We are giving away BBQ Boxes again this fall!
To equip and encourage us all to relate in real life (one of our church’s strategies), we are providing BBQ Boxes so that you can host a BBQ at your house or apartment. The boxes have a lot of fun ideas and items to use inside, like a homemade guacamole seasoning and Seabreeze Church coasters. We hope you enjoy using them!
Our hope and prayer is that as we relate to our friends, neighbors, and co-workers who do not already know Christ or attend a church, we will all be able to further reach our local community with the Gospel.
In the boxes, we have provided a list of helpful questions you can ask during your BBQ that can lead to spiritual conversations. You can also pick up an invitation or two to our fall series launch that you can give to them, if the topic comes up!
Below are two stories of how church members used the BBQ Boxes last year:
Kristin Campbell
I took the box knowing that we were going to have family and friends over on Labor Day. What I did not know was that my dad was going to the ER and was in terrible pain. My dad has Stage 4 metastatic melanoma and it has spread from his bones to his liver and his lungs. I went after church to meet with my mom and my uncle and visit my dad. My mom chose to stay overnight with him so I could go home and have my barbecue.
On Monday morning I opened the box and took the tablecloth out, cut it in half, and put them on my patio tables. I cooked, cleaned, and set up my house all while praying for my dad and for my family. Our friends and family came over and we ate and laughed and then I got a call from my sister saying that they decided it was time for my dad to go on hospice.
In the middle of the barbecue I had to pull my kids aside and tell them that we had to go say goodbye to their grandpa and that we didn’t know how much time he had left. The kids and I excused ourselves from the party and told my husband that we would be back later.
At the hospital, what my dad said to my kids, my sisters (who are not Christians), and myself was so calming and wonderful. He said that he wasn’t scared and that he was at peace and that he was going to go live with Jesus in heaven. He said that he had faith and that it was time for him to go home.
We stayed for a little while longer and then headed home and found our family and friends still there. It was obvious that we went to go say goodbye to my dad. While hanging out at home, our friends asked how he was and how I was. I got to share my dad’s story with them—some of them are Christians, some are not. I was able to share with them about grace and I got to show them our family’s strength in Jesus. Overall it was a good day, sad but good, and it ended up being a great opportunity to share God’s love with our friends.
Wray and Mary Beth Miller
God opened new doors to reach our neighbors this weekend through the BBQ Box idea! We partnered with our neighbors Esther and Kathy to invite a few other neighbors over to a Labor Day barbeque dinner. With God’s guidance, we ended up with about 30 people attending. Our party pavilion was bursting, but it was fun to have everyone!
Lives are so busy these days, and we seem to just wave at each other, and then go on our way. At the barbeque, many pitched in to make it a potluck. Since our group was on a larger scale, we were able to spend some time getting to know each other or get reacquainted. We discovered there is a wide range of ownership on our block, from “originals” at 45 years, to one neighbor who just moved in two weeks ago. Jessica was able to meet her closest neighbors, and everyone was very welcoming to her.
We shared briefly that the idea for the barbeque came from our 
church and we invited them to attend the Big Day Brunch and consider giving Seabreeze a try, if they are not already connected to a local church. Everyone left with big smiles and hoping that we would do this again soon. We are now praying that God will help us nurture the seeds that have been planted in our neighbors and that they will feel a sense of desire to come and check out Seabreeze or start a faith journey of their own.