If this doesn’t bring people to Church, what will? A Church in Michigan has opened a built-in tattoo parlor, and the Reverend himself sports two tattoos.

Rev. Steve Bentley opened a small place called “Serenity Tattoo” in “The Bridge”, a church located inside a shopping center in Flint Township. The move was made in an effort to reach out to people who are uncomfortable with traditional places of worship. According to Bentley, mainstream religion is now irrelevant to most people and has actually become ineffective. So he came up with this unique solution to reach out to a few people who would otherwise never step into  a church.

Serenity Tattoo is open Monday through Saturday, from noon until 8.00 pm. Tattoo artists Ryan Brown and Drew Blaisdell work away at the shop, located close to Bentley’s office. It’s also not very far from the watering trough used for baptisms. The artists seem quite happy with what they’re doing, as is evident from what Brown has to say. A recovering alcoholic, he claims he has found his purpose and the atmosphere of the church has helped him remain focused. Of course, people have expressed their displeasure at Bentley’s move. However, he describes the practice of tattooing as “morally neutral,” akin to ear-piercing. “We are about doing church in a different way and being relevant to people,” he says. Getting a tattoo in a clean environment is fine, and allows you to stick to a moral code, according to Bentley.

The Bridge currently has 1,000 people calling it their home church and another 500 attend Bentley’s three weekend services. By the way, the church is also hosting two wrestling matches and is considering a cage fight…Seriously?

via Fox News