When you drive by one Osborne Village church the first thing you'll likely notice is the graffiti. It's graffiti they chose to place there, though.

Crescent Fort Rouge United Church has embraced an edgier, artsier approach to ministry.

Sandi Howell is a congregation member at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church. She's also the head of the church's annual art festival.

"We have got the hippest old people in this congregation!"

Howell says that the graffiti came from a former ministers desire to help young musicians find a place to perform. "For over ten years now, one of our retired ministers Bill Gillis has been opening the church to younger bands who are under age but still wish to perform for an audience."

Howell says that about six to eight times a year, Gillis opens the doors of the church for the bands to perform. "We have these young musicians, often metal bands or grunge bands, who perform for their friends who are underage also."

This decadelong ministry in itself has seen Gillis form relationships with the city's young people. "Some of these young people are also graffiti artists," Howell says, explaining how the connection was made.

"When we started our arts festival, which was four years ago, Bill thought 'why don't we get the graffiti artists to come over and do some painting with us.'"

It's unorthodox church art, and it's art that's drawn young people into participation, Howell says.

"They now have become an eager and repeated participant in our annual art show." It's something that works for everyone. "The community loves it, we love it, they love it."

The church even plans on having three of its back-alley doors designed and painted by the same graffiti artists who designed their front lawn doors. It's a fun way to deal with a practical problem, as Howell says the doors are often graffitied anyways.

As for what the older generation of congregants thinks about having graffiti all over their lawn? "Oh, they just love it!" Howell says. "We have got the hippest old people in this congregation! They just think it's great. They're cooler with this stuff than some of the younger people."