Danny Chan is founder and lead pastor of the Renovatus ministry, a weekly multi-sensory worship experience based in Eagle Rock, California. He serves as the young adult pastor for the Eagle Rock Seventh-day Adventist church where he and his wife Virna are committed to discovering new ways of relating to and connecting with the mystery of God. His podcast was among the first enhanced podcasts for young adults. Danny enjoys film and tv production and has traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East on various film projects. Travel, photography and snowboarding are all big parts of his life. He and his wife Virna are parents to daughter Cassidy and son Jordan.

Your Renovatus worship service is unlike any other, at least in Southern California. It's self-described as "an ongoing journey where we gather weekly to chase after the mystery of God." Explain the chase.

Danny: Our goal at Renovatus is to experience His mystery through the use of contemplation, hands on interaction, prayer, silence, multi-media, etc. all in our effort to make worship a multi-sensory encounter. For example, we don't just talk about life as a journey, we actually have people walk through a road cutting right through our worship space as we meditate on passages of scripture. And we don't just talk about Jesus as the "light" of the world, or read bible stories, but we help people experience complete darkness, then ask them to ignite a flame that instantly swallows up the dark. People walk through these stories exploring it for themselves, and yes participating in the story often for the very first time.

And your ministry isn't only about the worship service. You have a podcast that is, well, different and cutting edge. They're productions. It's audio, video, images, and has "episodes" like a TV show. What makes your podcasts stand out?

Danny: Probably the fact that it's an "enhanced" podcast. There are three kinds of podcasts: audiocasts, videocasts and a mix of the two, which are called "enhanced" podcasts. In enhanced podcasts images are displayed that play in time with the audio, along with chapter markers and weblinks which gives the podcast a fuller and more interactive experience. The Renovatus Ministry podcast was one of the first Christian enhanced podcasts, and probably the first young adult enhanced podcast available.

(below: the first enhanced podcast of Renovatus)

Last year, I got to experience the Agape Feast service. Sitting on floor cushions in the dark, eating pita bread and hummus and smelling the burning of incense while taking in one of the best modern worship bands in L.A. gave me a sense of inclusiveness and acceptance. I know that sounds like an endorsement already, but why is there a need for creating this multi-sensory worship space?

Danny: We believe that for most young people today, worship today has become too stale, too predictable and too theoretical to be experienced. Our Agape Feast service [is] where we experience what it means to know grace and reconciliation with others in the context of a middle eastern meal. Which is a really long way of saying we had communion.

Not your typical communion service. Explain the concept.

Danny: On that particular week we experienced what it means to be the "bride" of Christ. Our intention was to not just talk about being the "bride" but to have people experience committing to a marriage arrangement. So when we took the cup of juice [during the Agape Feast], we reflected about when Christ asked his disciples to take the cup at the last supper, and how he was really asking his followers to be his "bride."

What gave you the idea to start Renovatus?

Danny: We see Renovatus as not just another worship venue, but as a new approach to the worship itself that's responsive to postmodern trends in culture. This postmodern multi-sensory approach to worship largely came out of the postmodern movement in the UK, but it is deeply
rooted in a worship approach typical of first century Christianity.

Who is Renovatus for?

Danny: Renovatus was created primarily for young adults ages 18-35 who are seeking a fresh approach to church. Although many who attend are either younger or older than that, the average age is about 27 years old.

How does Renovatus practically minister to people? Why should an unchurched person, or a seasoned Adventist come to it?

Danny: One of the primary ways we explore the bible truth is through releasing the depth and insight found in stories and metaphors. When we experience these stories first hand they have a life changing quality that is relevant and applicable to both churched and unchurched people. Response to our worship has been very positive from both of those groups.


During your sermons, you use a lot of graphics and images that are looped and splashed on two large screens. Some have complained that it's distracting. Explain the tactic and its importance.

Danny: Our approach is to engage all of the senses as we experience truth, particularly the visual sense. But we are honest about not succeeding at it all the time. So in our effort to help people experience God we have often crossed over from experience into distraction, but we're not sorry about that. We may fail often as we engage the senses, but we succeed at trying.

Tell us about the short film you produced, wrote and directed called "Air Film." It's rather suspenseful and very dramatic. What is the message behind it? Why did you choose to make this film?

Danny: I chose to produce a film about seeking because that's the road so many travel on. The film is the first in a series of films about a young man on a quest for a true spiritual experience. The plot takes a life-changing twist when the young man meets a wise figure who gives him more than he bargained for. The film not only helps to draw people to our site called areyouseeking.com, but it's an insightful story that speaks about our quest for something more.

View the Air Film


How does Renovatus inform and reflect Adventist beliefs, or does it?

Danny: Renovatus is a new approach to an old message. Our goal is not to create something new to share, but to help young generations approach and connect to the same Gospel story and Adventism. In fact, we are currently doing a series called "Revelation for a New Generation:
Releasing the Metaphors of Worship." And one of our contentions (and I'm paraphrasing Eugene Peterson), is that Revelation doesn't so much share new information, it simply helps us to experience what we've already read throughout the scriptures. And that is precisely what we
attempt to do weekly.

Who are your spiritual influences? And what are you currently reading?

Danny: My father the pastor/evangelist and always the progressive thinker. Buenaventura Garcia III, Dan Smith, Tony Campolo, Martin Luther King, Jr. [I'm reading] "Stand Against the Wind" by Erwin McManus, "Reversed Thunder" by Eugene Peterson and anything by Philip Yancey.

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Renovatus meets every Friday, 7:30 pm.

Location: 2322 Merton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90041

For more information on Renovatus visit their website