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NERF wars bring church, community together
Photo
Players who don’t have a NERF blaster choose from an assortment that organizer Curtis Schaffer brings to each “NERFing for Jesus” event. The sport is the brainchild of Schaffer of First Christ Church in Salem as a way to help the community and bring churches together.
By KAREN BELL
TheNewsOutlet.org
SALEM
War is in the news, in movies, in video games and now, in church. Only this isn’t a spiritual war. It’s an all-out NERF war.
Each month, about 30 people get together at a church and wage a battle as part of “NERFing for Jesus.”
Curtis Schaffer of First Christ Church in Salem came up with the idea by melding two of his passions: church and NERF guns.
“I wanted to help out the community and bring churches together,” Schaffer said.
The first war using the popular foam darts, balls and shields was in December at Schaffer’s home church. Since then, four churches have hosted a war, and Schaffer hopes to get more involved.
Those who don’t own NERF guns, or “blasters,” don’t have to worry. Schaffer owns 97 and is willing to share.
Organizers say this project isn’t about winning “a war,” which may explain why there few people are against the idea.
“We have never had one [a controversy] here, but I can’t see anyone having an issue with it at all. They are up for anything that gets the kids moving,” said Nate Ortiz, a youth pastor at Victory Christian Center in Coitsville.
The games are a way to welcome people who ordinarily may not find a church community comfortable and to bolster the connection among church members.
Spencer Widlicka is a youth minister at Winona Friends Church, which hosted the February gathering.
He said the event brings out not only nonbelievers, but believers as well.
“A lot of these kids may go to school together and not even know that some of their classmates are Christians, too,” Widlicka said. “It really helps to know who your support group is, and these activities will hopefully help with that.”
Kyle Fleischman, 24, of Lisbon said church hasn’t always been his scene, but NERF definitely is. He participated in the January NERF war at Crossroad Ministries in Salem.
“The absolute best part was the four full tables, all put together, completely covered in NERF guns,” said Fleischman.
The idea behind churches sponsoring NERF battles isn’t a new one.
“I actually got into NERF because down at Johnson Bible College, they had a NERF war,” said John Reed, senior minister at Columbiana First Christian Church.
“I didn’t have the funds to get involved, and one of the worker’s sons found out and actually let me use his crossbow,” he added.
That crossbow is still one of Reed’s prized possessions. “[It’s] from the mid-’90s. It’s a single-shot NERF blaster and, back in the heyday, went farther than any other.”
Reed said these wars give the chance for teaching opportunities — even aside from the spiritual aspects.
“It shows us how to respect one another, how to respect other people’s property, how to respect our own property,” he said.
At every event, there is a 15-minute message. Also, to be able to play, you’ve got to pay — but not in cash.
“Every war, you have to bring two cans of food, and that food goes to the Salem Food Bank,” Schaffer said.
Though this may be called a war, it still is a game and it comes with rules designed with safety and fairness in mind.
“We all have to wear safety goggles, that’s a big thing,” Schaffer said. “No hitting people with swords.”
The safety rules never change but the rules for each battle, or round, do.
Some game coordinators allow multiple hits before a player is ruled out. Others may allow for only one hit. The goal or objective may change as well. This requires some preparation by the game coordinators.
“The prep process is actually pretty detailed,” Reed said. “It starts out with me checking the NERF blasters we have … and trying to make sure what’s able to be used and function correctly, and making sure we have enough darts ready to go.”
Some of the blasters are like those you can buy at a local toy store. Some people, however, may modify these blasters so the foam darts or balls go farther or faster. Reed has a lot of rules pertaining to blasters that may have been modified.
“The person who has done any modifications to their gun has to be willing to be hit/tagged by it. If it is too hard for them, then obviously it would be too hard for someone else,” said Reed.
The preparation goes beyond blasters. Both Reed and Widlicka said they have to set up the location. First, they block off unsafe areas. Then, they set up obstacles to make the war a bit more interesting.
The actual battles can last for hours.
“My favorite time at a NERF war — I think we had about two dozen people there, and we went from about 7 p.m. to about 4 in the morning.”
Those nine hours featured everything from “Capture the Flag” to “Humans vs. Zombies.”
For information, contact Curtis Schaffer at cson55555@gmail.com.
TheNewsOutlet.org is a collaborative effort among the Youngstown State University journalism program, The University of Akron, Cuyahoga Community College and professional media outlets including, WYSU-FM Radio and The Vindicator, and The Beacon Journal and Rubber City Radio, both of Akron.
Karen Bell is a member of First Christian Church in Columbiana and participated in NERF wars before the “NERFing for Jesus” project.