Hatty (Bar Hrri
Church innovates ways to attract members
BY MEGHAN GAMBLING
STAFF WRITER
DURHAM ln theater No. 5,
Senior Pastor Marty Cauley spoke
as if preaching in any typical sanc
tuary.
Sans a traditional pulpit, Cauley
stood on the area partitioning two
seating sections at the Streets at
South Point Cinemas and talked
personably to the parishioners dot
ting the seats in front of him.
Behind Cauley, the pastor of
Momingstar United Methodist
Church, was not the group of hym
nal-carrying, robed men and
women that one might expect.
Instead, Polaris, a band equipped
with electric and acoustic guitars,
percussion, three backup vocalists
and a lead singer, stood waiting for
their cue to begin rocking.
On the movie screen above,
Power Point slides displayed lyrics
and information for the audience,
headed with messages such as “The
Living Savior. He ain’t dead.”
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Momingstar’s first church serv
ice took place in early March, and
since then, the congregation has
grown to between 65 and 75 week
ly attendees who will have the
opportunity to pledge membership
officially May 23.
“We are trying to develop a con
gregation designed to reach people
not connected to a faith communi
ty,” Cauley said. “Movie theaters
have fast become the crossroads of
our culture. There are people from
a myriad of different strata who go
to movie theaters.”
The congregation, which is
about 65 percent white and 25 per
cent black, is a rarity when many
churches are racially homogenous,
Cauley said. But although Cauley
supports it, diversity is not the pri
mary mission of the church.
“Diversity is not the cause we
will die for,” Cauley said. “The
cause we will hold our banner up
for is Christ. If we teach the gospel
we will naturally be diverse.”
Cauley was sent to the Chapel
Hill area, where he searched for a
nonthreatening place to draw peo
ple who do not consider them
selves churchgoers. After his
arrival, Cauley explored many dif
ferent community spaces, includ
ing restaurants and schools.
When Cauley discovered that he
could rent space at the South Point
Cinemas, he decided to go for it.
The auditorium space was perfect
for the music the church used, had
handicapped access and was in a
convenient location.
Cary resident John Ramsey said
that although he is not usually a
churchgoer, he has attended the
theater services since early March.
“The kids like the music at the
beginning,” Ramsey said. “And I
enjoy being around people con
nected with God.”
Sunday’s service, which lasted
about an hour, had a casual flavor
and included solo vocal perform
ances by some Polaris members.
News
As parishioners rewound a
karaoke tape for vocalist Annette
Newkirk, she described Jesus’ hand
in her daughter’s rapid recovery
from a car accident that left the
child in a coma and near death.
“I took the facts and brought
them to Jesus,” Newkirk said,
explaining that she prayed after
doctors told her that her daughter
would need to walk with a cane for
the rest of her life.
Newkirk said that, with the help
of Jesus, her daughter no longer
needs a cane and is recovering bet
ter than the doctors expected.
Cauley is not sure what the
future holds for Momingstar, but
he wants to find a permanent loca
tion for his congregation. Included
in his plans for the church’s future
facility is a coffee shop where col
lege students can enjoy a non
threatening religious environment.
“(Momingstar is) an opportuni
ty to reach people in a way that
normal churches don’t or can’t,”
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2004
it. *V' £|V
'yt
DTH/NANCY DONALDSON
Pastor Marty Cauley gives a sermon Sunday to members of Momingstar
United Methodist Church in theater No. 5 at South Point Cinemas.
said Skip White, a second-year stu
dent at Duke University’s Divinity
School and interning pastor with
Momingstar.
“And the praise band definitely
kicks it. They play anything from
Jesus music to Guns N’ Roses.”
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