WINK LISTENS: Unconventional church in gathers at local breweries

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (WINK) — A local church meets every Sunday inside breweries instead of traditional buildings.

The Church for the Rest of Us gathers at Swamp Cat Brewing in Fort Myers and Charlie Foxtrot in Port Charlotte.

By noon on Sundays, the conversation shifts from casual brewery talk to something deeper. Matt Podrasky founded the church with a specific goal in mind.

"It was a way to reach not church people, people that wouldn't want to normally go to a church building and kind of bring the church to them," Podrasky said.

The church focuses on meeting people where they are. Services are discussion-oriented rather than traditional presentations.

"Our church is a little bit different in that it's not a show exactly. It's much more discussion-oriented. We have people asking questions, and we ask questions to them, and we have a little bit more dialogue and discussion along the way," Podrasky said.

Swamp Cat Brewing has its own unique history. The brewery was once a church, and its former pews now serve as booths for customers.

"It's been pretty cool to tell people that we are a church that meets in a brewery that's a church," Podrasky said.

Attendees sometimes participate with a drink in hand. Podrasky emphasized the church doesn't promote drunkenness but welcomes open conversation about faith in a relaxed setting.

"We're totally not in favor of drunkenness. But this is about coming out, having a drink on a Sunday afternoon, having a conversation about God, and doing it in a really open way," Podrasky said.

For Podrasky, the mission is deeply personal. He described his own journey to faith as unconventional.

"I was a hostile, militant atheist most of my life, and I met God in a really unorthodox way, I guess you could say, and I just want to reach people that are like me," Podrasky said.

The Church for the Rest of Us meets every Sunday at noon at Swamp Cat Brewery and Charlie Foxtrot in Port Charlotte.