TAMPA — Along the sin-soaked streets of Ybor City, Scientologists compete against bull-horn-toting evangelical Christians and Jesus Christ look-a-likes for their latest converts.
But to some of the entertainment district's business owners and patrons, those attention-grabbing methods for saving souls are nothing compared to the persistent — critics say overly aggressive — tactics of a newly arrived religious group.
"We're used to seeing religious groups and protesters in Ybor," said Tony LaColla, president of the Historic Ybor Civic Association. "But this is different. This group is hurting business and scaring away customers."
At Hillsborough Community College, the group — called the Breakthrough City Church — has been repeatedly warned that members are being too aggressive with students, said Ashley Carl, a college spokeswoman.
"We've called the police three times; that's how bad it is," Carl said. One member followed a student into the classroom, she said, while others have been known to trap students on the sidewalk as they try to get to class.
"They get right in your face," said John Soto, a 21-year-old Wesley Chapel resident who said he encountered members two months ago outside a gay club. "I think it's a potentially dangerous situation."
The church is led in part by the Revs. David and Esther Crownborn, a husband-and-wife team who sermonize in a theater at Muvico Centro Ybor. On Wednesday night, clad in a powder blue three-piece suit, David Crownborn offered salvation from center stage across the hall from theaters that throbbed with showings of Iron Man and Speed Racer.
"I renounce you, Satan, and all your demons," Crownborn told a young, mostly female congregation of 20. "I will not partake in your destruction of Jesus."
In five weeks, the church has grown to 850 members, Crownborn said. On most nights, members take to the streets in small groups to find new believers. Amid a religious revival that he says is spawned by worsening economic times, Crownborn promises growth and a wider presence.
"When people go through tough times, they come to God," he said.
Crownborn won't say where he's from. He says his regal name is for real, not an alias.
Records and news reports show the Crownborns moved to Tampa after spending several years in Ireland. They owned software companies that became news in the Irish media. Various accounts report that their companies went out of business and left mountains of debt.
In 2007, the Crownborns were restricted from serving as directors of any Irish company until 2012, according to the Sunday Business Post of Dublin, Ireland.
Crownborn, who is black, said the media maligned them as part of a racially motivated campaign to drive them out of the country. He said that the campaign was supported by labor unions and a competing company that he wouldn't name. None of the allegations in the articles are true, he said.
"I learned there is so much more to life than the pursuit of money," Crownborn, who ended Wednesday's night sermon with a request for donations by check or credit card.
Some fret that Ybor, especially its burgeoning gay district, needs to brace for future confrontation with church members. But Crownborn said his group doesn't target homosexuals.
"God loves the homosexual person," he said. "But the actual activity of homosexuality is not supported by Scripture."
Members aren't instructed to be aggressive, he said.
"Our motto is to be gentle and kind," Crownborn said.
But Carrie West, co-owner of MCFilmFest, a gay-themed novelty store on N 15th Street, said a church member blocked the entrance of his shop a few weeks ago, trying to scare customers away.
"They're militants about what they do," West said.
Members like Emily Maldonado, a 19-year-old sales associate at Victoria's Secret, said too much is being made of the church. She said it's harmless as it reaches out to new members. She said she gets personal attention that she never got from the Catholic Church.
"They keep in touch with you," she said. "They're nice."
Times staff researcher John Martin and staff writer Alexandra Zayas contributed to this story. Michael Van Sickler can be reached at (813) 226-3402.
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