“American society is changing, so people are drawn to untraditional venues and untraditional expressions of worship,” said Soong-Chan Rah, professor of church growth at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. “These are all attempts … to integrate faith in their everyday lives.”

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In West Town, that guy is Mark Bergin, 29, who leads prayer meetings wearing a cap embroidered with the Guinness logo. The self-described “hot-dog-eating, baseball-loving, tool-owning missionary” is part of the church planting movement in the United States — an effort to start thousands of churches a year that reach people in more culturally relevant ways.

When he moved from Seattle a few months ago to start a church on Chicago’s West Side, he met more than 50 potential churchgoers by visiting neighborhood coffee houses and bars, including the Chipp Inn across from his house.

Tagged as: chicago, west town