LENEXA, Kan. — A few weeks ago, a Facebook post from a Kansas City-area church caught my eye. And judging by the reaction to the post, it caught a lot of yours, too.
River Church Kansas City meets at the corner of 79th and Quivira in Lenexa. For Father’s Day, the church gave an AR-15 rifle to one of its members.
The church posted photos of the gun and the raffle winner online, and thousands of people reacted.
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Then, to celebrate the Fourth of July, church leaders gave away three more guns.
I sat down with the pastor to hear how he thinks guns and church go together.
'A gun is a blessing'
River Church had fewer than 100 members when it gave away the first gun in June, but the Facebook post garnered almost 2,500 comments and close to 2,000 shares.
The idea came from the church's young pastor, Christopher Zehner.
"I was thinking about Father's Day because we've got a lot of men in the church, they like to shoot guns," Zehner told me when I sat with him in his church’s auditorium. "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.’"
But I had the same question as many Facebook commenters — how is a gun a blessing?
"A gun is a blessing because here in America, we have what's called the Second Amendment, and we're free Americans,” Zehner told me. “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?” I 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."
Giveaway reaction
The reaction on Facebook was overwhelmingly negative.
Comments included:
- "Nothing says faith over fear, like worshipping firearms."
- "A church that upholds the constitution of the USA. Just like Jesus intended.”
- "People are leaving the church like never before, and you all wonder why."
Zehner didn't read all the comments, but he got the gist.
"A gun in itself is not bad,” said Zehner, who is a gun owner. “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."
The strong Facebook reaction was part of the reason Zehner and other church leaders decided to do it again.
Second giveaway
For the Fourth of July week service, the church gave three more members of the congregation guns — a shotgun and two handguns.
"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 church has given away items before but never guns.
Each recipient was a member of the church and had to complete a background check before taking ownership.
I asked Zehner to put me in touch with any of the four to provide comment on this story, but they all declined.
Zehner told me the church wants to get to a point where they're blessing people with even larger gifts — cars or even a home.
And yes, guns again.
"We probably will do it again,” Zehner said. “I would say maybe Christmas time, to be a blessing again."
'The American way'
The use of the word “blessing” continued during our conversation, so I asked Zehner about the usefulness of a gift like this, over other things that have been given away, like groceries.
"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 I asked him if one of these four firearms ended up taking a life. “But to see a family protected, that's the American way."
“And all of that comes from Christ?" I asked.
“Yes,” Zehner told me. “Giving, being a blessing; yes."
After the gun giveaway, River Church and Pastor 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 required members to sign a waiver acknowledging the building had been threatened.
River Church is planning a gun safety course in the future for its members, where they'll learn how to properly load, fire, clean and store a firearm.
No comment
I reached out to 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. None wanted to comment on this story.
Also, I spoke to two nearby business owners. One told me he didn't know about the gun giveaway but didn't have a problem with it. The other, who identified themselves as "very pro-gun," called the decision to give away guns “concerning” and “odd.”
Finally, I reached out to Revival Ministries International. Zehner told me that the church isn’t part of a denomination but rather is affiliated with Revival Ministries.
I asked if River Church of Kansas City had to get any kind of clearance to give away the guns, if Revival has any official position on the Second Amendment and if any other churches affiliated with Revival had given away guns. Revival Ministries did not reply to those questions.
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