Published: April 18, 2006 09:18 am            

Pendleton church finds a new way to deliver the message

Pendleton — Tom Kraft broke out the spatula and frying pan on a recent Sunday to illustrate a point to his parishioners at Pendleton United Methodist Church.

First he whipped up an omelet with all the fixings.

Cheese, peppers, onions.

“Bam!” he said, Emeril Lagasse style. “This is what you’re life looks like with God in it.”

The next one, though, wasn’t so appetizing.

Its ingredients included cigarettes, some liquor and a sprinkle of pills.

When he asked who wanted to try that omelet, no one raised a hand.

“That’s what people do with their lives and that’s why it doesn’t turn out right,” he said.

For Kraft, the word of God is no longer verses in a book, or lines recited at the pulpit. Sometimes it’s his rendition of an Elvis Presley tune or a clip from the movie “The Wild One.”

And the concept is catching on.

Since he took over as head pastor for the church at Campbell Boulevard and Bear Ridge Road in 1990, membership has grown from about 100 to more than 800.

“The way in which you present the message has changed. You’re in a world now that’s very visual,” the Cheektowaga native said. “It’s much like Jesus. He told parables. We need to present it in a way people can hear it with their minds.”

With his innovative approach to Sunday service, Kraft has also been successful in attracting a non-traditional crowd. More than 70 percent of the church’s members are below age 50.

In the process, the church, which dates back to the 1850s, has grown in size and scope — from a weekend gathering place to a week-long community center.

“There’s so much going on here all the time,” said Becky Thompson, a town of Lockport resident.

With daughter Hannah, 6, by her side, the 30-year-old spent Friday afternoon helping other members prepare for a Lenten fish fry.

With a pre-school, a before- and after-school program, adult study groups and breakfast served every Sunday, the building is rarely empty.

Last month, a new Family Life Center was unveiled at the facility. It contains two choir rooms, a movie theater, a prayer labyrinth, kitchen, a gymnasium and a large room where Sunday breakfasts are served.

“We use this for everything,” Kraft said. “This is supposed to be the center of our community.”

And that, according to Kraft, is another component of the church’s success.

“We’ll serve 800 people fish tonight,” he said Friday. “But they’ll also see a place where people are sitting together, having a great time.”

For Kraft, the total package amounts to what he calls experiencing God.

For 80-year-old Woody Glebe, the experience at Pendleton United Methodist Church was good enough to pull him away from the church he previously attended.

“I was in another church for 40 years and that couldn’t compare to what they do here in one day,” the Amherst resident said. “There hasn’t been a church I‘ve been in before that’s taught me this much. It gives you the answer you really didn’t know before.”

Kraft said his ability to provide those answers has come by asking the question, ‘So what?” before preparing his sermons.

“Most people will say, “So what? What does God have to say to me today because I have a whole week to get through.’ ” he said.

To find that answer, he seeks to present a concept in terms his parishioners can understand.

During one Sunday service, he set up a 1950s-themed soda jerk and showed a movie clip of “The Wild One” to discuss life without purpose.

Another week, he handed out business cards with a cross and an inspiring message written on it.

The sermon was on temptation and he encouraged the crowd to put the card near their computer, in their wallet or on the refrigerator, where it would remind them of strength when they felt their weakness.

“People want to taste, touch, feel, smell and hear about God,” he said. “They don’t want to just listen.”

Contact Stacey Shepard at 693-1000, Ext. 114.



Expansion

• 1823: Congregation established in Pendleton

• 1969: Church moved to its current location at Campbell Boulevard and Bear Ridge Road

• 1997: A new sanctuary is added on to building

• 2006: A 13,000-square-foot Family Life Center is added on to existing church



Membership

• 1990: About 100 members

• 2006: About 800 members

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.