One of the old projection rooms now is used to shoot video of the goings on in the auditorium and to project Power Point productions on a screen in the auditorium.
The one-time movie house has been converted into a house of worship.
Specifically, it is now the temporary home of Redemption Road Church, a Pentecostal congregation that recently moved from rural Lincoln County to Danville.
"This wasn't in the greatest condition when we found it, so it took a lot of work cleaning it up, and the floors that used to be the aisles are slanted," said the church's pastor, the Rev. Gary Yocom. "But the Lord led us here, and we are happy to be here to serve him until our new church is built."
Before talking about the new church, Yocom discussed the old one in Lincoln County and the temporary one Redemption Road is calling home for the time being.
Redemption Road was established on Dec. 31, 1987.
"We started with 12 people and met in a storefront," he said.
Two years later, the congregation moved into a new building that it constructed on Green River Road. In addition, the church developed a school, Redemption Road Christian Academy, for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Also, the church took over the production of an outdoor drama. Over the next 20 years, the church grew fairly rapidly, Yocom said.
"We had 270 people on our membership rolls, regular attendance at our Sunday services was 150 to 160 strong," he said.
Moving to Danville
But, Yocom said, he and others in the church as well as friends all started sensing through prayers and divinely-inspired visions that Redemption Road needed to move to Danville.
"Seven years ago I was praying and I felt that God wanted us to move, that we were in such a remote location that some people who needed to be with us were missing us," he said.
Yocom said he and others felt that God was pointing the congregation to Danville because it is a hub that attracts people from several counties for shopping, eating, entertaining and, yes, worshipping in its numerous churches.
In looking for vacant rental properties, Yocom said he felt God pointing him toward the old Danville Cinemas 4 building. After checking out and coming up with a plan to convert it, Yocom negotiated a lease with B.C. Woods, the Lexington firm that owns Danville Manor. Then, the real work began, Yocom said.
"We spent 30 to 40 days cleaning, painting, putting in partitions, installing equipment and we got finished the night before our first services," he said, noting that most of the work was done by church members with some of it contracted out. The first service was held on Aug. 30.
"We had 261 attend our first Sunday service and more than 200 showed up for our Sunday night service — and one of them regained their hearing and two committed their lives to Christ," he said. "The Lord got us off to a great start."
But the church is far from finished, he said. Its focus now is on planning and eventually constructing its new building. It will be located on 10 acres that the church purchased on U.S. 150 between Danville and Stanford, he said.
Meanwhile, Yocom said the church's property in Lincoln County is for sale. However, the church intends to keep producing its outdoor drama on the same site. When the property sells, the church will try to work out a lease with the new owner under which the drama could still be performed, he said.
"We expect it will take 12 to 18 months to complete the plans and to construct the building," he said. The building will consist of a 19,000-square-foot main floor that will house a 600-seat sanctuary, offices and other facilities, Yocom said. The basement, which also will encompass 19,000 square feet, will house all the youth programs, including the academy and Sunday school classes, he said.
In the meantime, the academy will be maintained in Lincoln County until the property there is sold.
"We have partnered with the Church of God in Cleveland, Tenn., to help make all this happen," he said.
While Yocom is eager to see the new building constructed and occupied, he said, the other leaders of Redemption Road and the congregation will make do with the old movie house.
"We have turned it into a very usable structure that will meet our needs, at least on a temporary basis," he said. "We worked as a congregation to convert it and we will worship together as a congregation in our makeshift auditorium." Then he smiled, looked skyward and said, "And besides, this old movie theater complex is where God wants us to be for now."
SO YOU KNOW
What: Redemption Road Church
Where: Danville Manor Shopping Center
When: Sunday school, 10:15 a.m.; Sunday worship, 11 a.m.; Sunday night worship, 6 p.m.; Wednesday night worship and children's church, 7 p.m.
Who: The Rev. Gary Yocom, pastor; Jeremiah Yocom, church administrator and music minister; Veronica Yocom, administrator of Redemption Road Christian Academy; Zeke Smith, Sunday school superintendent; Clarence Reid, financial officer.
For more information: call (606) 365-7682 or go online to the church's Web site at www.redemptionroad.org.
