem to be a pretty important and natural thing to strive for. And people who have fun together seem to draw others to them. I don’t believe Jesus ever intended that the congregating of His followers should be a cause for depressing solemnity and tedium.

So, yeah, I think that “fun” is an adjective our church would welcome.

Of course, it helps that we’ve centered ourselves on a few other foundational imperatives such as Scriptural inerrancy, the importance solid Bible study for every attender, a devout appreciation for the absolute holiness of God and our call to be holy as well, and a dedication to carrying out the five fundamental missions of the Church: worship, ministry, discipleship, evangelism and fellowship.

But nowhere in the practice of these things is there any Divine prohibition against mixing in a little fun.

I guess you could say that we’re serious about our fun!