MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, Ala. - The Magnolia Springs Wesleyan Church now offers a contemporary mass service, showcasing a modern approach to worshiping God and understanding the Sunday lessons.

    The new service — which occurs each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. — began around Easter, church senior pastor Todd Seeley said. He and his wife, DuAnne Seeley, church executive director, began organizing the new service due to the church being in decline for a number of years and not many younger families and kids coming to the church.

    "We were not reaching the younger generation," he said, noting a majority of the congregation was senior citizens, "and you know change is hard, but they needed to change a long time ago."

    Seeley said he had been told that people would drive 30 to 40 minutes just to attend a contemporary-type service, and that was enough reason to begin it at the Magnolia Springs-based church.

    The contemporary teaching is "practical," Seeley said, and he hopes each attendant can "take something away" from the service and use it in his or her everyday life.

    "I talked with a pastor in Atlanta. The way he communicates is incredible…I said, 'You know what? I want to be able to share a message where no matter where people are in their faith journey, they can get something out of it.'"

    The service includes a music-style approach with more upbeat music compared to the traditional southern gospel service also offered at the church.

    "Music, especially in today's culture, is so important," Seeley said.

    The area now being used for the new type of service was built around 10 to 15 years ago and it started out as a sanctuary, Seeley said. It was developed into a youth area with a pool table, mini basketball game, fooseball table, air hockey table and coffee bar. The service area includes a video screen for the music lyrics during the service and four rows of chairs on either side of the center aisle.

    Kids also can attend movie night at the church, Seeley said, helping raise the number of youth members coming to the church. When he first came to the church around a year ago there were only two members of the youth group. Now there are 20.

    "We're about reaching out. That's an attribute to the decline is they haven't been reaching out," Seeley said, noting members of the church were not bringing in more people to the services. "That's what we wanted to build: relationships and bridges to the community."

    For more information on the church's new contemporary service or the youth group, contact the church at (251) 965-7171.