Two worlds collide: New church offers services inside movie theater
Jason Raitz used to preach at a more traditional church. Then, the pastor got creative with his worship service.
That's when the innovative Raitz found solace in an unconventional church at Celebration! Cinema.
Thrive Church was created with a laid-back environment that includes comfortable movie theater seating, no dress code and a rock band that leads members in worship. Raitz, lead pastor of Thrive, said he hopes to fill a void in Mount Pleasant by making church enjoyable.
"(There's) nothing like Journey to kick off a morning at Thrive Church," Raitz yelled at the start of last Sunday's service. "We won't stop believing!"
Linda Burr has been going to Thrive ever since its first service on Oct. 6 and has kept coming back because of the energetic pastor.
"Jason is a great person," Burr said. "He is funny and interesting to listen to. You're not going to fall asleep during his sermon."
The original Thrive Church is located in Katy, Texas and has been going strong for four years. Thrive also has four other churches from the metro Detroit area that have helped them with finances and promotion.
"My lifelong friend let me use the Thrive brand, and together, we will try to support each other," Raitz said of its inception. "He is just as excited as I am about the progress we have made so far."
The mission of the church is to create a simple, real and fun atmosphere, Raitz said, where people can reconnect with their beliefs.
"We take our beliefs seriously," Raitz said, "But there needs to be some time for fun."
Thrive's nontraditional way to worship has made an impact, as attendance has grown nearly every week. The church steadily grew from a core of about 30 people in 2011 to more than 150 people attending the services on Sunday.
"We want to create a church that the un-churched or de-churched people find appealing," Raitz said.
Janice Taylor is one of the original 30 and was adamant about how the laid back atmosphere puts people at ease to accept the message of the day.
"To be in a theater listening to the words of the Bible and not a movie is a cool experience," Taylor said. "A traditional church is sometimes hard to walk into."
Taylor said she wishes more college students would come to Thrive. She's believes a more inviting church could help with the drop in student attendance.
According to statistics found on Thrive's website, 85 percent of Mount Pleasant residents do not even have a church that they call home.
In addition to playing nontraditional worship songs, Celebration! Cinema General Manager Christopher Couling said Thrive has used the theater's technology to their advantage.
"They do all of their own set up and bring most of their own equipment," Couling said. "But they do use our digital projector and screens for visuals."
Couling said he knew the pastor from a previous church before he ever contacted the theater about holding his own services.
"We aren't really worried about the numbers," Raitz said. "We just want to create a welcoming environment for people who have disregarded going to church"
