Now that Comic-Con is in full swing, I’ve been looking into some of the news that has been coming out. From the new Power Rangers Movie, Avengers 2, The Last of Us, Tekken 7, Smash Bros., Kingdom Hearts 2.5 (thank you Jesus), and so much more, I’m excited that this has been a great year for Comic Con and for us fans. Not only that, but I hope that I can go next time because I’ve never experienced it before.
After not seeing much Christian presence at the cons down here in Miami, and doing my own, I wondered if in the largest geek convention in the USA there was anything going on that was bringing God’s kingdom there. Well, I didn’t have to do a whole lot of searching and found this, which is all about how the typical “fire and brimstone” people came out and “welcomed” the con goers. Let me first say that I personally doubt that any of these people are even Christian. Someone can say they are Christian, they can go to church, and the whole deal, but that doesn’t matter much to God. You can sit in a garage all day, it doesn’t make you a car. Christ said that we tell who people are by their fruit, not by their words (Matthew 7:15-20). People are deemed Christian when you declare that Christ is your Lord verbally and in your heart, but if Christ lives in your heart I can’t believe that they can be this hateful.
I’m from New York City, so I’ve seen these street preachers yelling at people to go to hell. I’ve also seen (and participated in) the opposite, which is going out to the streets and praying for people to be healed, saved and set free from demonic power. It’s much better that way, trust me. People need love, they need God to be real and meet them where they are. Christ ate with the prostitutes, preached and healed those that nobody cared about, and told those in sin to sin no more. Sin is definitely something that God disapproves, but people already know they are in sin. You don’t need to be a Christian to know what’s right and wrong. It’s in all of us, that sense of justice.
So, if you were to bring God’s love to a “geek” (anime/gaming/otaku/etc) convention or similar event, what do you do? Easy. Be yourself, bring a message that speaks their language, be immersed in that culture (or at least familiar with it) and to paraphrase what a pastor once said, “love the hell out of people”. For example, personally, I have no interest in computer programming, software, etc. but there is an entire culture of it with groups of people sharing that interest. I can’t relate to them, because I know nothing about programming, so I’d rather not try to make a panel or presentation or discussion at a programming event to share the gospel. I will though, get down and dirty with some cosplayers, gamers, and otaku/geek fans! To speak the love of Christ to them is my passion, and one I’ve recently realized I had a lot of.
Are there actually people doing events where people are being impacted by God’s love (in my opinion) biblically and with love? Yup! You can check out how Game Church is looking at conventions as a missions field, or you can see what Otaku’s for Jesus are up to (they recently had a booth at Anime Expo 2014). Groups and individuals like these are showing others that God does have a purpose for their lives and people are coming to know Christ through them.
Let me know if you’ve ever seen any Christian presence at a con or similar event, or even if you were the one who were hosting it! Also, if your doing anything at a con, let me know below or message me so I can help support or at least spread the word as best I can. Thanks for reading.