A month from now, on our church property, we will be laying out the Slip’n’Slide, setting up the Water Slide, preparing game stations, prepping relay races, maybe even testing a dunking booth or touring a fire truck (we’ll see!). On Saturday July 5th, we will be treating our neighbors in the Friendship Road community to Friendship Fest.
“Really? Friendship Fest? Dunking booths and water-slides and relay races? Jesus told us to go and make disciples, not to throw festivals!”
Does that thought resonate with you at all? Does throwing a festival seem like an unfaithful way to fulfill the Great Commission? I mean, is this Biblical? You’re not alone! I have been to community “festivals” put on by churches, and I’ve left with the impression that they spent a lot of time and a lot of money for a fun day with no lasting impact. So . . . why are we throwing a festival then? How does “Friendship Fest” help us as a church to faithfully fulfill the Great Commission? Here’s the truth: “Friendship Fest” will be as Biblical as we make it to be.
The purpose of Friendship Fest is “to provide our neighbors with a day of enjoyment while seeking to begin lasting Gospel relationships with them“. This purpose statement is vitally important for us all to grasp.
If this festival ends up being a day where we set up game stations, attract a crowd, and keep to ourselves while our neighbors come and keep to themselves, then Friendship Fest will go down as another glitzy church outreach event with no fruit.
But if a neighborhood family comes to the property on July 5th and, as they enjoy the games and activities, they are continually being engaged by us in conversation, and they gain the sense that these people care about them and want to know them, and they enjoy not just activities but also relationships, and if we follow up with them and spend time with them after the event itself – then that family may someday look back at Friendship Fest and say that they experienced the love of Christ’s body at Redeemer Church in a meaningful way, and that that love softened their hearts to the love of God, and was a turning point in their eventual trusting in Christ.
If we do not personally engage those who come, then no, Friendship Fest is not biblical. But it can be!
It can be Biblical if we pursue the glory of God and pursue their joy by using the opportunity of Friendship Fest to begin lasting Gospel relationships. This is our desire and prayer for Friendship Fest.