LOS ANGELES -- More U.S. churches are reaching out to urban youth with hip-hop music, best known for its raunchy lyrics. The Christian version of hip-hop music is proving popular with some teens, according to Charisma magazine.
"The walls that have defined the traditional church are going down," said W.P. Middlebrooks, a lay minister in the Church of God in Christ. Middlebrooks is planting a hip-hop-influenced church in urban Los Angeles.
The magazine credits Assemblies of God pastor Tommy Kyllonen with starting the first hip-hop church in January. Kyllonen offers classes from DJ-ing to rapping and break dancing at Crossover Community Church in Tampa, Fla.
"My calling is to reach unchurched youth," Kyllonen said. "Most kids that are into hip-hop music don't go to church."
The Universal Fat House in New Jersey and Now Faith International Ministries in Atlanta offer similar classes and a hip-hop worship service. Though most of the worship services draw fewer than 100 people, church leaders expect attendance to grow quickly, Charisma reported.
