'Wings, prayer, sports' -- Alabama church to hold services at Buffalo Wild Wings

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Christian Examiner) -- An Alabama church plans on starting a service in a local Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, according to reports. Their slogan—"wings, prayer, sports"—is designed to reach people who don't want to go to church, but could still enjoy "a small dose" of God on Sundays.

The services will be conducted by Rev. Wesley Savage, the young adult minister of the Riverchase United Methodist Church, and start Dec. 14 before the restaurant opens from 9:45 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. The shorter session was created to reach out to those who have never been to church.

"We believe there's a population that would attend a service there that wouldn't go to a church," Rev. Savage told AL.com. "We hope it's going to be a more inviting atmosphere."

The service, being billed as "The Stream" in radio ads and a video released on social media, will be a bit different from the run-of-the-mill Sunday service. There won't be a band or even hymns. Instead there will be more open discussion with a minister there to give guidance from Scripture.

"We want it to be a dialogue, questions and discussion about a topic: Why God? Why the church? Why the Bible? Why should I care about these things?" Savage explained. "It will be a time of prayer and devotion."

Despite the setting, Savage made it clear that no alcohol will be served, since worshipers would be attending before the restaurant opens. Still, they will be invited to stay for lunch or watch sports games afterwards to help build up a "partnership" between the church and the business.