Does Jesus Belong in a Pub?
Back in my high school days when I was still trying to figure out who Jesus was and why I needed to know and follow him, there were a few guys in my life that took the time to help me in that journey. Chris was one of them. He’s now the senior pastor of the Sidney First United Methodist Church just up the road from where I grew up. On Sunday mornings, his church looks pretty similar to churches you might find in any smalltown across America. On Sunday evenings, though, the services look very different.
The Sunday evening services are held in a local bar. There’s country music, a mechanical bull, pool, beer and the Word of God. Recently, ABC News caught up with Chris and captured this story. Chris explained:
This is the kind of place Jesus would hang out. His first miracle was at a local person’s home. It was the wedding hall of the day and people were enjoying themselves and having fun. They ran out of wine and he made them more.
Wonder why I have such a passion for using non-traditional methods for reaching people for Jesus? Well, part of the reason is that Jesus put that passion in me. And, frankly, one of the ways he’s fueled that passion is by putting people like Chris in my life.
I hope this story causes you to pause and reflect on your ministry. I hope it makes you uncomfortable. Are you really reaching people who are unchurched and don’t yet know Christ? Are you willing to do whatever it takes short of sin to reach people for Jesus? If not, maybe it’s time for you to hit the bars.
well, since Jesus belongs everywhere there are people who don’t know Him and He’s with those who do… then He definitely has a place in a pub… a strip club… a porn convention… starbucks :) — if we really believe that Jesus is everywhere and He wants everyone to know Him, then this idea of church in a pub, really shouldn’t shock us. but instead, challenge us to open our eyes to where in our own communities we can take His message.
We’ve been meeting in a bar now for 6 months in the real Greenville (NC). :) We’re seeing bartenders and management in attendance, paying attention to the presentation of the Gospel. A couple have started regularly tithing! Our leadership regularly makes a visit to the bar on weekdays and weekend nights to get to know the regulars. We have a great relationship with the staff their, and they love us being there. Recently we stood on their behalf against an unjust zoning law in our city. We’ve gotten quite the attention, but even more importantly than that, Jesus has gotten the attention. In our first article in the local paper, Jesus’ name was mentioned 16 times, the Spring of Life chorus was printed, and our theology behind meeting in a bar was printed true to the letter. It’s been a wild ride, and the fun is just beginning…our city nearly doubles in population with the college year starting in August. Check us out at HarmonyGreenville.com
I think it’s awesome, people are not looking for religion, they are looking for real people and relationships they can connect with!
If Jesus doesn’t belong in a pub, we’re probably going to need to edit all that scripture where’s he’s hanging out in the first-century equivalent…
Hell Yes!! Thanks Tony. We need to get out there and reach the unchurched. THANK YOU TONY!
It’s interesting…when you look at the history of the reformers, you see that they spent a lot of time in their local pub. Before prohibition, the local bar was where men got together to talk about theology. So the question could actually be, “Should Jesus followers go back to the pub?”
i love the heart of this post, but i am not sure i agree that the best approach is to have a church service/experience in a pub/bar.
i am part of a church that goes to great lengths to reach God’s lost kids. over the last nine years, over 3,500 people have come to faith through our ministry. there is very little that is traditional about us. still…
i think we need to be careful that we do not completely lose the truth that Christ called the Church to be consecrated – to be set apart for His glory.
i am not saying Christ followers should abandon visits to bars and making connections. rather, we need to be sure we are not setting-up folks for a stumble.
hope this makes sense. i love the vision of your friend, but i am not sure i would take the same approach.
Like John Ireland above, I like the heart of this post, but I think the method goes a little too far. And I have to really disagree with the quote in the post, would Jesus really hang out in a bar? If you search the gospels you’ll find Jesus regularly hanging out with sinners like prostitutes and tax collectors. But where did they hang out. Usually at a home. The bible never records that Jesus hung out at a bar or a house of prostitution. I want to stretch, and I wish our church would stretch, to reach the lost, but we need to be careful when we say that we are modeling Jesus’ methods. There is a fine line. God help us to find it.
It’s very interesting that everyone is basically saying that we should/should not hang out in bars AS A CONNECTION WITH THE LOST. I was a pastor for 17 years, and I’m just now finding out how much I enjoy hanging out in a local pub, not only for the connection with everyone, but for a great beer, and some incredible conversation. The connections with the lost are there, but I’m having a lot of fun, too.
Christians need to seriously begin to understand holiness, not as a list of what we DON’T do, but as vision for where we ARE HEADING. Jesus was in the world, but set apart from it. For Him, being “set apart” was more about his vision for what TO DO, not what NOT to do. And the only places he didn’t enjoy visiting were those places filled with religious elitists.
By the way… ever since I’ve quit full-time pastoral ministry, I’ve shared my faith more than ever before, mostly over ONE simple glass of beer, and mostly in (of all places) pubs. Go figure.
I love this thread! I lead a church in Mpumalanga, South Africa. We are a small church which wants to have a hug influence. We have come to realise that there is a major harvest out there in the pubs who have an undetected cancer. They don’t know they’re sick they just know that something is not right.
My challenge is how do we we reach them? Truth can only be carried over the bridge of relationship. If I am relationally weak with the lost then I do not have the right to speak into their life and for them to receive it as truth.
The early church existed in the home and went to the temple. We have swapped it around. The church exists in the building and we go home afterwards. Little wonder Christians live for Christ on a Sunday and raise hell from Monday through to Saturday.
I am asking God for strategy on how to reach “Generation Y” who have a lot of questions. If it means we go to the bar, let our work be judged by the fruit of it. I want the Kingdom of God to grow, I am not so worried about my congregation numbers. They are the soldiers who have grasped hold of the vision found in the great commision.
Thanks again for the posts.