BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Faith Chapel Christian Center in Wylam looks a little bit like a futuristic alien colony, with its seven giant domes.

One of them is a 12-lane bowling alley called Tuscany Lanes, with streetlamps and Tuscan-style arches. A church with a bowling alley? Absolutely, said Founding Pastor Michael D. Moore, who grew up within walking distance of the church campus.

The Bridge will satisfy the need for family entertainment in the western part of Birmingham, he said. "We believe we can really meet the needs of the community," Moore said. "It will bridge people from the world to the kingdom. People may not want to come to a church, but they'll come to a bowling alley. People have needs other than spiritual needs. There's a need for safe, clean, uplifting, family-oriented entertainment."

While it's been open for more than a year, the recreation complex of six interconnected domes known as The Bridge will have an open house on Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to unveil it to the broader community.

"Now we want the world to know," said Moore, who founded Faith Chapel in his home in 1981. "Our church wants to be an inspiration."

The roll-out of the bowling alley and other facilities to people beyond the church membership has been intentionally deliberate as the church tried to navigate the logistics of running such a massive recreational center. "We didn't have the staffing in place," Moore said. "We were trying to get to the point we can handle everyone who wants to come."

Early in his ministry, Moore had a vision of building a church shaped like a dome.

The church built a $15 million, 3,000-seat sanctuary under a dome in 2000. It's known as the Word Dome. In 2007, the 6,000-member church inflated the roof on the last of six smaller domes built during a $26 million second phase of construction on the 137-acre campus. Each of the domes was built by inflating giant balloons, then spraying them with concrete for a hard shell roof.

The smaller domes now form a connecting complex of activity buildings that house a bowling alley, café, banquet hall, basketball court, fitness center and playground.

The lobby dome features a climbing tower more than 70 feet tall, with a sphere that has a lookout platform in a plexiglass globe at the top of the roof. It's accessible by climbing a 75-step spiral staircase.

"When people walk in that building, they'll be inspired, they'll be motivated," Moore said. "I want kids to walk in this facility and dream."

The dome with the climbing wall and observation tower serves a massive lobby to the entertainment complex. It's the entrance to all the other domes.

The dome project has been driven by Moore's vision that the church should cater to all of its members' needs.



Family-friendly social options are lacking in Wylam and nearby Ensley. "That's the beauty of God to do something in an area that's depressed," Moore said.

The church has been paying cash as it goes on the project, funded entirely by donations from members of the congregation. "It's been a challenge," Moore said. "Our people are great givers. Tithes and offering has been our only fundraising. It's been a miracle."

Faith Chapel Christian Center is located at 100 Lexington Avenue, Birmingham, AL 35224. To get there, take the 20th Street Ensley exit off Interstate 59, go north through Ensley on 20th Street (Alabama 269), and turn left at the Minor Parkway intersection onto Lexington Avenue. The church will be a half-mile ahead on the right.