KIRKLAND, QC-"We reach a lot of people who wouldn’t darken the door of a church," says pastor Gary Smith. In fact, the people who participate in services at Renaissance Church in Kirkland on the west island of Montreal only have to darken the door of a movie theatre.

In September 2003, a group of about 70 people began meeting at the Colisée, a Famous Players multi-plex movie theatre situated on the Trans-Canada Highway. Attendance has risen to an average of 130, with most of the growth coming from the influx of unchurched people who find Christ and find a home.

Smith, who came to Montreal from the U.S. with his wife and children in 2001, is a church planter with the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists. His vision was to begin a church that would offer a "come as you are" welcome to everyone, especially people who were disinterested in organized religion and traditional church.

To support its goals, the church also affiliated with the Willowcreek Association of Canada.

"We want to use whatever means we can to connect people with God," says Smith, who notes that movie theatres are the highest attended entertainment facility in North America. Because it is an unusual setting for church, especially in a province of people familiar with cathedrals and stained glass, it gets people’s attention.

An article in the January 19 edition of the Montreal Gazette called Renaissance’s "unorthodox approach to Christianity" a "box-office hit."

Holding the main service in a large cinema room also opens up many possibilities for the use of multimedia. "God is the author of creativity. He uses creativity to draw people to Himself," says Smith.

The church has its own CIA-the Creative and Innovative Arts team-to find movie clips and other audio-visual supports to the theme of the week. Smith says he did a message using the film Bruce Almighty, and another series based on The Lord of the Rings.

"We believe that our only limits are those imposed by Scripture, and that means that our limits are very broad," he says.

Smith notes, however, that a giant movie screen for PowerPoint presentations and surround sound for sermons take some getting used to.

The Famous Players facility also provides space in the large hallway and party rooms for Sunday morning children and youth programs. A snack is served every Sunday with tea and coffee, but Smith says they have never used the popcorn machine.

Although Renaissance services are high-tech and visually stimulating, the goals of the church have very little to do with entertainment. "We believe that as we grow to be like Christ we will love more; we will serve the community with true compassion," says Smith.

This desire to infiltrate and influence the community is leading the Renaissance congregation toward a new goal. Eventually, they would like to move out of the Colisée and into a place of their own. But they have no desire to erect another church building and the municipality of Kirkland is reticent to grant zoning rights.

"We want to build the Renaissance Community Centre," says Smith. The building would be home to a theatre and arts centre, and would be so high-tech that it would be the preferred venue for community business leaders planning conferences and conventions.

Whatever the setting, the people at Renaissance will continue to extend the same invitation to the people in the neighbourhood who do not have a church home: "Come and enjoy a great cup of coffee, inspiring music and a relevant and contemporary look at knowing and doing life with God."