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Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008

The word is out

Church members draw others just by asking

When Quest Community Church asked its members to turn their cars into moving billboards by publicizing Questapalooza in paint across their back windows, 500 raised their hands.

It's that kind of enthusiasm that has members inviting others to visit the church. And invitations to visit are the key method Quest relies on for its explosive growth.

"We'll do a lot of fun stuff to get you here, but the most compelling way to get the word out is through people," said Assistant Pastor Justin McCarty. "There's something about someone's individual story, to hear it from someone you know."

Quest has 3,400 members, a far cry from the 200 it started with in 1999. That growth pushed Quest to relocate in 2005 to its current site at 410 Sporting Court Drive, a 50,000-square-foot building behind Meijer on Reynolds Road. It's also fueled an expansion now under way to triple the size of its auditorium to seat 2,500 as well as enlarge the café, atrium and children's wing. The church raised $12.6 million for the expansion, $4 million more than its goal.

"At the heart of the growth is that we're trying to give people a clear picture of who Jesus is," McCarty said. "We're finding that people who can get past the trappings or baggage from the past really want to know him."

One member who found God at Quest is Todd Burris of Lexington.

"I was invited by a friend back in 2002," said Burris, 38, an assistant commonwealth's attorney who works in Frankfort. "I'd never really been interested in church. It seemed boring, a place where I'd be judged.

"The first time I attended, it was so different from anything I'd seen. I was blown away by the services and by people who genuinely cared. Now I invite everybody in my circle of influence."

Burris serves Quest by being on the core team, or board, "the visionary team that decides where the church is headed," he said.

"The amazing thing is that it's just gotten better," he said. "I couldn't imagine going anywhere else."

When Amy Watts joined Quest, she was searching for God.

"I made a deal with myself that I'd listen to everyone at least once," said Watts, 37, a policy analyst at the Long-Term Policy Research Center in Frankfort.

"I was invited by a friend who said, 'Hey, you should try Quest.' And I did."

Watts said the church works to make its services as accessible as possible.

Quest offers five weekend services — one on Saturday and four on Sunday, including a video venue during the most popular Sunday service, at 10:22 a.m. All services are available via Webcast on the church's Web site, www.questcommunity.com.

"We call our services 'worship experiences' because it's not just a service, it's a unique experience with God," Watts said.

Events such as Questapalooza, to be held on the church grounds Sunday, which McCarty defined as "a party for the city — not just a Christian event," also put Quest on the map for all comers, he said.

"People won't be divided by lines — racial, economic or social," McCarty said.

That's one reason why Quest thinks Christian rocker Kirk Franklin is the perfect headliner for the event.

"Kirk has been a large part of bridging that gap," McCarty said. "His music opens our doors wider. We really feel he's tapping into the DNA of our church."