A Florida congregation is raising the bar on outreach ministry by literally going to a bar – to worship and create disciples of Jesus Christ.

First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) of Orlando recently decided to partner with its next-door neighbor, Frank & Steins, to broadcast its Sunday service on one of the bar’s many large TVs.

Before the bar opened in 2010, the company was required to get permission from FPC in order to obtain a zoning permit to sell alcohol, since the business was within 500 feet of the church.

“I said I was willing to sign off on the zoning if they would do something for me,” said FPC Senior Pastor David Swanson after Frank & Steins approached him in November.
That “something” evolved into a new ministry, “First at Franks.” The church gained permission to use the bar from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday mornings in order to conduct a service and an exploration of the faith.

The plan includes the installation of a fiber optic cable at the business that will allow FPC’s Sunday morning service to be broadcast live. Frank & Steins agreed to the plan and will also provide food for the service.

FPC next gathered a team to see how they wanted to structure the service.
“At the time we didn’t know how we would craft what was going to happen in that space,” Swanson said, adding the team is now ready to launch “First at Franks” possibly as early as November.

“First at Franks” will be integrated with an existing FPC ministry that reaches out to apartment-dwelling urban professionals that live nearby. In fact, Frank & Steins is located in a multi-use building which features condominiums.

Within the ministry, couples from the church are placed in local apartment buildings to build community.

“In the course of that ministry, they are meeting people and are inviting them to church [who] may not have ever been in a church before,” Swanson said.
“What we have created at Frank & Steins … it is an exploration of the faith,” he added.

A team of FPC members is being trained to lead an adult class of 20-30 year-olds. They will conduct a Sunday school class at Frank & Steins at 9:45 a.m. At 11, the bar will broadcast the regular FPC worship service.

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