LACROIX METHODIST EXPANDS AFTER TELEMARKETING

Starting a church is never an easy job, but members of La Croix United Methodist Church really had a difficult task -- they tried to do it over the phone.

The telemarketers made 26,000 calls when they began the church almost seven years ago.

"If it was a local exchange, we called," said Pastor Ron Watts.

It was hard, intensive work but the project was worth the effort, he said. About half of new churches typically fail soon after startup.

"Church planting is a risky venture," Watts said. "We were blessed that things went well."

The church started as a way to reach members of the community who weren't active in a church, Watts said. Almost 40 percent of the people contacted said they didn't attend church.

Until two weeks ago, services were held in the West Park 4 Cine at West Park Mall. Now the congregation meets in a new building at 3102 Lexington Ave.

"We wanted to do in our own place what we did in the theater," Watts said.

After seven years of meeting in the West Park 4 Cine, the church moved July 23. Attendance that Sunday rose to 560. Average attendance is about 300 people.

Membership grew so much in the theater that a second service was added.

Church planners initially wanted to find a central site, and the theater fit the bill, Watts said. The Lexington Avenue site will keep the church accessible from all parts of the region.

"We said a tearful goodbye to the theater," he said. "Good things happened at the theater for us. It will have a special place in our hearts."

Kevin Dillon, general manager at the theater, said it's a little different coming to work now that the church has moved.

After seven years of rising every Sunday at 6:30 a.m. to unlock the doors for the 8:15 service, Dillon can sleep later.

"It's definitely different," he said. "After doing something for seven years, you get used to the routine."

Cinema employees and church members would often pass in the hallways during matinee showings, particularly in the summer, he said.

"They had the best seats in town," he added. And church members didn't want to give up those seats when they moved. The new auditorium doesn't have hard, wooden pews but soft, cushioned seats.

Among the many features of the new church building are several nursery murals. One room depicts the major events of the Bible with characters such as Moses, Jonah and the whale and Jesus.

Fish swim across one wall while giraffes line up on another in the Noah's ark room. A mural depicts the story of the famous flood. A wooden ark was built for children to climb on. Both murals were drawn and painted by Wendy Rust, a church member.

The building also is handicapped accessible. "It was something we were used to at the theater, and we stayed with it," Watts said.

Although the church is meeting in a new building, the construction project isn't complete. Other phases will give the church more classrooms and education space in the future, as well as a new sanctuary.