Photo by Paula Kennedy

By John M. De Marco

PORT CHARLOTTE — Many churches these days are buying video screens or building sanctuaries well-fitted for multimedia-infused worship. Edgewater United Methodist Church here bought a movie theater.

The church, which moved into the former Regal Cinema 8 complex in July, had reached a point of potential stagnation because of its physical space. The Rev. Dr. David Blood, Edgewater’s pastor, says he spotted the 33,000-square foot complex in August 2000 as a potential church home. The deal was struck last spring, with the church paying $2.45 million for the complex and the theatre’s owners purchasing the church’s existing property.

“We went from a property of about 5.5 acres to just under 11 acres,” Blood told the Review. “We went from a residential property four miles west of Highway 41, to a property on the busiest corner in Charlotte County. God really went into action for us. He opened the door where we had a lender finance the [theater] property for us, opened the door where the developers bought our old property because we couldn’t afford to carry two mortgages.”

The full theater complex is still under renovation. It currently seats 350 for worship, but plans call for the number of seats to increase to 700. Edgewater currently offers one traditional service and one contemporary service on Sunday mornings, with about 350 individuals attending in total.

The transition to the theater complex was challenging for church members, many of whom were very traditional and appreciated a small church atmosphere. Blood said a key turning point was taking leaders to a conference at Boca Raton’s Spanish River Church last January, followed by a visit to Ft. Lauderdale’s Calvary Chapel.

“I wanted them to see what a church could look like in a building that was never designed to be a church.”

Edgewater’s members worshipped in a parking lot tent the first two Sundays in July while their worship center was still being renovated. On July 15, worship took place inside the theater for the first time.

Since then, despite the loss of some church members who opposed the change, Edgewater has seen its new location and potential embraced by many in the downtown community.

“The vast majority of folks coming in are unchurched,” he said. “I think it’s a very non-threatening atmosphere. We just try and break down any barriers that would keep folks intimidated about coming to church. Our celebration worship is power point, really good music, puppets for the kids, and messages that are relevant about how to get through today.”

One key partnership has taken place with the YMCA, which has kicked off an in-line hockey league in the church parking lot. The church also plans to screen family fare movies on Saturdays, with various organizations in Port Charlotte serving as sponsors.

One of Edgewater’s key events after moving into the theater was “Family Extravaganza.” The three-day blitz included a Friday night youth rally with strobe light volleyball in a screening room; children’s movies and videos on Saturday; sheriff’s department fingerprinting for children; storytellers; and a community leaders’ forum.

“Our worship attendance increased 39 percent in August compared to the previous August. In September, I think it’s up 55 or 60 percent over the previous September,” Blood said.

Blood also noted that Edgewater’s youth group has “grown immensely.” The church has launched a Tuesday Bible study that starts at 7 a.m. Parents are invited to bring their children to the church, and the students catch a ride to school in the church van after the study is over. Between 13-25 youth have attended regularly. “It’s pretty wonderful when you have junior high kids getting up early,” Blood said.

Blood credits prayer as the foundation that has enabled Edgewater to take this bold step of faith and begin expanding its territory for disciple-making.

“We established John Maxwell’s prayer partners program; currently, I have 78 prayer partners in the church,” he said. “On Sundays, a prayer team will go through the entire building and pray—the nursery, the classrooms, the whole bit. When folks come into the church, they see folks praying. That makes an impact. We tell them that they’ve been prayed for that morning, every chair in the sanctuary.”

Blood said future plans call for ongoing renovations to allow for classroom space and a gymnasium. Four acres in back of the building could become a park or ball fields. The church also provides about 3,000 meals per year through a food pantry, and sends a team of members twice per month to serve at a local homeless kitchen.

Blood encourages pastors and church leaders to think outside of the box when it comes to making plans for expanding facilities and looking at spacing needs. “There’s more facilities out there than probably the church is aware,” he said.