Super Sunday

This Sunday is what Americans call “Super Sunday.” It is the day when hundreds of millions gather around screens and watch the Super Bowl, a football game. For millions of these people, it is the only football game they see every year. It is also the only event all year where people want to see the commercials, as advertisers try to give viewers something to make them remember their product for years to come. Everyone old enough remembers Mean Joe Greene guzzling that coke and tossing his jersey to that little boy. Coke’s memorable commercial is now forty-five years old.

Hundreds of churches nationwide will cancel Sunday evening services so that “people can have quality family time at home as they watch the game.” However, we all know that the real reason for canceling services is that the pews would be empty. Other churches will have Super Bowl parties with songs and a few words from the Pastor at halftime to give the appearance that we are all there for Jesus. Never forget that regardless of our actions, God knows our hearts.

Some of you may be thinking, “Come on Preacher, why don’t you tell us what you really think?”

I’ll explain some things, then tell you what I think a “Super Sunday” really is.

I am a football fan and will be watching the Super Bowl. Before anyone yells, “Hypocrite!” I was not criticizing watching the game; I was criticizing placing the game as a higher priority than God. I was criticizing having a heart that seeks joy from a social event while forsaking God’s house to do so (Hebrews 10:25).

But what about your Sunday evening services?

In April of 2022, we at Countryside Baptist experimented with the times of our church services for a month. Instead of having Sunday School and church in the morning followed by a 6 pm service that evening, we started having Sunday School, church, a meal, and then a 2 pm service after the meal. Doing things this way was an overwhelming success, and the church voted to do it permanently. We have been doing this every Sunday except for Easter and Christmas for nearly three years.

I know many churches do something similar on special occasions, but I would highly recommend churches consider doing it weekly. At least try it for a month or two and vote on it. Since Countryside implemented this schedule, the church has become more of a church family. That weekly fellowship around the table brings people together. More work is being done around the church, as people talk during meals. The conversation may go to something needing maintenance or repair. Then two or three people talk about how they can do it, and, wallah, two people who probably would never have contact outside the church are getting together on a Saturday or weekday evening to clean and organize the storage room.

The schedule also brings families closer together. I’ve had reports from families. Under the old schedule, when morning church ended, the afternoon was spent driving home, coming up with something to eat, eating, sitting around for an hour or so, then coming back to church. Now, the family has had the meal, already attended the second service of the day (2 pm), and spends Sunday evening with actual quality family time playing board games or watching the occasional movie in the living room with the kids.

Most churches with Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and mid-week services experience dwindling attendance throughout the week. Attendance for each service usually reduces by half. If there are one hundred there Sunday morning, you can expect fifty Sunday evening and twenty-five Wednesday. Due to this dwindling attendance phenomenon, many churches have permanently ceased mid-week and Sunday evening services. The meal followed by a service after the meal has eliminated this problem, at least for the Sunday evening service. Attendance remains steady from the morning to the afternoon services.

Of course, there are other factors involved, but God has used the additional fellowship, the added sense of family, and the increase of steady attendance caused by the meal and the changing of times of the second Sunday service for His glory.

I do not believe programs increase the spirituality of a Christian or the church in general. The Word is clear: the church grows spiritually and physically through the truth of God’s Word, prayer, and fellowship with believers. As Christians share things at dinner, others can pray more effectively. As more attend the afternoon service instead of staying home because of the hassle of returning in the evening, they get more of the Word from the pulpit, and the meal adds fellowship.

What is a Super Sunday?

A Super Sunday is when a lost sinner repents and places his faith in the blood of Jesus Christ for his salvation (2 Peter 3:9).

A Super Sunday is when a teenager realizes that God does not want her to be argumentative with her parents, and she pleads with God to change her heart (Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20).

A Super Sunday is when someone acknowledges to God that they have been selfish and not loving their spouse as they should. Then, by God’s mercy, they see their wife/husband as a gift of God (Ephesians 5:25).

A Super Sunday is when a Christian gains wisdom and applies it to their heart and life (Romans 12:1-2).

A Super Sunday is when someone realizes God matters (Luke 15:17-18).

Countless things can make a Super Sunday, but a football game is low on the list. May every Sunday be Super Sunday in the House of God.