By Warren Cornwall
Herald Writer
MARYSVILLE — Sunday morning, the Turning Point Community Church echoed with the mellow strains of guitar music and the voice of pastor Mike Villamor.
That evening, it shook with a different beat for an altogether different audience.
A small sea of teen-age heads — ponytails, mohawks and buzz cuts — bobbed and bounced to the wails of a rock singer and the rhythmic pounding of a guitar so loud it could drown out a 747 jet engine.
Though seemingly worlds apart, these two scenes had this in common: Both were trying to spread the Christian message to their audiences.
While some may see the pierced eyebrows, dyed hair and eardrum-melting music as anathema to Christian worship, that’s not how the 32-year-old Villamor sees it.
"I was excited to have an opportunity to bring in a group of kids and a lifestyle that the church usually doesn’t reach out to," he said.
The Marysville church isn’t alone.
Combining religious youths delivering a message with the music of their generation, Christian ministries are trying to reach kids turned off by more straight-laced preaching. From South Bronx clubs to the suburbs of California’s Central Valley, bands are spreading the high-decibel Gospel.
"Now all over America you can go to, say, a hard-core festival, usually an atheist scene, and hear about Jesus," Jim Bakker, son of evangelical duo Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and himself a proponent of such music, told New York’s Village Voice newspaper in 2001.
Enter Gryp, a Fresno band formed in 1997, with two independently released albums and a new one on the way. One California newspaper labeled the band "aggressive Christian stomp rock."
That sound is what attracted 25-year-old David Luster, youth director for the nondenominational Turning Point Community Church, and himself a fan of hard-core rock. Luster first brought Gryp to Marysville in 1999, seeing it as a way to make connections with teens turned off by mainstream religious practices.
"I get so tired of seeing the church just reach the good kids and the kids that are in the church," he said. "My goal as a youth director is to reach the kids that aren’t necessarily in the church."
For Bethani Hakala, this may be preaching to the choir. The 17-year-old Stanwood girl already considers herself a Christian and is a dedicated listener to music from bands with a religious or positive message. She stood outside the church waiting with a group of teens for the doors to open Sunday night.
While she listens to all sorts of bands, "Some music that’s not Christian, it puts me in a bad mood," she said.
Of the roughly 130 kids who turned out for the concert, probably 30 percent weren’t drawn by religious convictions, Luster guessed.
In fact, in its advertisement of the event, the church downplayed the Christian component, simply saying that the band offered a positive message.
The Christian label can turn people off who might otherwise enjoy the music, said 19-year-old Janis Counsellor.
"People would love it if they didn’t know it was Christian," she said.
In fact, the band has, in recent years, moved away from the more overtly Christian message of its early years, said band founder and vocalist Curtis Shamlin.
He chafes at the label "Christian" for his music or, for that matter, the label "hard core." It’s simply a rock ‘n’ roll band with a positive message, said Shamlin, who sports a pierced eyebrow.
While Shamlin said his faith is important to him, and he and his three fellow band members joined in prayer before their concert, the band’s Web site makes no mention of religion. The band’s songs touch on religious themes, but there’s no mention of Jesus, he said.
"You don’t knock people on the head if you want them to listen," Shamlin said. "We’ll be able to get our message across to more people."
Associate pastor Jackie Singer said she reviewed some of the band’s lyrics ahead of time, to be sure they were appropriate. But when the opening act, a Tacoma band called The Geeks, started performing, the volume and speed of the music left her relying more on faith.
"I didn’t understand what they said," she said.
"But they’re talking about God," replied parent Judi Johnston.
You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to cornwall@heraldnet.com.
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