Joyless or Joyful

When churches use Super Bowl Sunday as a means of “outreach,” they are treading on dangerous ground.

My son was invited to a local movie entertainment center to meet up with another youth group. We are active in our own church, and I do believe in outings—when they include a devotional before the fun begins. Tonight was different.

We arrived at 6 p.m., as instructed. At the door, we were handed a flyer. That was it. No welcome. No prayer. No devotional. Just a sea of kids running everywhere. In that moment, I regretted missing church.

I sat alone at a table while my son found his friends. Time passed. Nothing happened. No outreach. No engagement. No pointing anyone to God. A local church had paid for the food and activities. Two theaters were reserved to watch the Super Bowl on a big screen. The only thing loosely labeled “outreach” was watching the TPUSA halftime show.

My twelve-year-old walked over and said, “Mama, we shouldn’t be here.”
I asked why.
“Because there is nothing about God here.”

That stopped me cold. I looked around at the crowd of parents and kids and thought, What are we teaching our children?

The message was clear: football comes first. God comes second. We slap the word “outreach” on free food and a game and call it ministry. God understands. No—He doesn’t.

Many churches shut down Sunday night services or move them to fit the game. Some host “Souper Bowl Sunday.” It all sounds harmless. But once the devotional ends, the channel flips back to a game filled with alcohol ads and halftime shows that desensitize our kids to things we’d never endorse from the pulpit.

Over time, we teach them that God fits into our schedule instead of shaping it.

Scripture doesn’t leave room for that:

Exodus 20:5 — “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…”
Hebrews 10:24–25 — “Let us not give up meeting together…”
Matthew 6:24 — “No man can serve two masters…”

I’m not saying be in church every time the doors are open. I am saying don’t get so wrapped up in worldly things that God becomes optional. If every Sunday is ballfields and bleachers, our priorities are teaching something—whether we admit it or not.

A parent cannot take their child to Heaven. But we can plant seeds of faith and guide them toward Christ instead of away from Him. A football game should never replace being fed the Word. Popcorn is not discipleship.

Stop being deceived by “harmless” invitations that pull your family away from the presence of God.

If we keep choosing entertainment over obedience, we shouldn’t be surprised when our kids grow up thinking God was always optional.