The Kauai Christian Fellowship is holding true to its non-traditional church style with a week full of events scheduled to mark the grand opening of its new building.
The rambling church located along the Koloa by-pass road is hosting an eclectic list of events beginning today and including: free latte for resort workers, a peek at a go-cart track being constructed on church grounds, a back-to-back rock concert and coffee house style folk rock concert, a food tasting tour and of course a car wash.
On Wednesday the staff of nearby hotels and other resort businesses are invited to stop by in the morning for lattes and pastries.
Friday evening a rock concert with a Northern California band named Shop11Phoenix is to be followed Saturday night with a Holy Grounds Coffeehouse night featuring the acclaimed Detroit based singer/songwriter Jan Krist.
A “Tasty Tour” of each room in the new facility follows the 9 a.m. Sunday service, followed by an absolutely free car wash in the early afternoon for anyone who pulls in.
Work on the new church building began about three years ago following the purchase of the property it now sits on, said Pastor Rick Bundschuh.
Bundschuh is a former cartoonist for Surfer magazine and a nationally-renowned expert on youth ministry.
He describes his church as a non-denominational, solid middle-of-the-road evangelical church.
“We’d like to help people understand that Christianity isn’t just for the elite and perfect, but for those people whose lives are messy, but who still want to know God and have a relationship with him,” said Bundschuh of his church, a church noted for reaching out to troubled youth on Kaua’i with innovative events.
“In helping youth, we’ve trying to work on the spiritual level, make kids aware they have a spiritual realm,” said the South Shore pastor. “We also pay attention to other areas, being preemptive to create a community where kids can have a ton of fun and hang out, explore their imagination and creativity without doing foolish things and (exhibiting) self destructive behavior.”
Bundschuh said his congregation is now setting up a go kart track, with four go karts donated by a church member, and is working on a skateboard park, plus has the facilities to create cutting edge video and music productions.
“We’re becoming like the ancient churches where we’re patrons of the arts,” he said.
The church operated out of a storefront in Rainbow Plaza in Kalaheo prior to purchasing the land at Po’ipu and completing the first sections of their church facility.
“A number of guys in the church said ‘we need to be in a building, a place of our own;’ guys were developers, builders, visioners in development, got the ball rolling and we jumped on board,” Bundschuh said. “They helped to find the land, design the buildings,” working in tandem with leaders of church.
“The congregation put in a lot of the muscle to make it happen, a lot of sweat equity,” he said.
The church is being built with an eye to the future too, Bundschuh said, with every room capable of being wired for cable and computer networks.
Ahead is an ongoing series of concerts for youth and adults, dances, banquets, parties.
“Whatever crazy thing we come up with, in addition to typical church services,” he said. – TGI Editor Chris Cook can be reached at mailto:ccook@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 227).
