Heart & Mind
The box office has long since closed and the popcorn machines are gone from the yawning lobby with its starry ceiling lights. But the young congregation that uses this renovated movie theatre is alive, reaching seekers in a fresh and relevant way in Philadelphia. The Church @ Franklin Mills is pastored by Rob Tarnoviski, a 1996 graduate of Bethel Seminary of the East and a visionary for church done “out of the box.”
Change begins
Tarnoviski grew up in a Christian home in northeast Philadelphia. Following a classical, lecture-style higher education, his life started to change after enrolling at Bethel Seminary of the East,—though he began his seminary career with skepticism.
“I wanted to get my training and get out,” says Tarnoviski. “At that time in my life, I wasn’t putting value on relationships in ministry. I immediately observed that Bethel Seminary of the East was different; it was authentic and relational. I hadn’t been exposed to that approach in education, and to be honest, it scared me.”
The seminary’s unique approach, pairing each student with both a pastoral and lay mentor, began to make a difference in Tarnoviski’s life. Throughout his studies, these friends challenged the young seminarian: Who was he becoming, and why was he pursuing this route in life? Weekly meetings with these mentors made a deep impact.
“The time they took to get into my life forced me to face both professional and personal questions,” says Tarnoviski. “This was the first time I began to live out what I had learned.” Proverbs 27:17 became relevant: “As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend” (NLT).
Bethel Seminary was also the first place Tarnoviski saw orthodox Christianity become more than an empirical set of facts. John Worgul, Old Testament professor, was instrumental in unveiling the mystery of God. Filled with a new reverence, Tarnoviski found himself no longer needing one absolute answer for everything, but able to live with ambiguity and the tensions of the faith. He saw for the first time that, within sound doctrine, two people might see a passage of Scripture through different lenses and each receive a unique word from the Lord.
A refreshing “wideness” to God and orthodox Christianity wrestled its way into Tarnoviski’s stagnant paradigm, giving him the freedom to think in terms of new possibilities.
As his closeness to and understanding of God was nurtured through relationships, classroom stimulus, and accountability to mentors, God continued to slowly transform the dreams Tarnoviski and his wife Kelly had rooted in their hearts.
Wired for something different
After finishing a lunch with Worgul at a church where Tarnoviski interned, the professor and student were returning to their cars when Worgul stopped, shuffled the toe of his shoe in the gravel, and said something 
Rob Tarnoviski, senior pastor,
The Church @ Franklin Mills Tarnoviski would later regard as God’s defining voice to his heart: “Rob, you need to look in a different direction. You’re wired differently. He has wired you to soar, and you’re not going to soar here.”
But it was a challenging message at the time. Leaving his current church would be a dramatic change inplans for Tarnoviski and his family. So he bluntly disagreed, and left it at that.
“Through the relationship we had built, John had the courage to challenge me, so I prayed and wrestled with it,” reflects Tarnoviski. “The more I mulled it over, the more I realized God indeed had a different plan for me.”
He prayed that if this were truly God’s voice, Kelly’s heart would be changed without his persuasion. Just weeks later, she volunteered that she sensed it was time to move on. God had spoken to her“I immediately observed that Bethel Seminary of the East was different; it was authentic and relational.” independently, confirming the need to follow God into a new ministry.
In the latter months of 1995, God opened a door for the Tarnoviskis through an advertisement in the Exchange, a networking publication for churches belonging to the Willow Creek Association. A 120-member congregation with an 87-year history in the Lawncrest section of northeast Philadelphia was looking for a pastor. In April 1996, Bethel Fellowship chose Tarnoviski to fill the position. “The church was willing to give me a chance because they respected what Bethel Seminary of the East was doing,” Tarnoviski says.
High-traffic space
Tarnoviski soon faced the dilemma of a congregation fast outgrowing its current facilities – a funeral home-turned-church that could accommodate only 220 people. A search for a new space began.
“Over the span of three years, we investigated 200 to 250 properties,” says Tarnoviski. “We surveyed where people frequented restaurants, went to movies, and shopped malls.” Their targeted search led to the Franklin Mills Mall, the most visited spot in the state, a retail hub drawing more than 17 million visitors each year. God had the perfect location in mind.
At this point, myriad miracles took place, and through the process, God’s people were instrumental. Member volunteers in the congregation created architectural plans and obtained a major tax break from the city, worth $50,000 in annual savings. Ongoing union threats to thwart the project were halted. And the cooperative mall development manager was in his position for the time it took Tarnoviski and volunteers to seal the deal. A month later he was transferred.
On October 10, 2004, The Church @ Franklin Mills started doing church differently.
Opening attraction
At first glance, a church in a renovated 45,000-square-foot theatre complex might seem like a John Wayne western in a foreign film festival. Not better or worse, just different. The Church @ Franklin Mills did not 
look like the predominantly Roman Catholic, mainline church culture of Philadelphia, and it caused a stir in the media. Now the challenge would be to represent a relevant God in a city and culture that deemed God irrelevant.
“We simply told people that we are doing church differently,” Tarnoviski reflects. “We wanted to give the people who had a reason not to come to church a reason to return. We wanted to give them another shot at knowing God.” Thousands of people driving by the mall everyday saw the banner, “The Church @ Franklin Mills – We Do Church Differently.” And thousands wondered if it could be true.
For the church to fulfill its bold promise, it would need to boldly trust Christ and“The Church @ Franklin Mills is not so much about the 45,000-square-foot space, or the details in getting here. The miracle is in the stories of people moved by a relevant God.” communicate His power with authenticity. Reaching people in a postmodern agewould require integrating relevant humor; using the latest technology; and allowing the movies, stories, and music of current culture to help teach God’s Word. Seekers would need to meet a God who cares where they live, work, and play. And the church would have to accomplish all this without asking guests for money.
One at a time, God is meeting the families who venture into this new community. “A young man with a drug addiction had been part of our congregation for several months,” Tarnoviski relates. “Not long ago, we noticed he was missing and then found out he was back on the streets using [narcotics] again. Even so, we knew God was doing a work in his life and invited him to come back. Not only did he begin to reengage in our community, he also brought his sister, mother, and father – none of whom were following Christ. After a service his mother took me aside and thanked me for having a church like this. ‘This is the first church my husband has ever felt comfortable coming to,’ she said.”
Excitement about a real God
Real-life testimonies from The Church @ Franklin Mills are as powerful as the screenplays that once attracted an audience to this theatre.
“People in our community are digging up and dealing with the most difficult issues in life, right in church,” says Tarnoviski. “They weren’t told not to bring that stuff up in church. People aren’t hiding the
hard issues; they’re talking about them. When people see God is real, they’re the ones who get excited about Him. This is the reason we have grown. It’s about people, and they are genuinely excited about what God is doing in their lives.”
In recent surveys of the congregation, the staff discovered the ministry’s immediate and amazing impact: 47 percent of the adults in the congregation began their walks with Christ at The Church @ Franklin Mills. And nearly 50 percent of attendees had not gone to any other church before in their lives.
Tarnoviski and crew see a twofold heart and soul to their ministry. First is the passion to reach the unchurched in Philadelphia.
“Churches around the area are beginning to take similar, relevant steps,” Tarnoviski reports. “There is a movement in which God is allowing churches to do this.” In working alongside other congregations to boldly share the relevant news of Jesus Christ, people without Him have become a first priority.
Second, the body of Christ at Franklin Mills has a vision for allowing God’s Word to permeate every area of their lives – families, marriages, finances, and friendships. These new followers of Christ desire total surrender to their Lord.
Plans are on the board to renovate the remaining four of the 10 theatres in the cineplex. The church might continue to grow, becoming even more of an attraction in Philadelphia. But then, it is not about fitting in or even standing out, as Tarnoviski emphasizes. “The Church @ Franklin Mills is not so much about the 45,000-square-foot space, or the details in getting here. The miracle is in the stories of people moved by a relevant God.”
Troy Gronseth is a freelance writer and area director of Young Life in the Minnesota Valley. He and his wife Mary live in Burnsville, Minn.