LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was welcomed by a clapping, cheering, whistling overflow crowd Sunday morning at the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's church.

Members of Thomas Road Baptist Church filled the sanctuary's 6,000 seats, lined the walls and sat on the floor in front of the altar as Huckabee was welcomed as "a dear friend" by the Rev. Jonathan Falwell, who became pastor after his father's death last May.

After the service, the former Arkansas governor met with reporters and stressed his stands on immigration and the war in Iraq that are more conservative than those of rival John McCain.

Huckabee said he was too busy courting votes to be bothered by an independent poll showing him nearly 30 points behind the Arizona senator in Virginia, where both Democrats and Republicans hold primaries Tuesday.

"It makes victory sweeter," he said. "We think we're going to win in Virginia."

Huckabee was escorted by Jerry Falwell Jr., chancellor of Liberty University, who endorsed him in November when the candidate visited the campus of the school his father founded. His brother has not declared a favorite, and Huckabee said he wasn't expecting an endorsement from the pastor Sunday.

Jonathan Falwell said last week that he had had a conversation with McCain, who has been under fire from conservatives, and wanted to hear more about his social agenda and how he would unite the party.

He told the congregation Sunday that he welcomed Huckabee when the former governor called and asked to visit. He said he wanted Huckabee to do more than talk, and he persuaded the candidate to pick up a bass guitar and join in playing "I'll Fly Away."

Huckabee steered clear of politics during the church service but the former Baptist minister stressed his fondness for the elder Falwell, whom he met in 1977.

"What an incredible influence he's had in this country," Huckabee said.

The elder Falwell had the ear of Republican politicians after he made the religious right a political force when he founded the Moral Majority in 1979.

McCain had a falling out with Christian conservatives during his 2000 presidential campaign when he called the elder Falwell and religious broadcaster Pat Robertson "agents of intolerance." But McCain made up with the elder Falwell in 2006 and spoke to graduating seniors that year at Liberty University.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)