Nowadays, the church has to be creative to bring more people in. In a bid to “get more people to follow Jesus,” a Joplin, Missouri, church held a raffle giving away two Black Rain AR15 assault rifles as a prize.
On Father’s Day, men were given an opportunity to put their names in a hat to win one of two AR-15 rifles. Each father was eligible to submit a ticket for himself and a ticket for each of his children he brought to church with him. An additional ticket was given if a man brought his own dad.
"If we get people in the door, we get to preach the gospel," said Heath Mooneyham, Ignite Church’s lead pastor. "If we can get more people to follow Jesus, I’ll give away 1,000 guns. I don’t care."
This is just another move in the church's attempt to draw a younger male crowd – they rescheduled Sunday services for a later time – 10 am and 11:30 am, blast loud rock music, and have a tattooed mohawked pastor.
The church particularly wants the 18- to 35-year-old crowd, Raw Story reported.
"That’s the biggest black hole in our society," Mr. Mooneyham said. "We’re not trying to put on a show for anybody," Mr. Mooneyham said, Raw Story reported. "We’re just dudes."
Not everyone in the Joplin Christian community agrees with Ignite’s aggressive marketing methods.
"I think giving away weapons, with all the violence in this country, gives way to new violence," said Steve Urie, a pastor at the Joplin Diversity Fellowship, in Raw Story. "I don’t think it’s just nontraditional. I think it’s careless and reckless."
Critics said the initiative was "seriously messed up," could "give way to new violence" referring to the latest series of shootings that shook the country. Ignite Church's Facebook page was also littered with comments slamming the move . "God Does NOT Condone GUNS, VIOLENCE or WAR!" wrote one poster.
The AR-15 is a common assault rifle with a simple barrel and a receiver switch, it can fire 14 different calibers and sizes of ammunition, ranging from 22LR to .50BMG. Completely customizable, this rifle can also be a personal defense firearm at less than 36 inches long, to a sniper rifle over 50 inches. The gun ownership is guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
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