Columbia Falls welcomes a new church this week. Canvas Church, which has about 4,000 members valleywide, is remodeling the former Assembly of God Church on Third Avenue West.

The first service is Sunday, Sept. 9, said lead pastor Kevin Geer.

The day-to-day operation at the church, or campus as church leaders call it, will be run by community pastor Al Esquivel and his wife, Amy. Esquivel originally hails from Southern California and has lived here about four years,

Geer’s Montana roots run deeper. His grandfather was a pastor at the Assembly of God Church years ago and mom graduated from Columbia Falls, he said.

The church has been completely remodeled. There are no pews — people sit in comfortable chairs and services include upbeat live music.

Geer said they take a different approach to Christian Bible studies.

“I think we’re just very real,” he said. “We teach the Bible in a way that makes sense ... without compromising the truth of it.”

The affable Geer also injects a fair amount of humor into his messages.

They also take pains to make church fun, he said, particularly for young people, with a fun and safe ministry.

The church has 8,000 square feet, including an auditorium for both adults and youth, a nursery and other amenities.

A typical service includes a greeting from Esquivel, songs and a message (they don’t call them sermons) from Geer via a video screen. What one won’t get is scripture readings, at least not in the traditional sense.

“We’re not very liturgical,” Geer admits.

Geer explains the name of church.

“Each one of us is a canvas that displays a story,” Geer said.

Each week will have three services each Sunday morning, at 9 a.m., 10:30 and 11:50.

You can watch past messages from Geer at the Canvas Church website: http://canvas.church/