Churches get thumbs-up at theaters

The “Grand Theater” of the AMC Union Station 9 is typically the place where moviegoers gather to see the latest blockbusters and feast on popcorn or hot dogs.

But on Sunday mornings, the theater becomes a place of worship for National Community Church, a local 900-member nondenominational congregation, where its parishioners pray, listen to sermons and receive Holy Communion.

Holding services in movie theaters is “so contemporary, so out of the norm, something that Jesus would do,” said Tony Snesko, a member of National Community since it was founded in 1996. “If He was here today, I don’t think He would go into a usual church for a service. He would find an unusual place where He normally wouldn’t go.”

National Community is one of several churches in the D.C. area that are turning neighborhood movie theaters into makeshift sanctuaries on Sundays.

At least 70 churches nationwide hold their Sunday services at movie theaters, said officials at National CineMedia LLC, a theater-owned cinema programming company that represents about 1,100 theaters and nearly 12,000 screens in 43 states.

Movie theaters are perfect church venues because the facilities successfully combine location, convenience and comfort, area pastors said.

Holding services in movie theaters has been going on for years, theater company officials said.

“There is a growing trend in new ministries and churches that need to have room for expansion. Churches are very expensive to build,” said Tom Galley, chief operations and technology officer for National CineMedia, which is owned by AMC Theatres and the Regal Entertainment Group.

In 2002, National CineMedia created a division to recruit churches and businesses to hold services, meetings and special events in its theaters — mostly as a service to the surrounding communities, officials said.

For churches, renting a movie theater once a week is cheaper than owning and maintaining a church building. It costs about $2,000 per month to hold services in local theaters, church officials said.

Nine of the 70 churches that hold services in National CineMedia-owned theaters are located in the D.C. area. The company this year saw a 25 percent increase in its number of clients, Mr. Galley said.

For Summit Trace Church in Frederick, holding worship services at the nearby Regal Westview Stadium 16 makes sense.

“We’re not trying to be hip for hip’s sake,” said Bill Craig, pastor of Summit Trace. “We’re just trying to meet people where they are and take them where God wants them to be.”

Mr. Craig said the comfortable setting of a movie theater is perfect for those who feel intimidated by more traditional religious settings.

“We get to see them on their own turf, in their own place, [yet] there’s still a sense of anonymity,” he said, adding that people often stumble in expecting to see a movie and end up staying for church. “There’s the smell of popcorn, and there’s no hint that this could be a church other than the people there demonstrating God’s love.”

Mark Batterson, lead pastor at National Community Church, said he views the movie screen as one of his church’s greatest assets.

“To us, the screen is like the 21st-century version of stained glass — it tells the story of the Gospel with moving pictures,” he said.

His church holds four services every Sunday — three at the AMC Union Station 9 in Northeast and one at the Regal Ballston Common Stadium 12 in Arlington.

Journey’s Crossing, a nondenominational church in Gaithersburg, holds its Sunday services at the CO Rio 18 theaters in the Washingtonian Center. On its Web site, www.ilovethischurch.com, the church boasts a live band, movie clips, skits and refreshments during the services.

“For the average person coming in, it feels less churchy [and] less traditional,” said Outreach and Community Care pastor Darin Brown of the facility the church has rented since October 2001.

“It feels like a kind of Christianity where you’d like to get comfortable and invite your friends,” he said.

More churches are expected to come soon to a movie theater near you. National Community Church plans to begin another congregation next fall in a theater in Northwest, and Journey’s Crossing expects to open one at the Majestic 20 in Silver Spring.