CHARLOTTE, N.C. - If it's Sunday, it means football. But for many families, it's also an important spiritual day, and a part of that means going to church. For the faithful who are also believers in the Panthers team, the choice doesn't have to come down to one or the other.

“God really gave us the heart to love Jesus, love people and love the city,” said Pastor Ben Eige. The church he leads might be the ideal place for Carolina football fans to worship on game day.

“A part of loving the city means loving our Panthers, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” said Eige.

With it’s only service starting at 10:30a.m., Ephesus Church ends before game time. Members can watch the FOX pre-game show on TV, while they fellowship. Bank of America Stadium is a few blocks away.    

“Just to have the community that we have here, and then to walk over to the stadium and have a great community over there, we really had a lot of fun,” said Logan Torve. He and his dad Calvin got tickets earlier this year to see the Panthers play Green Bay Packers.

For the rest of the season, they've been able to get back home in Davidson by kickoff time.

“It’s not that we would pass up church to go to a game," said Calvin, "but it's nice when it works out that you can do both."

Pastor Eige agrees. "I think you can do both, a lot of times though people just have it in their minds, 'I’m either going to the game or going to the church'."

For those who want to go to church and a Panthers game, there’s lots of options. Church goers can attend Saturday night or first service Sunday morning. For those who want to spend time with God, tailgate and the game, they can also get their spiritual uplift on TV.

At a tailgate party, one fan took advantage of having a TV on the back of the truck. "I didn't go to church, but I watched Joel Osteen on TV this morning, and I prayed for the Panthers to win today."

And then there are the faithful, like Nina Edwards. Her family was running a bit late for today's game. But she went to church, taught Sunday school and also prayed for the team to win.

"We all did, all the little kids. Go Cam Newton," said Edwards.