Queuing for popcorn at the cinema is not where you would expect to hear about the Bible – but that is what one church hopes to change.
Destiny Church Aberdeen held their first service at Cineworld Union Square yesterday in a bid to connect with more of the city’s residents.
Pastor Andrew Owen, who founded the Destiny network in Glasgow in 1995, relocated to the north-east with wife Sue in December.
He said: “Around 50million people pass through Union Square every year and there are 30,000 people at the cinema each week.
“It is right at the heart of the community and that is where we want to be.
“Our church is informal, relaxed and particularly attractive to a younger generation, most of whom have disengaged with traditional religion.” Around 100 people regularly attend the weekly services at Destiny Aberdeen – which were previously held in the old Dobbies Garden Centre building at Hazlehead and then at Aberdeen Grammar School.
People from all over the north-east, including Huntly, Peterhead and Fraserburgh, came to yesterday’s service and several people who had never worshipped with Destiny before also joined in.
The church also runs a food programme in Aberdeen’s Tillydrone district, a recovery group and services for young people.
Around 1,000 worshippers attend services in Glasgow and another 1,000 at the Edinburgh churches.
Mr Owen said: “Aberdeen is a vibrant and lively city and the people are very receptive to our message.
“We usually have a multimedia presentation, so it is great that we have the big screen for that, a rock gospel with a band and then someone will speak for around 30 minutes on something relevant or contemporary.”
Yesterday, the congregation was addressed by Lynne Smillie, who witnessed her father kill her mother at their home in Northfield when she was just 14 years old.
Speaking to the Press and Journal last year, Mrs Smillie said it was a leadership course at Destiny Church that gave her the confidence to set up a charity to help victims of domestic abuse.
Mr Owen added: “God’s message is the most powerful on Earth but that is often lost in tradition.” Destiny Church Aberdeen will now meet every Sunday at 11am at Cineworld Union Square and everyone is welcome to attend.
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