WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — When was the last time you went to church? When was the last time you worked out?
Maybe you do both often or maybe neither.
A church in Williamsville is hoping to encourage more people to work out and worship by offering spin classes inside the church. I spoke with the Pastors about how this idea was born.
"The goal of the church really is more than just the spiritual component," explained Andi Merrill, a pastor at Eastern Hills Church in Williamsville.
You can usually find her on stage every week leading the band and she recently added another title — director of "Pulse Indoor Cycling," the fitness class offered at the church.
"Fitness has been a passion of mine," said Pastor Andi. "Even prior to being a pastor I was in the fitness industry full-time for 10 years."
"Pulse Indoor Cycling" is open to the public and offers classes Monday through Saturday. Pastor Andi said you don't have to be part of the church to attend but she hopes the classes attract more worshipers.
"We all know too that if you lose your physical health sometimes it's hard to maintain any kind of health because it's all intertwined," said Pastor Andi.
Andi said the idea was born when they were talking about ways to utilize the space inside the building on Greiner Road so she suggested opening a cycling studio and thankfully the church was on board.
Pastor Justin Jones said since the recent grand opening they have hosted numerous classes full of people ready to work out and worship.
"It's that time of the year, new year, so I think people are looking for ways to grow in their physical health and all around," said Pastor Jones. "I think people have kind of known that we're holistic beings so we kind of need all that health to be right."
For more about the classes and how to sign up you can visit the website here.
