Rob Shepherd recently hosted a holiday dinner, but with a new twist: soup.
The Virginia pastor even coined a holiday name for his gathering.
“Thomas was a fun gathering with our small church group,” Shepard said in a Fox News Digital interview. “We meet weekly for Bible study, which is our Christmas gathering as a group.”
3 Advent food traditions from around the world, each with their own story
Normally, the group would meet for a meal, but this year they were open to innovative ideas, he said.
“My wife is an educator, and she gave up on the idea of everyone bringing soup to share,” recalls Sheppard, lead pastor of Next Level Church in Yorktown, Virginia.
Virginia pastor Rob Shepherd said his wife, Monica (left), came up with the idea of serving soup potlucks for their annual church group holiday gathering. (Rob Shepherd)
This idea is a winner. But the next question is how guests will serve soup at a potluck party.
This led to another great idea.
“My wife also agreed to bring muffin tins to hold soup cups so that we can easily sample a variety of soups,” Sheppard said. “There were six couples in our group, so we had five different soups and one couple brought dessert.”
5 Holiday Tips to Save Time and Money by Limiting Your Beverage Options
Muffin tins proved to be a clever choice for soup options: tomato, greens, broccoli cheese, sausage dumplings, and chicken tortillas.
“They’re all delicious, but my favorite is the broccoli cheese soup,” Shepard said.
Shepherd was so happy with the potluck that he decided to share the idea on social media.
Muffin tins are used to hold soup cups during holiday dinners. (Rob Shepard)
“There can be a lot of negative content on the Internet, and one of my goals is to provide positive content,” he said.
Shepherd said he started using TikTok in 2020 “just because I had more free time.”
Winter pot roast recipe is a “tender” dish
“I post games, recipes and family fun,” Sheppard said.
His soup post is hot.
“I didn’t expect it to go viral. 3 million views on TikTok, 3.9 million views on Instagram,” Shepard told Fox News Digital last week.
Before posting the video to Instagram, he had 1,500 followers. After the video was released, the number of followers jumped to 15,000.
Click here to subscribe to our lifestyle newsletter
“I’m shocked by the response,” he said.
Rob Shepherd hosts a holiday soup potluck party with his church group with five options: tomato, vegetable, broccoli cheese, sausage dumplings and chicken tortillas. (Rob Sheppard)
The post had thousands of comments, but Sheppard cited two of his favorites.
“What a cheap, easy, fun way to get the family together and I’m frustrated,” @kodarodriguez97 wrote.
For more lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle
“This is my dream. Soup is my favorite food. I need new friends,” @BRXJ wrote.
Not only was Shepard excited about how popular his soup potluck theme was, he was also surprised by the reach of his post.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“I kept getting messages from friends whose friends sent me soup videos and they were excited to let their friends know they knew me in real life,” Sheppard said.
“The whole thing was fun.”
