St. James UMC, Alexandria District

The Rev. James Henry performs a baptism at St. James United Methodist Church.

Being "different" is a good thing at St. James United Methodist Church. "We want to do something unusual or different, and make it clear from the get-go that we’re a different kind of church," says the pastor, James Henry. That includes holding Bible study at local Starbucks and Barnes and Noble.

Despite being in an older building in a terrible geographic location, St. James has been reborn into a congregation comprised of young adults in their 20s and 30s. "When I came here (15 years ago)," Henry said, "the average age was 73.

I was the second youngest person in church and my wife was the youngest. And there was a certain hopelessness about the future. But when you reach that kind of desperation you’re more willing to try new things, and the church has been very open to new ideas. We let the pews go, and put the pipe organ on the market. Around 2000 or 2001 we switched from traditional worship to contemporary. It’s been a good place to experiment and try new things. Any number of our ministry efforts fail, but many succeed."

The church holds Sunday morning and Sunday evening worship, with Communion offered at every service. Rows of candles help parishioners offer prayers.

James said the church started to live out the idea of "open doors" before The United Methodist Church adopted the phrase as part of its slogan. "Our former associate called it ‘radical inclusivity.’ We accept whomever comes to the door, no matter where they are on their journey of faith or whether they even have a journey of faith. There’s one guy, he’s a big guy who is covered with tattoos, who says that this is the first place where he feels at home, where people don’t stare at him, who ‘love me for what I am.’"

Now St. James is looking to open a second campus in the Kingstown area of Springfield. Associate Pastor Erika Deem will lead worship in an "alternative" setting, like a restaurant. "We want to take a core group and plant that same kind of St. James UMC DNA that will be inclusive and will stick to our vision and values," said Henry.