On the same stage where his former bands have rocked out for wild crowds, pastor Nick Bogardus will preach the Gospel of Jesus for a different congregation.
Mars Hill Church Orange County, which Bogardus leads, has a new home at The Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, reports The Christian Post. Its first service is this Sunday at 10 a.m.
Bogardus, who once oversaw the careers of bands and artists like Thrice, Cold War Kids and Matt Costa, started the OC plant of the Washington-based megachurch in March, and has since seen it grown to about 200 members. The church's worship leader is Thrice's frontman (and Weekly coverboy) Dustin Kensrue.
]
In a recent blog post, Bogardus wrote about his search for a regular church venue.
A Sunday service location is something Kim and I have been praying for
since August of 2010 and something we've been praying for as a church
since we started meeting earlier this year. Since April we have tried
everywhere we could think of: churches, music venues, community centers,
senior centers, colleges, etc. None of them worked out. We even got
close on two locations but those eventually fell through.The Galaxy was literally the last property on our list and the one I've
been saying “no” to the whole time. God's sovereignty and humor often go
hand in hand. We visited it a few weeks ago and couldn't deny that this
is where God was leading us as a church.
While in the music industry, Bogardus had worked with The Galaxy's
current owner, John Reiser, who agreed to a shared-space lease with the
church. Founding Mars Hill pastor Mark
Driscoll is scheduled to speak at the church on Nov. 6.
