RALEIGH - The discussion in the back room of Mitch's Tavern on Hillsborough Street is animated as a bunch of 20-somethings sit behind rustic tables nursing bottles of Newcastle beer. They don't pay much mind to the dim lights or the drone of bass-heavy rock music coming from the other room. They're talking about Jesus.

For these young people, many of whom attend a downtown church named Vintage21, the setting and the subject go together naturally. They like a nice, cold beer and, at the same time, they love Jesus.

It's a balance churches such as Vintage21 are encouraging. The 5-year-old congregation is part of a new Christian movement called "emerging" churches, whose underlying premise is that young people need to be reached differently. One way is by engaging popular culture.

As Nate Williams, the executive pastor, sums it up, "Not everything in culture is bad. We uphold those things that are good and beautiful."

At Vintage21, that means monthly "theology on tap" discussions at Mitch's Tavern. It also means embracing the arts. Most of the worship music is written by staff musicians, and the Web site and brochures are produced by an in-house design team.

The church, which moved into a section of the old Jillian's nightclub on West Street in downtown Raleigh earlier this month, wants to be a part of the downtown arts scene. It has plans to open its sanctuary to visiting bands and to partake in First Friday gallery walks.

The formula -- a cutting edge venue and a sophisticated aesthetic -- appears to be working. Vintage21 draws nearly 700 people to its three Sunday services, said Jones, and the average age is 27.

"The national trend is for 20-somethings to leave the church," said Tyler Jones, 32, the lead pastor. "We're seeing the opposite."

Services in its new warehouse location include rock songs, a sermon and a period of quiet reflection during which people walk up to one of the side tables, pick up a chunk of bread and dip it in grape juice -- the church's version of communion. No collection plate is passed. People who want to make donations can drop checks into two mailboxes on either end of the auditorium.

Visitors might be excused for thinking this church is rethinking Christian theology, too. But Vintage21 is firmly in the evangelical camp. Church leaders hew to an orthodox theology that maintains Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary, the Bible is the infallible word of God and Jesus died so others can be saved. The name of the church hints at its approach: Vintage Christianity with a 21st century twist.

Orthodox roots

In a sign of how orthodox Vintage21 is, church leaders are warmly received at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, even though the church is nondenominational. Next month, prior to a conference that Southeastern is hosting on emerging churches, Vintage21 will host a "boot camp" for people interested in starting similar churches.

"Overall, I applaud what's going on at Vintage21," said John Hammett, a professor of theology at Southeastern who studies emerging churches. "It's a healthy church."

Although drinking beer is controversial among many in the evangelical community -- and Hammett said it might not be the wisest choice given the widespread abuse of alcohol -- there is a growing desire to give emerging churches some leeway so long as they remain steadfast on the fundamentals.

Vintage21 does that. Like many evangelical churches, it does not allow women to serve as elders and views homosexuality as a sin. Lead pastor Jones said barring women from serving as elders brought a "tidal wave" of controversy, but he said he thought it was in keeping with the Bible. "We want Scripture to read us, not vice versa," Jones said.

So far, Vintage21 has been tolerant of those who disagree. Its motto is that it is a church of "seekers, followers and doubters," and it tries to live up to that.

Those who attend regularly said the church does a good job of meeting people where they are.

"I love their sincerity and honesty," said Staci Eeard, 22, of Chapel Hill. "With organized religion there's a lot of pretension. Not at Vintage21. They're not up on a pedestal."

Community service

The church is also able to tap into a youthful passion for Jesus and turn that into community service. Courtney Hodgson, a 26-year-old member, said she and her husband have decided to move from their North Raleigh home to a downtown location so they can be a more vital part of the community. They appreciate the challenge.

"It forces me to look at what I'm doing with my life, what I do in my spare time," said Hodgson. "I want my life to reflect Christ."

Recently, Vintage21 adopted a start-up church in Cary. It has plans to grow across the Triangle.

Starting new churches is a core part of its mission of spreading the gospel. The church is part of a larger network of new churches based in Seattle called Acts 29, which wants to start 1,000 new churches in 20 years.

And that's another reason they're happy to go into bars.

"There are a lot of people who would never set foot in a church but are willing to talk about God at a bar," Jones said. "We're trying to make their journey toward God an easier place to begin."