A Central Florida pastor got a tattoo of his church’s logo after losing a bet with his congregants.
The Rev. Leon Bloder of First Presbyterian Church in Eustis, Fla., said he’d get a tattoo of the church’s emblem and cut his hair if the attendance record was broken on Easter Sunday.
The new tattoo, which Bloder got on Thursday, is of a large black cross on his left calf. He said he upheld his promise to show his commitment to God and the gospel.
“That’s how committed I am to getting them excited about their church and what we’re doing,” Bloder told WKMG-TV. “Hopefully, it’ll rub off a little bit. I don’t expect them to all go get tattoos, but at least they’ll know that their pastor is willing to go all out. So, that’s cool.”
Eight hundred and fifty people showed up on Easter Sunday, nearly doubling the normal weekend attendance of 450.
The pastor previously told the Local 6 Orlando station that he initiated the bet to encourage the unchurched to attend services.
“I wanted my church members to be more focused on inviting people to church this Easter,” he explained.
“We do church differently at First Presbyterian,” he said. “I know that if unchurched people experience our joyful worship services, along with the incredible ministries and mission that we are doing in our community, they might change their minds about church and church people.”
Bloder, who promised to cut his shoulder-length hair as part of the bet, also offered to pay for anyone’s tattoo if they chose to ink the church’s emblem on their skin.
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