Worshippers take 'Passion' back to church

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Mel Gibson's epic film "The Passion of The Christ" has filled theaters as well as church pews in the Washington area and around the country.

Evangelical pastors said visitors are flocking to their churches, new members are being added, and they are planning on an even larger number of visitors at Easter than usual.

Meanwhile, members of mainline denominations, inspired by the movie, are committing to spiritual disciplines during Lent, and Catholics are returning to their faith, pastors said.

At National Community Church last weekend, more than 150 visitors attended its two services, one at Union Station and the other in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington. The interdenominational church, which holds its services in movie theaters, showed screenings of "The Passion" at Ballston instead of its regular service there.

National Community, which averages a combined attendance of about 850 people, had more than 1,000 last Sunday.

"We're hoping that it's not just a one-time thing that people come. We're hoping that it begins a process of people searching spiritually for answers," senior pastor Mark Batterson said.

The evangelical Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., drew 3,000 visitors last weekend on top of its average attendance of 20,000. Pastor Rick Warren, author of the best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life," designed a three-week small-group study curriculum, which members are going through now.

Capitalizing on the momentum built by "The Passion" is "like catching a spiritual wave," said David Chrzan, chief of staff at Saddleback.

"It's like surfing. There are events that create a constant or heightened interest in spiritual things. We have built Saddleback off those moments."

More than 900 people at Saddleback signed a card indicating they had become new converts over the last two weekends, Mr. Chrzan said.