Paintball Ministry Outreaches to Community's Unchurched Children
A local church in Mesa, Arizona has opened a paintball ministry to reach out to the children in the community. The children play various shooting games like "President" or "Alien" on a Saturday morning and also share the gospel with each other.
"We are going to shoot you and then tell you about Jesus!" was the "joking comment" the youths would say to their unchurched friends in the self-built paintball field on church property.
The number of junior high and high school students has doubled to 50 in the two weeks since the grand opening of the new ministry of Spring of Life Christian Church.
"What we are truly excited about is that half of the students that showed up on Saturday at the end of Spring break were students that had never stepped foot in or near our church," according to Scott Bloyer, youth leader of the church. On the second weekend, 80% of the children were unchurched.
The idea was to share the gospel and grow.
"We want our kids to see how God works in relationships and see the kids present the gospel and be involved in evangelism," said Bloyer.
In thinking about the Church’s regular youth ministry, Bloyer did much brainstorming of “some amazing and out of the box things” that would help the children invite their friends to share the gospel. The request for a paintball ministry came up repeatedly.
“After much prayer, talking to our insurance company, a lawyer, and the church leadership, plans went into effect to develop 'The Battle Zone,'" according to a statement made by Bloyer.
The youth ministry's leadership does not believe that the paintball ministry is teaching violence.
Likening it to a football game, the youth leader told CP, the game promotes teamwork and builds character and integrity.
"We teach responsibility and talk about [the] reality of what it means to be shooting a gun or a weapon… that this is a for-fun game, and we are not to use any gun to really shoot anyone," said Bloyer.
"We are making a place for the students that are playing this game and giving them a safe and encouraging environment where we talk to them about the real battle in life, and that it is for their hearts and our Battle is not of flesh and blood but with the spirit," said Bloyer.
The theme for the ministry is from Ephesians 6:12 (MSG). “This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.”
The ministry has partnered with a local paintball store that is giving the church discounts, banners and extra guns.
The church also has a regular youth ministry. The junior high ministry has around 75 students, while the high school has approximately 45. The youth ministries are "mission driven," and "constantly present the gospel." In addition to the various activities, the gospel is always presented on Wednesday and Sunday nights.
The students in the youth ministry "work closely with the adult ministry," serving in Sunday classrooms as teachers and leaders, and participate in outreach to the community, which "helps to connect them with the community."
