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'If you hate church ...'Nov 22, 2008 (Chattanooga Times/Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The founder of a nondenominational church which launches at the Rave theater in January is hoping people who are turned off by the concept of a traditional congregation might give it a try. The Net Church's primary marketing tool is a giant billboard alongside Interstate 24 which invites people to visit the church's Web site, IfYouHateChurch.com. "It's proven to be successful," church planter Ryan May, a Lee College graduate, said of the unconventional Web site. "The idea was how can we turn heads and attract people who otherwise wouldn't give church a chance, or who did but were burned in the past." More than 300 people have filled out a survey on the Web site, including the multiple choice question "I don't like church because ...," he said. The results of the survey will be revealed at the first church service at the Rave on Jan. 18, Mr. May said, and his first four-week sermon series will deal with some of the answers he received to the open-ended survey question "If I could tell Christians one thing, I would say ...." Gary Godin of Chattanooga said he and his wife had been seeking a church with a comfortable setting in which they could grow, and originally were attracted by the sign. Once they did research on the people behind the church, they wanted to get involved. He said they have made a commitment to help get it started and want to "make sure it's the right church for us." The Net Church's statement of faith includes tenants "everybody from a Christian faith would hold dear" such as a triune God and the virgin birth of Christ, Mr. May, 33, said, but he added that "we're going to agree to disagree on the non-essentials" such as the proper method of baptism. He said the name of the congregation comes not from its Internet relevance (though it will have its own social networking site) nor Christ's reference to making "fishers of men." But he said it is based on the network of small groups which will make up the body of the church during weekdays. Mr. May said the church intends to be relaxed, relevant and refreshing. Its environment, he said, should be "accepting" and "feel like home." Its weekly services, he said, will "stay away from terminology," "speak to everyday life" and "not have a condemning atmosphere." Its atmosphere, instead, he said, will make people "feel better" and be a place they "want to return to." To see more of the Chattanooga Times/Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesfreepress.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |