Churches Get Thumbs-Up at Theaters; Congregations Use Cinemas for Worship

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Byline: Keyonna Summers and Amy Doolittle, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The "Grand Theater" of the AMC Union Station 9 is typically the place where moviegoers gather to see the latest blockbusters and feast on popcorn or hot dogs.

But on Sunday mornings, the theater becomes a place of worship for National Community Church, a local 900-member nondenominational congregation, where its parishioners pray, listen to sermons and receive Holy Communion.

Holding services in movie theaters is "so contemporary, so out of the norm, something that Jesus would do," said Tony Snesko, a member of National Community since it was founded in 1996. "If He was here today, I don't think He would go into a usual church for a service. He would find an unusual place where He …