Atlas-In an effort to spread the gospel, members of Atlas Community Baptist Church are playing dirty.
To get their message out to an ever broadening scope of society, church members have come up with a new attraction to get local attention; mud bogging.
‘We are out of the box,? said member Bea Ellis of ACBC.
While church itself is 170 years old, children’s minister Jeannie Combs, said her son, Pastor Jim Combs, has made a concerted effort to stay current. By reaching out to segments of the population often overlooked by places of worship, Combs said they are spreading gospel to those who might not otherwise hear it.
‘If it takes being a bogger…then that’s what we do,? said Combs.
Sources on Wikipedia.com define mud bogging as ‘a form of off-road motorsport in which the goal is to drive a vehicle through a pit of mud of a set length. Winners are determined by the distance traveled through the pit or, if several vehicles are able to travel the entire length, the time taken to traverse the pit. Typically, vehicles competing in mud bogs are four-wheel drives.?
‘Basically, it’s a matter of man over mud,? laughed Ellis.
Local boggers, The Moonlight Stompers, will be giving demonstrations of a log crawl and participating in a truck parade at 6:30 p.m. on June 18 at 6396 Gale Road in Atlas. The activity is part of ACBC’s vacation bible school. Approximately 15 trucks are expected to be involved with the event.
Ellis and husband Gary are themselves members of the Stompers, as is ACBC pastor Combs. While the group itself is not specifically Christian, Ellis said her family and her faith has been warmly accepted by the Stompers.
And while the popular image of Christianity and it’s followers may not involve mud bogging, both Combs and Ellis say their church is working to change that perception.
Contemporary Christians, said Combs, are from all walks of life, finding a common path in faith but remaining diverse individuals engaging in many of the experiences life has to offer them.
In short, ‘fun? is not synonymous with ‘sin?.
It’s a misconception Combs and Ellis fear has left many keeping religion at arms length.
‘People think God is untouchable,? said Combs. By incorporating activities that make the church, and , by proxy, God, accessible, she hopes to reach people who may previously have been excluded.
Jim Combs said he hopes to show others church involvement beyond Sunday in the pew. ?(People) will be entertained by the boggers but it also show them the church really isn’t that boring,? said the pastor.
‘We want to make (Christianity) relatable to kids,? said Combs.
Ellis agreed.
‘We want kids to have fun,? Ellis said. And in her opinion, bringing in what Ellis describes as ‘big, noisy trucks,? makes for a good time. ‘People enjoy watching people go out and defeat the mud,? said Ellis. Or in this case, climb the logs. ‘It’s just a good time.?
For Ellis, the bogging event harkens back to one of her favorite Psalms, 40:2, which she interprets as a testament to the boggers of yore; ‘He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Details: (810) 610-6823.