Lifeline Christian Church Makes Bowling Alley its Home

When most of us think about a church, we think about vaulted ceilings, sacred altars and stained glass. We don’t think of pool tables, beer posters and neon signs.

However, for Pastor Dave Rudin and other members of Lifeline Christian Church, spiritual gatherings are held in the bar area of in Algonquin every Sunday.

Rudin and his wife, Marcy, spent years debating whether or not they would separate from Summit View Christian Church in Hoffman Estates, where Dave served as a pastor for 17 years. Back then, they never would have thought that their journey would take them to a bowling alley. But they have no regrets.

About 10 years ago, around the time Rudin became senior pastor at Summit View, he and Marcy decided to buy a house in Crystal Lake. They loved the area and saw potential for growth.

“We found that more and more people from our church were moving out here, but they kept driving back to Hoffman Estates,” Rudin said. And because Summit View is on a small, landlocked piece of property, Rudin and others began exploring the option of opening a satellite Summit View church in the Algonquin area.

“That experiment didn’t quite work out,” Rudin said, “so we went back to focusing on Hoffman Estates. But all those years, we always felt like this is such a growing area and this would be a great place to start a new church.”

In 2009, Rudin began working with Ignite, a Chicagoland “church-planting” ministry that guides people like Rudin through the process of starting a new church. Through Ignite, Dave and Marcy underwent extensive interviews, projects, and personality and psychological testing to make sure that they were capable of successfully launching a new church.

“We went through it and thought, ‘that was exhausting, but it was great.’ It affirmed the decision for us,” said Rudin. In the fall of 2009, with Ignite’s guidance, Dave and Marcy were convinced that it was the right time for them to leave Summit View and begin their new journey.

“We had been there for 17 years, and we loved the people, so it was a very hard decision to make,” Rudin said. “But we knew this is what we were called to do.” By the end of 2009, Rudin started working only part-time at Summit View, and by April 2010, he officially stopped working at the church.

Rudin has watched the expansion of the Algonquin area over the years, but while he saw the enhancements of the physical landscape, he wondered, “Who is taking care of the spiritual landscape?” Lifeline’s three main goals, according to Rudin, are to help create lifelines to God, to others, and to the community.

With the task of now finding a home for his budding church, Rudin took the advice of his Ignite mentors and began trying to think of any possible space they could use for their church. They looked at schools in the area, but then Rudin realized that Brunswick Zone probably wasn’t very busy on Sunday mornings. He also felt that the informal, comfortable atmosphere of the lounge area reflected his own laidback personality.

“I didn’t know if they’d go for it or not, but I couldn’t be happier in terms of the relationship we have and the spirit of cooperation,” Rudin said.

Rudin pays Brunswick a weekly rental fee to use the “Fireside Room,” a lounge area to the right of the main entrance. Members and visitors to the church sit in chairs facing the “stage” where a band plays worship songs and a large screen projects slides that coincide with Rudin’s service. Lifeline also uses Brunswick’s event rooms for breakout children’s events during the service.

Members of the church don’t seem deterred by the sports-bar atmosphere of their worship space. Carol Koscielniak of Crystal Lake admits, “At first I thought it was strange” to meet in a bowling alley. “But then I got to know Dave and his vision, and it felt like this is a good place to be,” she said. “He wanted to be seen and draw people in, and this is a good place to do that.

Dana and Joey Link of Fox River Grove also manage to look past the beer taps and drink specials. They like that Lifeline includes many younger families such as themselves. Their daughter, Nora, is 20 months old, and they wanted to find a church that would cater to children. “This is a place where our daughter will have good influences and good role models,” Dana said. “We love the music, too,” Joey added.

In order to make Lifeline’s presence known in the community, Rudin contacted the Algonquin chamber of commerce to get to know people in the community. He also volunteers within the community and at local schools. Last Thanksgiving, Lifeline partnered with District 300, Brunswick Zone, and others from the community to host a Thanksgiving dinner for local underprivileged families. Roughly 100 families came to Brunswick Zone for free bowling, games, and a Thanksgiving dinner.

“For someone who’s been a pastor for almost 20 years, this is a renewed sense of purpose,” Rudin said. “We’re getting back to the basics. This is what church is supposed to be—investing in people’s lives, not just conducting a service.”

And while Brunswick Zone provides a temporary home for Lifeline, Rudin does hope to have a separate establishment one day. “It’d be silly for me to saw we’d never want a facility,” he said. “But if I was going to create a place, it would be something like this, something multi-functional, warm, comfortable—and it’s got to have a fireplace,” he added, noting the circular fireplace in the Fireside Lounge.

On the other hand, “There’s something really freeing about being here,” Rudin said. “We pay rent, but we can walk out and not have to worry about everything.”

Rudin is also considering one day forming a partnership in which Lifeline would share a space with another organization. But for now, the partnership with Brunswick is working just fine.

“The value to me is that we get to spend time with people as opposed to putting on a service,” he said. “I’m loving it. I’m having the time of my life.”