PASTORS Darren and Bron Bonnell have rolled a strike in their bowling alley turned church.
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Parishioners were bowled over by the new building when it opened for the first service on Sunday.
It took about 1000 hours to unscrew all of the timbers from the old lanes by hand, one of which was saved and converted into the coffee shop bar.
"Our current building was at capacity for a long time and we hit that ceiling where we really saw the need for expansion," Mrs Bonnell said.
"One of the things we have done is used one of the lanes as a bench top, some people didn't realise the bowling alley had closed down by the time we bought it.
"We've been asked if we could leave a few lanes open for bowling on a Sunday," she laughed, "No we can't."
One of the more high-tech features of the new church is the ability to live stream services to outlying towns like Attunga and Manilla.
A cafe space invites churchgoers to sit and think after the service, with a new play area for children outside.
The idea was to make the space warm, modern and light, Mrs Bonnell said.
"We knew one of the things we love at church is that hour after the service, it's just as important to talk to each other," she said.
"We wanted to reimagine what church was like, we feel that Jesus' message was always life-giving, we aim for our services to be life-giving as well so people leave with hope to go on to whatever they face.
"We wanted people to leave feeling positive and uplifted."
The new church was officially opened by Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson with guest preacher Jack Haynes delivering the first service.
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The old building will be transformed into a youth space and used for community events.
Mr and Mrs Bonnell moved to Tamworth in 2001 and began working as pastors in 2005 and the pair have three children.
The church operates in Guyra, Gunnedah and Tamworth and it's hoped the live stream capabilities will allow people in Attunga, Manilla and smaller towns to take part in the church services.