It all started with Richie Havens.

Not the Woodstock festival, although he certainly deserves some credit for launching that.

No, Havens inadvertently set C2G Music Hall down a different path.

C2G, aka Come2Go, was founded in 2003 by Pastor Mark Minnick as a musical ministry, a place where good music of all varieties and enriching one’s life through Jesus could coexist.

And while the devoted Christians who worship there weekly have had little trouble holding these two concepts in their heads without getting a migraine, some people in the music industry have been confused.

This came to a head when C2G was negotiating with Havens to perform there.

Havens’ management was somewhat put off by all the religious references and iconography on the C2G website, which has generally looked like it was designed by someone who is studying for a Youth Ministry degree at a Christian university.

Associate pastor Jesse Christopherson recalls that everyone was so eager to have Havens come to Fort Wayne that they did a quick redesign of the website.

“Even the statement ‘We were founded on Judeo-Christian principles’ turns some people away,” he says.

And Havens did come in January 2010.

Fifteen months later, C2G’s multiple-personality disorder became a full-on mitosis as C2G Music Hall split away from Come2Go Ministries.

The music hall is now a separate entity from the worship center, with its own secular 501(c)(3).

This has all happened with the blessing, not to mention the urging, of Minnick.

“Our goal is to bring more and more great music to Fort Wayne, Indiana, into the intimate space of C2G,” he says. “We want to provide a high level of entertainment that is not only relevant to our market but extends what our market has right now.”

Minnick says he will now focus entirely on the ministry aspect of things, and he has hired Mark Lahey to direct the re-imagined music hall.

Christopherson recalls Lahey’s job interview late last year.

“We told him, ‘We need somebody to do this, but we don’t have any money,’ ” he says, “ ‘but if we do get some money, you’ll be the first to have some.’ ”

So Lahey volunteered for a few months and then became a full-time staffer in March.

His short list for things that had to happen right away included something I will dub “a de-churchification” of the music hall’s interior.

In other words, it was more house of worship than House of Blues.

“We needed to neutralize the environment,” he says. “Make it less like a church.”

Lahey has also sought advice from managers at similarly sized music venues like The Ark in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Space in Evanston, Ill.

“Unfortunately, there really is no business model for doing this,” he says. “We’re where (The Ark) was 30 years ago.”

Whatever C2G has to do to achieve success, it will probably never resemble either of those other venues, Lahey says.

“The Ark is in this hip, artsy college town, and Space has 3 million Chicago residents to draw from,” he says.

Lahey says C2G’s unique business strategy is likely to involve myriad elements, including local music showcases, national shows, rentals and parking lot tailgate parties.

C2G’s top-flight video and audio production facilities should prove attractive to local colleges looking for internship opportunities and local bands looking to bump up the quality of their press materials, Lahey says.

“This is not a venue (for bands) to make money in,” he says. “This is a venue in which to get exposure.

“I don’t want to say this is the minor leagues,” Lahey says, “but it’s a place to build one’s reputation and lubricate the rest of the cogs.”

Lahey says C2G is not looking to compete with any other successful music venue in town. It can fill a niche without getting trapped by one, Lahey says.

At the Brass Rail, most shows don’t start until 11 p.m., and at C2G, most shows are finished by then, Lahey says.

For people who, like Lahey, are “no longer 22 years old and still have a fresh pink liver,” a timetable like that can be quite appealing, he says.

“Here we start early and end early, and even on a school night you can be home and in bed by 11:30,” Lahey says.

This was a big weekend for C2G.

The Nashville funk band The Dynamites performed on Friday, and Memphis trio the River City Tanlines performed on Saturday (with local faves the Elky Summers opening).

Lahey’s efforts may be starting to have an effect if a recent blog post on the Elky Summers’ home page is any indication.

“Enjoy an icy cold beer as you watch the Elky Summers kick off the summer in style at C2G,” it read. “I know, I know, isn’t C2G that Christian place? Well think again, because they are starting to hold more night-clubbish type shows.”

Yes they are, with beer and wine provided by Mad Anthony Brewing Co.

Classic R&B band Ambrosia performs on July 14 as part of the Fort Wayne Newspapers Three Rivers Festival.

Lahey says he wants to encourage everyone to be more adventurous in their music choices – wherever they go to listen to it – and to give the new C2G a try.

“We’re cheaper than Starbucks,” he says. “Take a risk. See what’s up. Come in, have a couple of beers, enjoy your night and tell your friends.”