Rural church turns love of outdoors into community outreach

McINTYRE, Ga. — McINTYRE, Ga. — In Wilkinson County, where hunting, fishing and time outdoors are part of everyday life, New Hope Christian Fellowship found a natural way to reach its neighbors.

On May 30, the church hosted a fish fry and skeet shooting competition that drew about 160 people, more than half of them from outside the church, and helped open the door to new relationships.

“We really didn’t know if we were going to have enough fish,” Pastor Bill Harpe said. “They just kept rolling in. It was blowing our mind.”

After the meal, 27 men and nine women competed for a trophy while others watched from cars, chairs or the ground behind the church. Children and adults gathered for what Harpe described as old-fashioned fellowship.

The goal, Harpe said, was to help neighbors see that New Hope is a place where they could belong.

“We had kids. We had adults. It was a lot of fun,” Harpe said. “We were trying to develop relationships in the process. It’s a whole lot easier to invite somebody to a skeet shoot than to church.”

More than half of the attendees were not church members. Some non-church members didn’t realize some people they knew went to New Hope. Many arrived on side-by-sides, meaning they lived close by.

“What I'm hoping from it and what we're praying from it is that it shows that our church is there for anybody,” Harpe said. “They could see that they might be able to fit in here.”

One couple who had been visiting the church decided they fit in at New Hope and became members two weeks after the skeet shoot. The husband won the skeet competition, and the couple lives near the church.

The couple had been baptized as children, but Harpe said they were just going through the motions. They renewed their faith in Christ and wanted to show their commitment by being baptized, “for real this time.”

Harpe said their son also was saved recently, and all three will be baptized on Aug. 9. There will be four baptisms total that day. Instead of a fish fry, the church will have a Lowcountry boil by the river after the baptisms.

The event also sparked an influx of adults and children for New Hope’s Vacation Bible School the following week.

“We started that shoot on a Saturday. Vacation Bible School started on Sunday night. We were doing that to kind of promote VBS too. Our last night at VBS, we had 165 there in our little old church,” Harpe said.

New Hope averages about 70 people on Sunday mornings.

A lot of seeds were planted at the shoot. Harpe said the church wanted to draw the net, bring people in and help them get comfortable because “they know us now.”

Harpe said New Hope has grown over the past year and its outreach efforts are a big part of that. Church members try to think outside the box.

“What can we do to motivate people that don't normally come to church? How can we get them in? It just seems to be working,” Harpe said.

He added, “Where can you go for a skeet competition if you enjoy shooting and it will not cost you a dime, and have a good time doing it? And get food. That was a really good fried fish we had.”

Harpe said with today’s distractions, churches should connect with people through activities they already enjoy.

“All these folks hunt. Why not incorporate that?” he said. “It isn’t always inside a building. I've figured that out, especially for folks who are outdoors people.”

It’s also important to break down barriers and show common ground to reach people for Christ.

“They’ve seen some of us in passing and didn't know us real well here,” Harpe said. “It’s not like, ‘I've got to go into that church service and don't know what to expect.’ They knew what to expect at a fish fry and a skeet shoot.”

Harpe said this type of event is a lesson in doing ministry the best way possible in the area where God has placed a church.

“Sure, this wouldn’t work for some in Atlanta or Augusta or probably even Columbus, but for rural churches it would be so easy to put this thing on. It’s well worth it, I can tell you that,” Harpe said.

Harpe said generating interest among people who don’t normally set foot in a church is key.

“They can see that we’re just normal folks who love the Lord and can have a good, clean time, so that they would be more comfortable and interested in coming to church,” he said.

New Hope is looking to have a turkey shoot in November. Other future projects Harpe wants to do include a corn maze on church property.

“We can put in different locations little things that they have to pick up, and it shares the plan of salvation all the way through,” he said. “And then we have a tent that has coffee and hot chocolate. And if you want to talk anymore about giving your life to Christ, you can do that there as well.”