Sanford News

Ron Williams is the pastor of Church at the GYM in Sanford, Fla. As the Baptist church's name implies, Williams' congregation meets in a gym. Williams says the goal is to remove the 'stained-glass barriers' for people who might not be comfortable in traditional church settings. 'I think all the trappings of traditional religion can make it difficult for people to start coming,' he said. 'You can invite someone and they will say, 'I don't have any clothes to wear to church.'' To make people feel more comfortable, Williams wears jeans. In the warm Florida climate, some members wear shorts. Other clothing types, from urban wear to biker gear, also are welcome. Sanford native Sandy Adcox, 38, had not been to church in 18 years before she attended Church at the GYM last March. She hasn't missed a service since. 'I've never in my life felt more comfortable in a church,' she said. 'It's so warm and welcoming.' Comfortable is a theme that's becoming common among churches taking advantage of new, non-traditional spaces. Across the country, churches are springing up in unexpected locations -- movie theaters, skating rinks, strip malls and old warehouses, among others -- in an effort to welcome people who may not feel comfortable in more traditional settings.Aaron Coe, vice president for mobilization for the North America Missions Board, said there are several factors contributing to these new churches, including a move away from traditionalism and the economic advantages of leasing space instead of building a church. 'We've seen everything from art galleries to schools,' he said. 'Schools and movie theaters are probably the most common. There is definitely a trend, and I think it's one that's here to stay.' They may not have steeples or stained glass, but the non-traditional churches say they are finding success tapping into a segment of society that may otherwise have been lost. At these churches, attendees often are greeted with coffee and donuts. Rather than organs, church music is more likely to be the tune of guitars. The Bridge in Flint, Mich., set up in a strip mall anchored by a grocery store. 'We do a lot of things that are really different,' lead pastor Steve Bentley said. Perhaps the most different: The interdenominational church recently opened a tattoo parlor. 'We want to be relevant to people's lives,' Bentley said. The church uses video clips to illustrate its messages on Sundays. 'We break with tradition, but we don't break with Scripture,' Bentley said. 'It's all about presenting the information in a different way.' Church at the GYM is an outlet of Sanford's Palmetto Avenue Baptist Church, which Williams described as a contemporary service that appeals to the Baby Boomer generation. The new church is a more modern interpretation -- an experiment that aims to encourage attendance among the under-40 crowd, he said. 'We realized we weren't reaching them,' Williams said. 'We were losing a generation.' A 2010 Gallup poll found that church attendance was on a slight incline: 43.1 percent of Americans reported weekly or almost weekly attendance. Older people were the most likely to attend, while 18- to 29-year-olds were among the least active. Coe said his organization has partnered with Southern Baptist churches across the USA and Canada in forming churches in non-traditional spaces. 'As evangelicals, we don't believe the building is the church, the people are the church,' Coe said. 'The building itself has taken on less importance.' The Rev. Chuck Culpepper leads St. Alexis Episcopal Church in an old warehouse in downtown Jackson. In 2006, St. Alexis became the first church opened by the Episcopal Church in Mississippi since the 1960s. 'It began with an idea our bishop had,' Culpepper said, to appeal to 'unchurched' young adults -- those that have no church home and are unlikely to go to the more common big, old church. The building they picked most recently housed a furniture store. The congregation renovated the structure, which was built in the 1920s, but the goal was to keep the industrial look -- exposed brick, high ceilings. 'We didn't want for it to look like a church,' Culpepper said. St. Alexis member Nic Torrence, 26, of Jackson said he came to the church with a friend a few years ago, not really knowing what to expect. 'It wasn't anything like the other churches I had known,' he said. 'What we do is different. It's informal in a lot of ways, and it's very welcoming.' Even outside the regular Sunday services, the churches find ways to engage people on friendly grounds. Church at the GYM holds its baptisms in members' pools -- events that turn into big backyard barbecues. 'It's exciting,' Williams said. 'Everyone cheers like we're at a basketball game.'

Valentine's Day is around the corner and although a small majority of the population refuses to celebrate this over commercialized holiday - which seems to focus on Snoopy cards, cheap chocolates, and heart-shaped jewelry - the other half cannot help but get sucked into the scent of perfumed roses and candlelight dinners.

SANFORD, Fla. - Two teachers in Seminole County are asking for air quality and mold testing at Hamilton Elementary School in Sanford.A They say they have been chronically ill, and they believe something in the school is making them sick, causing upper respiratory infections and uncontrollable coughing.

Former CHIMAIRA guitarist Matt DeVries has decided to leave his post as the touring bassist for Florida-based death metallers SIX FEET UNDER to pursue other musical endeavors.

SANFORD, Fla. - Even though a judge has granted an order allowing CVS to dispense oxycodone, a CVS spokesperson said the pharmacy won't until a pending case is resolved.

Actual ground clearing for the SunRail commuter train platform on Fort Florida Road is perhaps three weeks away, and a team overseeing the construction met with a handful of public officials Wednesday for an update.

Gordon Buckland launches a glider with more than a six-foot wingspan. Soarers use a winch and monofilament line to prople the gliders into the air.

Shields Environmental Inc ., a telecommunications equipment recycling company headquartered in Sanford, Fla., has been certified as an e-Steward by the Basel Action Network.

Seminole County Animal Services workers found and captured a monkey on Tuesday after getting calls from several concerned people who reported seeing the animal around their neighborhood.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was notified of the monkey on the loose in east Sanford.

Florida-based death metallers SIX FEET UNDER are currently mixing their new album at Audiohammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Mark Lewis .

Jennifer and her two children, 15-year-old Alex and 14-year-old Amanda, have lived in a Sanford motel room for more than five months, according to a DCF and the Families in Transition Program through Seminole County Public Schools are helping to keep the family in the hotel while Jennifer looks for work.

Two CVS pharmacies in Sanford have been barred from dispensing certain prescription medications after a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation Saturday.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to announce Monday afternoon that two Central Florida CVS pharmacies have been blocked from selling controlled substances.

A McDonald's near downtown Sanford likely will be closed for several days after a late-afternoon fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damages, a Sanford Fire Department investigator said.

Saturday's Cars For The Cure gridlocked the lots and roads surrounding Colonial TownPark.

The action came a day after the federal Drug Enforcement Agency tried to suspend the license of Dublin, Ohio-based pharmaceutical company Cardinal in order to stop the company from shipping drugs from its distribution center in Lakeland.

SANFORD, Fla. - Seminole County parent have tried just about everything to keep the district from closing school, including a bake sale, picketing in front of school and even asking for additional taxes.

A 14-year-old girl missing from her Seminole County foster home since Wednesday suffers from mental illness and may be in considerable danger, her former guardians said Friday.

This weekend is your chance to support local farmers, Florida craftsmen, and cures for lung cancer.