A Kansas church has figured out a pretty good way to increase its attendance on Sundays: give away some firearms to congregants. 

The River Church of Kansas City, which is technically located in the suburb of Lenexa, Kansas, has “blessed” churchgoers with a variety of guns twice this summer; once on Father’s Day and again over Independence Day weekend. Pastor Christopher Zehner says he came up with the idea to raffle off an AR-15 as part of the church’s Father Day celebration in the hopes of making it a “big, fun event.” 

Then, to celebrate the Fourth of July, church leaders gave away three more guns: 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?” Scripps News Kansas City asked.

“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,” Zehner said. “We love this nation because God is the one that authored it.”

Zehner says since the first gun giveaway, attendance at The River Church has doubled. But while the church’s offering has led to more rear ends in the church pews, it’s also had its share of critics who say Zehner is sending a wrong message by promoting gun ownership. In fact, Zehner says the church had to hire security to watch over the exterior of the building during worship services after receiving close to a dozen threats. 

The pastor, however, says there’s nothing sinful about exercising your Second Amendment rights, and he’s standing his ground about the gun giveaways. 

“A gun in itself is not bad,” said Zehner, who is a gun owner himself. “It’s the person behind the gun that has a bad heart is what’s bad. I wanted people to know that there’s still a young generation like myself that still stands for what this country was founded on.” 

…”I know some people would maybe question, ‘Is a gun a blessing?’” Zehner said. “But in the context of protecting your family, standing up for the Second Amendment right, I believe it’d be a great blessing.

“If that was protecting somebody’s wife from dying, or a daughter from dying, it would be horrible to see someone’s life lost,” he continued when asked what he’d think if one of these four firearms ended up taking a life. “But to see a family protected, that’s the American way.”

Zehner adds that the church may “bless” the congregation with another gun giveaway around Christmas, but he’s also planning on hosting a class at the church where attendees can learn the basics of real gun safety. 

While Zehner is celebrating his First and Second Amendment rights, Scripps News Kansas City put a negative spin on its coverage of the church. In addition to asking Zehner loaded questions about how the gun giveaway comports with Christian theology, the news outlet went so far as to ask “the homeowner’s association closest to the church’s location, the two Lenexa City Council members (Melanie Arroyo and Chelsea Williamson) who represent the ward in which the church is located,” and the Lenexa Police Department for comment, hoping they’d find someone to complain on the record. 

None of those entities or individuals bothered to respond. In fact, the only critic Scripps News Kansas City could find was an anonymous nearby business owner who called the giveaway “concerning” and “odd.” 

While River Church’s “blessing” may be unusual, it shouldn’t be of concern to anyone, and I’m glad to see Zehner’s not letting the negative press attention stand in the way of the church’s support for the Second Amendment or its desire to make sure its gun-owning congregants are safe and responsible with their firearms.