A nightclub isn鈥檛 where one would normally go to try to find Jesus, but for those attending UpperLvl Worship at Nanaimo鈥檚 LevelTwo Nightclub, that鈥檚 exactly what鈥檚 happening.
The open Nanaimo faith group meets at the nightclub every two weeks to dance and talk about Jesus.
鈥淚t is shaped by the nightclub experience. We gather around 6 o鈥檆lock on alternate Sunday nights,鈥� said Rev. Jeremy Bellsmith with St. Andrew鈥檚 Presbyterian Church. 鈥淲e gather for pizza and drinks, the bar is open, people are catching up with each other. It鈥檚 noisy, it鈥檚 lovely, there are good tunes being played.鈥�
First launched in September 2022, Bellsmith said he was approached by Austin Penner, a DJ at LevelTwo who was reconciling his job at a nightclub with his newfound relationship with God and the church.
鈥淗e was just coming to faith 鈥� He and I had been meeting regularly, he was growing and putting down his roots to Christ and His teachings and the time came for Austin to come back to work, and he was wondering if it鈥檚 something he should be doing,鈥� Bellsmith said. 鈥淲hen we prayed about it and talked about it, long story short, we [made] a plan: let鈥檚 go and see if we can take the best of the nightclub and bring the church experience.鈥�
Bellsmith said the idea was rooted in the similarity of the two spaces. What people enjoy at a nightclub is community, a sense of transcendence that churches have nurtured for the past 2,000 years.
There was just one problem 鈥� the reverend had never been to a nightclub.
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Knowing he would have to be aware of what he was in for, Bellsmith, filled with anxiety and excitement, headed to the club.
鈥淚 showed up at 9 or 9:30, the place is almost empty. Austin, who is DJing that night didn鈥檛 get there until 10, which is his usual start. I ended up excusing myself at 10:30-10:45 just at the front end of when things start to pick up,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his was well out of my comfort zone, but we believed it needed to happen 鈥� I really started to rely on Austin, he knows it well, this was his world.鈥�
At first there were just 10 attendees, sometimes fewer. Now, they have about 25 people attending. The increased interest hasn鈥檛 been the only change in the two years.
At the beginning, Bellsmith gave a traditional church sermon, but through feedback he learned that just didn鈥檛 work.
鈥淲e use a lot of questions and answers and breaking into small groups so we can chat with each other. Some of the feedback we had gotten early on is they enjoyed each other鈥檚 company and so let鈥檚 give them opportunity to hang out and have different conversations.鈥�
The night starts at 6 p.m. with socializing and drinks. At 6:30 p.m, the more formal part begins with a group sit-down conversation, when Bellsmith or a visiting pastor will take a story from the Bible and talk for 10-15 minutes with some back-and-forth discussion. Then the group can break into smaller bunches and discuss amongst each other for another 10-15 minutes.
Those who feel comfortable praying pray together, before returning to the dance floor.
鈥淚n the mainline church we have established ways of reaching young people,鈥� Bellsmith said. 鈥淭his was an acknowledgement those ways may not be as effective to reach those folks who may not know Jesus but would benefit from knowing him. So it was to build a bridge with them in a non-traditional way.鈥�
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