Gaylon and I typically attend the 9:30 service at our church, however we went to the 4:30 service this past Sunday. We are in a series called “At the Movies,” and our pastor plays clips from well-known movies, and then makes spiritual applications. This is a yearly thing for us, and one of my favorite series. We literally have hundreds of visitors for this series, and hundreds of salvations — not just “raise-your-hand salvations,” but fill out a card and turn in your name salvations. Follow up is done and people are added to the church and discipled.
Because we have so many visitors, our pastor asks the congregation to be a part of one of the lesser attended services. The 4:30 and 6:30 services usually don’t require overflow. The 4:30 service we were in was packed, and the service was wonderful.
An interesting thing awaited those who attended the evening services. A box of popcorn and a beverage were given to everyone. Yep, popcorn and movies at the church! Once worship was over, everyone sat down and opened their popcorn and beverages, and the movie clips and sermon began.
I looked around that building that was packed with so many young families and young people. The message was about resisting the devil and standing in the power of God. It was great truth. At the end many responded to the call to receive Christ as Savior.
While I sat there, my mind wandered a bit as I thought of so many who would disapprove of popcorn at the church. Some would say it’s a “fluff” church. It’s just entertainment. It’s worldly. Yet, nothing could be farther from the truth about our church. Truth is taught. Souls are won. Young people are being trained and deployed into ministry, hundreds go on short-term mission trips and our local community is being impacted in many ways.
The truth of the matter is that I don’t care whether we do or don’t have popcorn, but I do care that we are making a huge impact for the Kingdom of God and dispelling darkness. If passing out popcorn will bring them in, and cause them to listen to a Gospel presentation, then I say, “Pass the popcorn!”
As Leonard Ravenhill said, “Any method of evangelism will work if God is in it.”
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”– Luke 19:10