The Country Rock Church Offers Prayer at the Pub

May 13, 2008— -- It's 7:00 p.m. on a Sunday, and the show is about to begin at the local pub on the outskirts of Sidney, Ohio.

Disco ball? Check. Mechanical bull? Check. Bottles of beer? Check. Country singer playing Johnny Cash covers? Check.

Christian sermons? Wait a minute — check?

The Pub Lounge is no ordinary bar. Come Sunday nights the place is transformed into the Country Rock Church, the brainchild of the Rev. Chris Heckaman. In between sets of country music, Heckaman — who prefers to be called just Chris — gives a short lesson and preaches a little of the good word.

On a recent night, he preached the message of learning to live with one's mistakes.

"I don't know if you are like me, but sometimes when I look at my life all I see is the scars. All the mistakes," Heckaman told the bar's patrons.

He encourages participation from the crowd and offers prizes, like tickets to a local minor league baseball game, to people who can share the "best war story."

While this may all sound unusual, for Heckaman it's a natural extension of his role as lead pastor at the Sidney First United Methodist Church, where he already has tailored his services to the various needs of his congregation.

Heckaman conducts a 9 a.m. traditional service with church choirs and readings from the Bible. At 10:30 a.m., he loosens it up in a modern service with Christian bands, and screens that project hymn words and inspirational images.

But at 7 p.m., all, well, heaven, breaks loose at the pub. Heckaman believes it is the perfect way to reach Christians who have faith but don't attend church.

"We think that this venue is kind of natural for good people who have no desire or never see themselves walking into a traditional church setting," Heckaman said. "When you look around it's the perfect place to bring people together, to have a band and share a little word."

Mainstream churches have seen their numbers drop over the years, and Heckaman's is no different. Attendance there has fallen 20 percent in the past 30 years. But Heckaman says that holding church in a bar is not just a cheap ploy.