Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
River Church of Kansas City, which meets in Lenexa, Kan., has seen a surge in attendance since raffling off a $1,200 AR-15 rifle for Father’s Day and a follow-up gun-giveway. Bot everyone is happy with the church.
“I was thinking about Father’s Day, because we’ve got a lot of men in the church, they like to shoot guns,” Pastor Christopher Zehner told KSHB-TV. “I thought, ‘Let’s give away a gun to the church and let some of the men get involved, and let’s make it a big, fun event.’”
Although the church had fewer than 100 members when it gave away the AR-15, the Facebook post garnered almost 2,500 comments and close to 2,000 shares. Then, to celebrate the Fourth of July, church leaders gave away a shotgun and two handguns.
“A gun is a blessing, because here in America, we have what’s called the Second Amendment, and we’re free Americans,” Zehner said. “We have the right to bear arms. Why make it such a focal point of intersection between proud American, Constitution-supporting and teaching Jesus Christ? We make that connection because Christ gives us freedom, and so, as Christ has given us freedom on the inside, Americans are free as well, so it correlates.”
The strong Facebook reaction inspired the second giveaway.
“Our attendance doubled after this whole thing happened,” Zehner said. “So I think people were looking at this like, ‘Wow, there’s somebody that stood up for our rights and freedoms and actually has a backbone.’”
The recipients of the firearms were members of the church and had to complete background checks before taking ownership. Zehner said the church wants to get to a point where they’re blessing people with even larger gifts like cars or even a home. “We probably will do it again,” he said. “I would say maybe Christmastime, to be a blessing again.”
In a Facebook post, the church congratulated the winners. “Great day at The River Church KC. Glad to be connected with a Church that upholds the Constitution of the USA. and preaches the uncompromising Word of God.”
The post received about 2,300 comments, with most of them negative and some funny.
“My church just has coffee and donuts!!” wrote Karen Anderson.
Laura Taylor was dismayed. “And it is this the exact kind of ridiculous act that caused me to leave the church. Good job The River Church of Kansas City you are not part of God’s solution… you are part of his problem!” she posted.
“Just wow. I’m from Tennessee and this is just unheard of,” posted Ashley Stewart. “So Bass Pro shop was just out of gift cards huh?”
Others, like Jordan Seery, were supportive, posting, “People are so angry for what?
giving a man a tool to defend his home
How horrible 
should be ashamed of yourself…”
After the gun giveaway, River Church and Zehner received about a dozen threats, some of which implied something might happen to the church building. The church hired security to stand outside the building during worship services and, in a first, required members to sign a waiver acknowledging the building had been threatened.
The give-away is not new. Ignite Church in Joplin raffled away two AR-15s in 2014 as have other churches.
River Church is planning a gun safety course in the future for its members, where they will learn how to properly load, fire, clean and store firearms.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
