Nikki Blue leaned back in the green vinyl theater seat at the Showcase Cinema West, but she wasn't there to see a movie. She was there to worship.
Blue traveled all the way from Burgettstown, a 25-minute drive, to attend services at The Bible Chapel's new campus in Robinson, which began meeting in the movie theater Nov. 8. She previously attended the evangelical church's South Hills campus in McMurray, which has about 2,000 members.
"I will definitely be back," said Blue, who is seeking a church her children would enjoy attending. "I liked the Bible-based teaching, and I trust the pastor."
Ron Moore, the pastor to whom Blue referred, was not physically present at the service. A DVD recording of his sermon taped the night before in McMurray brought the word of God to the silver screen.
"The DVD is how we provide the teaching or the preaching for that worship service," said Brenda Tenison, church member and media director for The Bible Chapel. "The service at the Showcase West has a worship band led by Justin Bowers, and a campus pastor, so it is not like we pop in a DVD that everyone can watch. There is a campus pastor who is there to be the pastor and shepherd the congregation that is forming there."
Tenison emphasized that the goal of The Bible Chapel is to become one church in many locations, making the same type of worship at the South Hills campus available to other communities without the overhead of a new church and the struggles it might experience.
"We will definitely be sharing resources from a staff level over both churches because we are still one church," said Tenison.
The multisite format is part of a new trend among large evangelical churches nationwide.
According to Jim Tomberlin, founder, president and senior strategist for ThirdQuarterConsulting.com, a consulting firm for churches considering multisite options, an estimated 5 million people, or 10 percent of Protestant churchgoers, attend a multisite church on any given Sunday across North America.
Tomberlin counts Crossroads United Methodist Church, with campuses in Oakdale, Bridgeville and East Liberty; and North Way Christian Community, with campuses in Wexford and Oakland, among his clients.
The Robinson campus was not formed because The Bible Chapel had outgrown its McMurray location, but rather out of the conviction and vision of elders, Senior Pastor Ron Moore and the senior staff.
"We recently added a worship center in May 2006 here at the South Hills location that seats 1,400 people. We have three services here, all of which are not filled to capacity. It really wasn't due to the number of attendants that we had, we just felt God was wanting to move our church into other areas," said Tenison, 36.
The Bible Chapel was not the only one experiencing divine direction during the formation of the Robinson campus. Scott Arvay, the campus pastor at Robinson, felt God's call to leave his job with a software sales company and pursue his desire to minister to people seeking spiritual growth.
Arvay, 42, who grew up in Pittsburgh, attended The Bible Chapel before moving to Atlanta in 2003. Formerly a member of a men's discipleship group led by Moore, Arvay contacted Moore while traveling through Pittsburgh on business.
"I shared my heart with him, and he told me, 'You would make a great campus pastor,'" said Arvay. "I had my first interview over the phone while in Rio De Janeiro and then met with the elders and one thing led to another, and they offered me the job."
Arvay and his wife, Mary, who runs the Robinson campus children's ministry, moved their four children to Peters in July.
More than 50 members from the South Hills campus have committed to attending the one in Robinson for six months. Parishioners attending the Nov. 15 service numbered about 140, some two-thirds of whom were new to The Bible Chapel, having heard about it through mailings and word-of-mouth.
"It is unbelievable, what God has done. Attendance has been greater than we anticipated, and even better is that we had half of our people sign up to partner with Light of Life and serve Thanksgiving breakfast at Bidwell High-Rise," said Arvay. "So, we are three weeks into this, and half of the people coming to church are going to serve with us already."
Additional Information:When to worship
Services at The Bible Chapel's new Robinson campus start at 10 a.m. Sundays at Showcase Cinema West, 301 Park Manor Drive in Robinson. Nursery, preschool child care and a children's ministry for elementary students are provided during the service. Midweek youth group meetings are offered for students in grades seven through 12.
For more information: Go online or call 724-941-8990.
