Ideas

“We want them to come here to rest for a bit before they have to start making decisions that will impact their lives,” says Slade, who hopes that other area churches will follow suit.

So when we talk about “smartphone addiction,” often what we are talking about is the addiction of looking at ourselves.

“We don’t have an official program with a bunch of volunteers, but we do our best to unite multiple churches and nonprofits in any kind of disaster or critical incident,” Isbell says.

For years, families have turned to St. Paul United Methodist Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for help with necessities. As the church worked to meet their needs, Rev. Steve Poarch noticed that these families also were in need of diapers.

Coblentz named the church’s new effort the Bread Breakers Ministry. Volunteers started out making around 50 sandwiches a week, but they quickly broke their own record.

Moore has had church members tell her that they were too scared to do something missional, but because they love animals, this outreach was a natural fit for them.

Because the church is big on families, many events are geared toward kids, including bull riding for teens; Little Wranglers, an event that lets kids ride a horse, milk a pretend cow, “brand” goats with flour and a mop, and barrel race with stick horses; and a special needs kids rodeo.

All the big productions and illustrated sermons are designed around the idea of having something congregants can invite their friends to.