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Churches tackle game day attendance
By Tyler Clifton
The Paris News
Published February 03, 2006
Super Bowls often intercept some football fans who would normally attend church services, but area ministers are staying on offense this year. Many are not changing their game plans, while others are using schedule changes, special events and special promotions to get people inside church doors.
No records are kept for Sundays with the lowest participation, but local clergy say the big game does take a toll on church attendance.
Churches with night services have the most difficult time. That's why First Baptist Church starts its night service at 4 p.m. — two hours earlier — on Super Bowl Sunday and encourages Sunday school classes to host Super Bowl parties as an evangelistic effort.
East Paris Baptist Church hasn't canceled its regular service schedule even though Super Bowl XL starts at 5:30 p.m.
"When the (Dallas) Cowboys were in the Super Bowl, we had a greater tendency for conflict," said the Rev. Mike Fortenberry, senior pastor at East Paris Baptist Church.
"That's the only time it's been noticeable to me," Fortenberry said of game-related absences. "We're keeping our regular schedule Sunday night and will try to do something to place a special emphasis on our youth and children."
Calvary United Methodist Church recently changed its two-service format on Sunday mornings to a one-hour service at 10 a.m. There are no evening services to compete with the Super Bowl.
The Rev. Beverly Olsen, who is in her sixth year as Calvary's associate pastor, doesn't feel there are significant losses on any particular day. However, she said ministers can feel a sense of urgency from the congregation on game days.
"When we had our later service, you could see people glancing at their watches once it got closer to noon," Olsen said. "As far as the Super Bowl is concerned, our senior high youth will gather at someone's house to watch the game, while our junior high youth are going bowling."
The Rev. John M. Brown, pastor at Ramseur Baptist Church, predicted a 10 to 15 percent drop in participation on Super Bowl Sunday, but said he would be surprised if absenteeism is any higher.
One difference in Ramseur's members and some other local congregations is that the church has an older demographic mix. Senior adults tend to be more faithful to attend church, even when a big game is on television.
"The Super Bowl probably won't hurt us too much," Brown said. "We're not going to have the big screen playing the Super Bowl at our services, but we still expect them to be as exciting as usual."
The local ministers who were interviewed didn't advocate changing the day on which the Super Bowl is played.
Olsen said changing an event such as the Super Bowl to another day of the week wouldn't make much of a difference.
"I'm sure people would find something else to do if they didn't want to attend church," she said. "Many of us don't get what Sunday is, and sometimes it's hard to set it apart as a day of rest."
Brown admits that he is more of a baseball fan and isn't affected by this weekend's Super Bowl activities, but he added he is glad the big event is on a Sunday.
"I'm glad they play the Super Bowl on Sunday, because it makes Christians decide in their heart what they're going to do," Brown said. "People are forced to make a choice of what's going on in their heart and what's good for them. It's a positive thing, and they can do both. That's what they invented VCRs for."
Fortenberry, a sports fan who can often be seen in the stands supporting high school athletes, said he enjoys the Super Bowl. However, he added that it's important to look at the big picture — Jesus Christ.
"I'm always appreciative of those believers who choose to support their church, their church schedule and their commitment to Christ," Fortenberry said.
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