From Deseret News archives:

Church swapping pews for big screen

Rock Canyon will meet inside theater at Provo Towne Centre

Published: Monday, Aug. 16, 2004 8:49 a.m. MDT

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PROVO — Pass the popcorn.

Starting in October, members of the Rock Canyon Assembly of God church will congregate on Sundays in a Cinemark theater at Provo Towne Centre mall to worship.

But the Rev. Dean Jackson said that he's not taking a cue from Mel Gibson. He's just following the lead of churches around the country that have opted to hold services near the silver screen.

"We see it as an opportunity to reach out to people who are kind of tired or disillusioned by the old way of doing things," Jackson said.

"We really want our church to be a lot more accessible."

But moving locations doesn't mean that Jackson is changing focus. He said meeting in a theater can be just as spiritual, if not more, as congregating in a traditional church.

"A theater has a comfortable atmosphere that just feels good," said Barbara Orylance, a Rock Canyon member who experienced the concept (church in a theater) first-hand while visiting a Washington, D.C., church.

"I loved it," she said. "I actually didn't even feel like I was in a theater. I felt like it was church."

Jackson said he will take advantage of the large screen in theater 16 by showing movie clips and making the experience more visual for his Sunday sermons, which draw more than 200 each week.

The church will also offer a day-care center for its members with small children.

"We are going to be doing a lot more media stuff than we've done in the past," he said.

In an interesting twist, Kimber Academy, a charter school with a heavy emphasis on LDS scriptures (it is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however), will move into the current Rock Canyon Worship Center on Canyon Road.

The school, which expects 150 students when school starts Sept. 7, hopes to grow into the building, which can hold up to 450 students.

Both will use the building until the Assembly of God church relocates to Provo Towne Centre in October.

But Kimber Academy administrator Randy Jensen said he is happy to share.

"We keep things open to people of all denominations," Jensen said. "It's a place where God is welcome."

Still, Orylance can't wait to take her seat at the movie theater.

"I think it's a great change for our church," she said. "The atmosphere will be very unique in itself. And the seats are so comfortable."

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