10 Things I Love About Launching In A Movie Theater

THIS SUNDAY (yeah!!!) is the premiere launch worship experience for Real Life Church!
I am so excited.

Here are some of the reasons why:

1. The church isn’t a building.

We’ve all heard many people say things like, “I just knew if I could make back to church, everything would be alright.” The more I read the Bible, the more this statement creates a problem. In the book of Acts, it wasn’t long before the Christians were threw out of the local ‘churches’. History teaches us they began meeting in caves and even catacombs for worship! (I’ve been in some churches like that.)  However, after Constantine legalized Christianity, things quickly began to change. Now for almost two thousand years, the word ‘church’ has been thought of as a building we go to for worship. That simply isn’t the case. The church is the body of Christ. We are the church.

When you begin to understand that we are the church, it doesn’t matter where we meet. God is there.  You no longer have to associate your relationship with God or His presence with a building. You can ‘have church’ wherever you are. Jesus said it this way, “If two or three are gathered together, I’ll be there too.”

2. It’s tricks people into being real.

There are so many masks which immediately come on simply because it’s church time. It’s just the way it is. However, meeting in a movie theater helps us remove those masks. They don’t associate us with their past experiences.

3. What kid doesn’t want to go to a movie theater to have church.

Both my kids are so excited to go to the ‘theater church’!

4. The smell of popcorn!

Who doesn’t love the smell of popcorn. Butter….. cheese….. butter……. awesome. Jesus moves through popcorn!

5. We get to work with a great theater company.

The Great Escapes Theater company has been amazing to work with. They have been patient, accommodating, and understanding of our various questions.

6. It’s already made for sound.

Movie Theater’s are in business to do one thing……. show movies.  They have spent millions to create screening rooms that have great acoustics and comfortable chairs. …..We get that! The sound quality in these rooms are amazing enough to make any audio guy screaming like a little girl.

7. Built in projection screen.

I’m a very media driven pastor so therefore RLC will be a media driven church. What better than to have one wall entirely covered with screen? Nothing. We have so many options we don’t know what to do. For launch we will have two projections on either side of the room and eventually add a third big one in the middle.

8. NO MOVING CHAIRS!

Being a pastor’s kid from the South, carrying metal folding chairs was just part of life. Chairs are also expensive, big, and hard to store. No big deal here.  The only worry with the theater seating is that the chairs may actually be too comfortable. Already think I’ve noticed a few college kids breaking them in with a baptismal nap.

9. The smell of popcorn.

I think this one has been listed twice. But, can you blame me? For $10 a bucket that stuff should taste like editable gold.

10. The Divine Will of God.

We looked at more high school fine arts centers and meeting room than I can remember. However, nothing really made sense until we stepped drove onto the parking lot of the Great Escapes 12 Theater. It just made sense.
I think it was God’s divine appointment. He has a way of moving you into position even if you don’t see His hand working in your life at the time. What you think are a series of strange coincidences is actually God moving you into the right position.