Worshipping in unexpected places [The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.]

Nov. 27--OCEAN SPRINGS -- Some Coast churches are finding nontraditional settings help them reach people who may be uncomfortable with stained-glass windows, pews and steeples.

A burgeoning trend for new churches is to set up in a nonthreatening space that attracts members, like a shopping mall, a college campus, a gym or even a skating rink.

It echoes a larger shift in American culture toward the informal.

Matt Warnock started coming to Mosaic Church in May, shortly after moving to South Mississippi from Tennessee.

He had visited several churches when some new friends from a Habitat for Humanity build invited him to Mosaic.

Between the shelves of rental skates and the concession stand, a spiky-haired pastor shared the Gospel with the congregation, and the 41-year-old was hooked.

"I felt like this is where I'm supposed to be," Warnock said.

Pastor Dustin Boles and his wife, Natalie, founded the church to reach people like Warnock, Christians without a church home who were looking for a place to grow.

The Boleses came to Ocean Springs from Texas and hosted Sunday services in their home until they found their present location -- In the Zone, a day care and skate center in Ocean Springs.

As visitors and regulars make their way into the building on a recent Sunday, they are greeted several times, then offered gourmet coffee, orange juice and Krispy Kreme doughnut holes.

Breakfast in hand, they are ushered to the rink, which has been transformed into a sanctuary with hundreds of padded chairs and a stage.

A full band leads the congregation in a selection of contemporary songs with words displayed on both large screens on the wall behind the band.

Similar services take place elsewhere.

At Church of the King in Biloxi, instead of a skating rink, members are meeting in an auditorium at eFitness.

In Gautier, members of Church at the Square gather in the Baptist Student Union room on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Next door in Singing River Mall, two churches are welcoming members. Church on the Easter Shore and The Refuge both have designated spaces among the specialty stores.

The advantages of leasing space are many, the disadvantages few, Boles said.

Mosaic takes over rink

Mosaic rents space from Vince Burke, who also uses the building for a day-care through the week and a skating rink on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons.

The church also leases space from Kelly Dial at Flex Fitness for its children's ministry on Sunday mornings.

Burke and Dial both started attending Mosaic after striking the business deals, Boles said.

Mosaic rents the space for "significantly less" than it would cost to build a large church, which would also require insurance, maintenance and utilities.

Mosaic attracts 1,000 to 1,500 attendees between its three weekend services, and is still growing.

"If you buy a building and you go with a certain size and you grow past that, you're stuck," Boles said. "You either have to go through another building campaign or move again. A lot of times, that can hijack the church.

"The church begins to serve the building instead of the building serving the church."

That's not to say the church elders wouldn't consider buying a building if they found the right location and price, he said. Being in a permanent location has its advantages, too. All of that setup to transform the spaces into church, then take it down, puts a strain on the people and equipment, he said.

They also won't consider a building until it can be paid for in full. Mosaic is a debt-free church, which has been able to plant six other churches in its first three years, and supports missionaries around the world.

So leasing a skating rink for church services is not only quirky, it's cost-effective.

"As long as this building helps us to do what God calls us to do, which is reach people, and a lot of them, we'll stay here," Boles said. "The moment it becomes a hindrance to us reaching people, then we'll have to move on."

Moving into a strip mall

Worshippers attending Church of the King stroll past "Jazzercisers" to get to service, said David DeGarmo, the regional church's planning pastor.

The Louisiana church also has two sites in Mandeville.

Jeremy Usry is the pastor on the Gulf Coast.

Church of the King was planted eight years ago as an independent church, but about a year ago it was adopted by Church of the King in Mandeville.

Just like Mosaic, it has small groups meeting away from the church, a children's ministry, contemporary music and a local pastor. But when it's time for the sermon at Christ of the King, it comes from Senior Pastor Steve Robinson, delivered via giant high-definition screen.

About 200 people attend the two services on weekends, DeGarmo said.

The eFitness location has served them well because they've reached people who wouldn't normally have walked into a traditional church.

Many come to the service still in their sweaty gym clothes because they're intrigued, and church leaders don't mind at all. That's what they're after.

Church of the King is opening in its own space in Cedar Popps Plaza on Jan. 22, but will remain nontraditional. It will be centered between a Mexican restaurant and Dollar General, with Virginia College nearby.

Having a designated space means saying goodbye to the labor-intensive setup and breakdown each week. They'll also have room for a church office, which is currently in a separate location.

They'll continue with word-of-mouth advertising and community outreach to let people know they're there.

"The testimony of people's lives who have been touched is really the best advertisement there is for what God is doing here," DeGarmo said.

Video church takes off

Church of the Eastern Shore'sGautier site also uses the video format.

Located in the former Waldenbooks storefront at Singing River Mall, the year-old church serves a multi-denominational congregation with a Southern Baptist heritage, said Pastor Grant Randolph. That means they are a little more structured than a nondenominational church, he said.

The church has one service on Sunday mornings and offers a children's ministry, contemporary music and a casual setting. Small groups meet through the week in members' homes for Bible study and community outreach planning.

About 75 people regularly attend the service, but there's room for twice that many. They'll add a second service if it's needed, he said.

"Our desire is that we reach the unchurched, the unsaved, those who are hurt," he said.

While Randolph serves the needs of the local congregation, the sermon comes by video on screens in the church auditorium, which doubles as a fellowship hall.

"Being nontraditional is an advantage," he said. "People are a little less apprehensive about coming."

Church finds great spot

Refuge Church moved five times in eight years before settling in Singing River Mall across from the movie theater, said Pastor Rick Smith.

They started beside Hudson's, then moved to Indian Point, College Park Elementary and the Gautier Public Library. They'd outgrown the library and needed a semi-permanent location.

"We were praying one Sunday night and that next day an elder and his wife were out looking for a place and decided to stop at the mall," he said.

That was five months ago.

Refuge owns almost 10 acres in Gautier and plans to build a permanent church, but is leasing space instead because the economy is so unstable right now, Smith said.

Leasing also means the church has more resources to "reach out to the community," he said.

Refuge, a church plant from Cedar Lake Christian Assembly in Biloxi, serves about 150 members. It has already planted eight other churches in other countries since April.

The church shares the same beliefs as Assembly of God churches, but in a more nontraditional way, he said.

It meets Sunday mornings and evenings at the mall, but has several small-group meetings in members' homes on Wednesday nights.

Smith said although nontraditional churches appeal to many, the message has been the same for 2,000 years.

"You can change the method, but you don't ever change the message. It stays the same. Jesus Christ died for us," he said.

With that, nontraditional churches are just like their traditional counterparts.

"We haven't changed the Gospel message at all," he said. "We've just changed the methods so it reaches everybody."

Gautier church launching

One of Mosaic's church plants is Church at the Square. Pastor Bryan Cirlot started the church in April as a Bible study group of about eight people meeting in his home. It's grown to more than 20 regular members and he expects an increase when the church officially launches Jan. 1.

"We have a heart for reaching the community in ways that more established churches aren't able to," he said. "We want to be a church in the heart of the community, among the people, with the people."

It is a nondenominational church, but is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, Cirlot said, because the church isn't the building, it's the people who gather to study God's word.

Warnock believes nontraditional churches will continue to flourish as they reach people who need the spirituality and sense of belonging they offer.

"They're doing everything they can to make people understand they're accepted. That they fit in," he said.

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(c)2011 The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)

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