
DATE: Saturday, June 21, 1997               TAG: 9706200127

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MICHELLE MIZAL, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  113 lines

PLANET ROCK BEACH YOUTH CENTER PROMISES TO BE OUT OF THIS WORLD.

ONE DAY last spring, John Blanchard, youth pastor at Rock Church in Virginia Beach, was praying for some way to inspire teens to come to church.

Suddenly, he saw a vision:

Teen-agers, thousands of them, pouring into a building to eat, shop, play sports and video games - and praise the Lord. It was a vision so large it seemed like an entire planet in itself.

Blanchard decided to call it Planet Rock, also the name of the church's youth department.

A year later, his vision, which gained the blessing of founding pastors John and Anne Gimenez, is on the way to becoming reality.

The old, domed Rock Church building on Kempsville Road - left vacant when the church opened a new, 5,200-seat sanctuary this spring - will be converted into a two-story youth hangout complete with wall-to-wall video games, sports facilities, an auditorium and a whole lot of neon lights.

It's scheduled to go into orbit by June 1999.

Blanchard, 27, calls Planet Rock a youth movement for a new generation, a place for teens to have some wholesome fun and learn about God.

Many teens today remind Blanchard, once an atheist, of himself before he took his older brother's advice and went to church when he was 19. ``They feel like church is nothing but a man in a three-piece suit giving you a sermon,'' he said. ``Fun is not allowed.''

John Gimenez says the church has a vested interest in reaching out to its youth because ``young people have a bad habit of becoming older people.''

He thinks Planet Rock will offer teens freedom to enjoy their music and culture within Christian boundaries.

``Young people set the pace in clothing and music,'' he said. ``They have an ear when no one else is hearing. . . . If they have no platform to express themselves, then they go to drugs and sex.''

Gimenez speaks from experience. Growing up in the South Bronx, he was a street punk and a drug user. It was while in jail that he began turning his life around and discovered the path that, 30 years ago, led him and his wife to form Rock Church.

The church started as a youth movement. The Gimenezes wanted to inspire hippy-crazed, bell-bottom-wearing teens to give up their wild ways and serve God.

Rock Church now opens its doors to people of all ages, but Gimenez said it's time for another youth movement because many teens today feel the ways of worshiping God are outdated.

Blanchard agrees.

``We need a contemporary way to reach these kids,'' he said. ``Some of the methods in the '60s are irrelevant to this generation. We need cutting-edge methods to catch their attention.''

He's certainly caught the attention of Andrew Forbes, 18, a recent graduate of Rock Church Academy who said he's had a hard time getting interested in church services.

``Planet Rock has given me hope for the youth, and it's given me a reason not to live like the world and live like a Christian,'' said Andrew, who plans to hang out regularly at the new center.

Blanchard's partner and soul-mate in the Planet Rock project is his wife of six years, Robin, who also happens to be the preacher's daughter.

They say they want to show that serving God can be fun and hip. With a goal of pulling 30,000 teens into Planet Rock's orbit in 1999, they've given their imaginations free rein.

The building's domed roof could eventually sport a Saturn-like ring with neon lights. John envisions a lifelike astronaut atop the dome, claiming it with a Christian flag.

Youths who find pinball machines and other stationary games too tame can count on some unusual alternatives.

``I think we need to have the rock climbing wall go from the second level on up to the ceiling,'' Robin said to her husband as her voice bounced off the walls of the vast, empty auditorium.

``I kind of thought it would be neat to have it coming up the back side of the building on the outside,'' John said. ``The virtual reality games will be on the second floor.''

Work to dismantle the old sanctuary in preparation for Planet Rock began last month.

The center will cost about $1.5 million to build - money the Blanchards hope to raise through fund-raisers, donations and corporate sponsors.

John said Planet Rock will be done in three phases by Vision Construction in Virginia Beach. Robin will manage the interior designs.

In Phase I, the back walls inside the building will be painted silver, and steel risers will be erected to prepare the building for a second floor.

Phase II involves tearing down the balcony and leveling out the first floor, which is now sloped like a movie theater.

In Phase III, the second floor will be built and equipped with an arcade, basketball court and cafe.

The first floor will be dominated by a youth meeting auditorium and concert hall with seating for 1,500. There will also be a nursery and counseling center for unwed mothers and a store with books and Planet Rock memorabilia.

Under the dome, the Blanchards hope, teens will find a clean, moral way to have fun together. Violent video games like Mortal Kombat will be extinct on Planet Rock.

``The entertainment industry today feeds teens a `nothing to lose, nothing to look forward to' concept; we want to provide a place where parents feel it's safe for their children to hang,'' Robin Blanchard said.

About 20 security officers will be on hand to keep inhabitants in order.

The center will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays free to the public. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Blanchard will deliver his sermons at the downstairs auditorium. Attendance is optional.

But even if teen-agers don't attend the meetings, the Blanchards hope they will be inspired to learn about God.

``We're thinking about writing Scriptures on the walls,'' John said.

In neon lights? he was asked.

``That's not a bad idea.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by D. Kevin Elliott/The Virginian-Pilot

Robin and John Blanchard are youth ministers at Rock Church in

Virginia Beach. ...

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Area shown: Rock Church