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Humble beginnings

Here - in the gym of Campbell Middle School - is the church, but there is no steeple.

Blue bleachers are tucked back into the wall and basketball hoops hang into the sanctuary. Or rather what will become the sanctuary once the Sunday morning set-up crew of St. Benedict's Episcopal Church is through.

"We carve holy space out of a gym every week and then when we're through, we tear it back down and make it a gym again," said Chris Lemley, worship leader and head verger at St. Benedict's.

In a county with over 400 churches, St. Benedict's is one of three just beginning to test the waters and serve the community.

"It's the same thing as it used to be. The Apostles had to go out into hostile territories to serve Christ," said the Rev. Lang Lowrey, vicar of St. Benedict's.

Although Cobb is hardly hostile territory, Lowrey said the problem all fledgling churches encounter is finding a vacant land to build a church on.

"Most churches go way out because they can't afford the land," he said. "That's the problem. Urban sprawl has had a dramatic impact on where churches are located."

At St. Benedict's, they want to serve the Smyrna-Vinings area that has exploded economically, but is somewhat barren when it comes to religious outlets.

Growing pains

The Rev. J.R. Lee, lead pastor of Freedom Church, saw the same potential in Acworth.

"The misconception is that being in the South, everyone already goes to church," Lee said. "But because of the growth explosion, the church growth hasn't really kept up with that."

Lee, along with Executive Pastor the Rev. Todd Lollis and Kennesaw native Worship Pastor Blake Goss, will lead Freedom Church in its inaugural service Sunday at North Metro Technical College.

"We began to think about this, pray about this, dream about this. We felt like it was something we had to do," Lollis said.

The church is located right at the crossroads of Highway 92 and Interstate 75. Lollis said they were called to serve the community and reach out to the unchurched.

Although unchurched carries with it some heavy-handed connotations, Lee defines it as folks who grew up in a church setting, but grew away from it.

"We're just trying to change the way people think about church and in turn, think about God," Lee said.

Freedom Church will hold their contemporary worship services in Tillman Auditorium of building 100 at North Metro Tech.

Inner beauty

A lecture hall any day but Sunday, the physical appearance of the church doesn't matter, said the Rev. David Eldridge of Stone Bridge Church in Marietta.

"Everybody knows a church is just a building, but when you have a place, it's a sense of stability," Eldridge said.

In a space that was most recently costume rental shop Vintage by Judith, Eldridge said the interior had to be completely stripped and renovated before it could become a functional church. The church is now complete with two nursery rooms, an office, a conference room and worship center. He said the demolition process brought the existing congregation closer together.

"As a group, we did a lot of the demolition ourselves so there's a lot invested in it physically," Eldridge said.

A planted church by River Stone Church in Kennesaw, Stone Bridge has held weekly worship services on the corner of Roswell and Waddell streets on the Marietta Square since August.

"For me, the Square is the religious, social, political and cultural center of Marietta," said Eldridge, a Marietta native. "There is a feel on the Square that there isn't anywhere else. It's where the community comes together. We wanted to be a source of blessing and encouragement."

Just down the street from some of the most historic churches in Cobb, Eldridge said their presence does not compete with the other churches, but rather compliments it.

"There are different things that scratch people where they itch," Eldridge said. "So if there are different churches, that offers more people an opportunity to connect with the Lord."

acrissup@mdjonline.com

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