Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

Looking for a new DVD, Al Bedrosian (left) gets recommendations from Roger Rudlaff. Rudlaff and his wife, Annelie Rudlaff, lend out Christian DVDs from their basement as a ministry. They have a selection of 500 family-friendly DVDs.

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• Wayhouse Christian Film Library | Beth Israel Synagogue

Cheri Mordick has strict rules for her four children when they visit a conventional video store.

The kids are allowed to select a video game and walk out, no glancing at the posters, cardboard cutouts of movie stars or other sights. At all times, they have to keep their eyes looking at the floor.

"I have to shield my children's eyes from the game covers and movie covers because they are so provocative," said Mordick, 40.

Her family and others are regular patrons of the fledgling Wayhouse Christian Film Library that lends movies free to the public from the basement of a private home.

Owners Roger and Annelie Rudlaff, both 38, purchased their Colonial Avenue home in August. Its commercial zoning and alley parking suited their needs for a video ministry.

Many of their entertainment and educational movies showcase family values and the need for a personal relationship with Jesus.

Roger Rudlaff said the popularity of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and the newest film adaptation of C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" have raised awareness about Christian movies. Educational videos on the Crusades and other subjects are also available.

The Rudlaffs are alerted to arriving clients by a motion-detector buzzer that sounds when vehicles pull into their driveway or by the barking of their dog, Roco.

Display shelves in their basement hold about 500 DVDs and about 20 VHS tapes above a cinema-like carpet, splashed with hot pink, teal and purple on a black background.

The couple mailed notices promoting the video ministry last year to churches in Roanoke, Vinton and Salem. They said the word is slowly spreading.

The pair are members of North Valley Seventh Day Adventist Church.

They support themselves with sales of secular and Christian videos on the Internet and at flea-markets. They moved to Roanoke about 18 months ago and have lived in Florida, Tennessee, Colorado and Texas.

"We try to carry the harder to find stuff, as well as the popular movies," he said. "We talk about movies and what is coming out next."

The titles are displayed randomly.

"Most people don't know what they're looking for, and this way they see things," Annelie Rudlaff said. "And if they want something specific, we'll help them out."

Across town, educational videos on other faiths are available, too.

The Clarence Sabree Islamic Center on Second Street in Roanoke has a few educational videos about Islam for its members.

Beth Israel Synagogue has about 75 to 100 titles of "Jewish-themed movies" on VHS for education and entertainment, said Rabbi Ronald Kopelman. Some of the titles include "Avalon" and "The Jewish Experience in America."

"Anybody can borrow these, not just people in the synagogue, but the public, too," Kopelman said. "The idea is to make them available."

Next fall after the High Holy Days, Kopelman hopes to have a class using four to six movies on the experience of Jews coming to America and Canada.

"What were the joys and what was the grief of Jewish people arriving in North America?" he said. "There are any number of ways we could go with this theme."

Several pastors said the Wayhouse Christian Film Library serves a niche.

Bob Lanier, an associate pastor at Salem Baptist Church, said he recently found time to visit. He now "talks up" the library at Salem pastors' meetings. One of his favorite movies is "Facing the Giants," a football film made by a Georgia church.

"It's just a phenomenal find," he said. "Nothing is free and everyone is hesitant about free things. Then I finally realized it was their joy to provide this and I started talking about it everywhere I go."

Wanda Cardwell said she selected some movies for the youth group's monthly gatherings at First Baptist Church in Salem.

"I thought it was great," she said. "He had a pretty good selection. He actually recommended the videos that I took."

Al Bedrosian, a member of Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke, said he stops by weekly to collect films for his five children, ages 13 and under. He picks movies for his home schooled kids. He said Wayhouse's selection eliminates the "guessing game" of exposing his children to language or images that he doesn't want them to see.

"It is a great ministry," he said.

The couple and patrons said they mostly talk about movies. But, if a client wants, the discussion will turn to faith.

"Actually, I think I'm the one who brought up church and his belief in God and Jesus," Bedrosian said. "We do talk about it now."

While the couple won't take money for the films, Bedrosian said he does put cash in a jar for the stray cats that Annelie helps.

"So, I just put money in the kitty for the kitties."