Many Churches Find Theater Facilities Are Just the Ticket
by Ed Thomas
September 14, 2005
(AgapePress) - The real estate boom of recent times has only helped to solidify a strategy for outreach that some of the largest churches across the U.S. have been using for years: using movie theater complexes for their weekly services and events. National Cinemedia, a marketing arm and programming company for the AMC Theater chain and Regal Entertainment Group, says there are now upwards of 80 churches across 40 states using theater complexes out of more than 1,000 available facilities. Mike Schoenberger, National Cinemedia's vice president of sales and marketing, says churches tell him that, by renting theater complexes, they are able to enter into high-priced real estate markets to plant churches. "Real estate cost is a big consideration for churches," he notes, "and with real estate being such a precious commodity, we're having churches now that are staying for years in our theaters."
Churches are able to use the theater screens for multi-media services, have room for attendees and for expansion, and most importantly, they are able to make visitors who may not feel comfortable in traditional church settings feel more at ease with trying out religious services and events. Schoenberger says the comfort level for the unchurched, some perhaps willing to try services for the first time, is another key consideration. These folks are the people many congregation's outreach ministries' are working hardest to reach.
"In their efforts to seek out the unchurched," Schoenberger points out, "the theater is turning out to be a natural location where they are able to see their congregation grow at a much more rapid rate than they would see at some of their more traditional church facilities."
Many theater-church congregations have found that this nontraditional church setting has helped them to reach their target demographic, whatever it might be. Lead Pastor Mark Wilkinson of Journey's Crossing Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, a high-priced real estate region, agrees on that point. "The crowd that we wanted to attract were largely the 20-somethings and 30-somethings, young adults and young families," he says.
And one pastor of a growing church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, says this approach to solving sanctuary space and outreach ministry issues is helping his church to focus on what he says should be the priority anyway -- building relationships between people in the body of Christ and the community, beyond church services.
The relationship National Cinemedia is building with churches seems to be a win-win situation. While the churches are reaching their aims, the theater facilities are being utilized and making money a larger percent of the time; therefore, both the theater owners and the churches in them seem pleased with the arrangement.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
