Our Super Bowl Plans

As you may or may not have heard, we will not be hosting our 5:00pm evening Gathering for our Downtown church on Sunday, February 4 because of the Super Bowl. We do this in order to remind ourselves that church is more than a service you attend, and we want to give everyone an opportunity to be on mission during the big game. Since watching the Super Bowl is an event that so many people in our culture participate in, we want to free ourselves up to use it as an opportunity to watch the game alongside them. So this Sunday, attend either our 9:00am or 11:15am Gathering, and then choose one of the following:

1. Host a Super Bowl party. The Bible is clear that Christians should be the most hospitable people on earth in light of the fact that Jesus welcomed all of us into His family (Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:2; 1 Peter 4:9; Romans 15:7). The Super Bowl is one of the easiest times of year to be hospitable, since so many people watch it already. Buy some good food and drinks and get some friends to come and do the same. Turn on the TV and invite your neighbors over to your house for the big game.
2. Attend a Super Bowl party. Jesus was big on going to parties. He was in attendance at so many parties that he was known as the man who "came eating and drinking" with people--while never sinning. (Matthew 11:19; Luke 15:2; Mark 2:16; Matthew 9:11) Imitate Jesus and go to a Super Bowl party (bonus points if you attend a party you were actually invited to).
3. Help us throw a Super Bowl party at Transitions. As one of our Serve the City partnerships, we're continuing our annual tradition of throwing a Super Bowl party for people transitioning out of homelessness together with Transitions. Find out more and sign up to help here.

Whatever you do for the Super Bowl, don't come to our 5:00pm Gathering. You'll be alone!

Transitions Super Bowl Party | A Photo Essay

What do pizza, a life-sized game of Jenga, cheese balls, a dance party, animal crackers, football, and ping-pong all have in common? That's easy. Our Transitions Super Bowl Party. For the Super Bowl, we encouraged our church family to choose one of three options: 1.) To HOST a Super Bowl Party  2.) To GO to a Super Bowl Party 3.) To help Midtown THROW a Super Bowl Party at Transitions for people transitioning out of homelessness.

We wanted to give you a glimpse of how our Super Bowl Party went at Transitions. We were so encouraged to see so many volunteers come out and help us throw a party that will not easily be forgotten by the Transitions community.

We would like to truly thank all of the people that had a part in making this event special. It is awesome to see our church family eagerly serving because they have been loved by Jesus. Want to tell us about your Super Bowl party or post some photos? Head over to our Facebook page.

Here is a video and some photos to recap the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nac5wja7iVk

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Our Super Bowl Plans

As you may or may not have heard, we will not be hosting any evening Gatherings on Sunday, February 3 because of the Super Bowl. We do this in order to remind ourselves that church is more than a service you attend, and to give everyone an opportunity to live on mission during the big game. So this Sunday, attend either our 9:00am or 11:15am Gathering at Devine Street, and then choose one of the following:

1. HOST a Super Bowl party. The bible is clear that Christians should be the most hospitable people on earth in light of the fact that Jesus welcomed all of us into his family (Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:2; 1 Peter 4:9; Romans 15:7). The Super Bowl is one of the easiest times of year to be hospitable, since so many people watch it already. Buy some good food and drinks, get some friends to come and do the same, turn on the TV, and invite people to your house for the game.
2. GO to a Super Bowl party. Jesus was big on going to parties. He was in attendance in so many parties that he was known as the man who "came eating and drinking" with people. Imitate Jesus and go to a Superbowl party (preferably one you were actually invited to).
3. THROW a Super Bowl party with us. For the past two years, we've helped our friends at Transitions throw a Super Bowl party for people in Columbia transitioning out of homelessness. If you have a servant heart, love meeting new people, and love partying, help us throw the party. We'll need people to help set-up, play games, get loud, and get to know the people there. Find out more and sign up to help here.

Whatever you do, don't attend our 5:00pm Gathering at Main Street or our 7:00pm Gathering at Devine Street, because you'll be alone.

Why Don't We Have Gatherings on Super Bowl Sunday?

The Super Bowl has become an event almost like any other in American culture. Over 100 million Americans will gather to watch the game, with countless more using the game as an excuse to throw a party and be with friends and family.  Along with major holidays, the Super Bowl is one the few events that brings our entire country together.  As missionaries in our neighborhoods and city, it seems to be good practice to take advantage of the Super Bowl phenomenon instead of fighting against it.  If Americans are that excited to have parties and watch the game (and maybe more so, watch the commercials) then we want to leverage it for Jesus’ sake. Church is not an event we attend, but rather a group that we belong to.  So, on Super Bowl Sunday we encourage our church family to throw parties or attend friend’s parties and use the day as a chance to build relationships with neighbors.   There are 100,000 people within five miles of the state capitol in downtown Columbia that do not know Jesus and we want to take advantage of every opportunity that God brings our way in order to see that number shrink.  This is one of those opportunities.

This year, Midtown will be hosting a Super Bowl party for our homeless friends at the Winter Shelter, as well as hosting a party for middle and high school students and their families.  If you are interested in attending or being involved with either of these parties, you can find more information about the the party at the Winter Shelter here, or the Student Superbowl Party here.