. . . And the Disadvantages
As I stated before, the theater isn’t our permanent home. I think it could work for some churches on a permanent basis, but for us, there are a few things that we’re thinking about long term that stand in the way.
- We only have access on Sunday mornings until noon. We have to find other sites and spaces for membership classes, etc. We meet in homes a lot anyway, but larger, non-Sunday meetings can be a trick.
- Altar calls are tough to figure out – not impossible – just tough.
- As with any space rented weekly, we’re still loading and unloading, setting up and tearing down. We love it, but look forward to a sense of permanence (and trust me, we’re very patient on this one).
- Lighting is an issue. The theater lights dim and brighten, but we still turn on the house lights for the teaching time. We bring in a lot of lamps.
- Sometimes the movie posters in the lobby scare the children. Thankfully, Malco’s folks make a good effort at keeping those in the wing we don’t access.
- Sometimes there is the remnant odor of popcorn… which could have fit in either category, actually.
. . . But It’s Not Permanent
If we had it to do over again, we’d definitely do it again. It’s been pretty ideal. We’re beginning to look now for a larger, retail or warehouse space with some freedom to spread out, create our own space, and still have the flexibility of a lease instead of incurring debt this early.
This article about planting a church in a movie theater originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
