Thousands of Americans are going to church in dead malls

As the retail apocalypse sweeps the US, hundreds of malls are being deserted. But a blessed few are being transformed into something entirely different.

Advertisement

Empty and out-of-use malls are being revamped as fitness centers, offices, public libraries, movie theaters, medical clinics, and even churches. 

"Only so many consumers are going to malls, and they will flock to newer ones," June Williamson, a City College of New York architecture professor and the author of "Retrofitting Suburbia," told Business Insider. "If developers build a new mall, they are inevitably undercutting another property. So older properties have to get re-positioned every decade, or they will die."

Retail Apocalypse_Post

Living Word Christian Center
Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park, Illinois Living Word Christian Center

Worshipping at a mall might sound strange but it's a reality that thousands of people across the US are living.

Here's what it's like to go to a church that is inside a former mall. 

Advertisement

In 2000, the deserted Grand Village Mall in Grandville, Michigan was donated to Mars Hill congregation.

Got here before the sun came up, to rehearse for worship and celebrate that the Son came up. #SesWhatiDidThere ?

A post shared by Rafael Lara (Macho) (@macholara_nyc) on Apr 9, 2017 at 6:48am PDT

 Source: The Atlantic 

Advertisement

The church revamped a huge anchor store, turning it into a huge, open chapel, nicknamed "The Hanger" because it was big enough to fit an airplane.

 Source: Mars Hill website 

Advertisement

It doesn't look like a traditional church, but it can fit hundreds of worshippers.

#Sunday

A post shared by Adam Wills (@adamduanewills) on Jun 26, 2016 at 7:30am PDT

 

Advertisement
Advertisement

The church has two locations, offering traditional and progressive services, and streams all of its sermons online.

Stop by one of our welcome tents in Lakeland and Auburndale this morning. We would love to meet you! Service begins at 9:30a and 11:00a! #churchatthemall

A post shared by Church At The Mall (@churchatthemall) on Sep 18, 2016 at 5:01am PDT

 

Advertisement

The First Baptist Church purchased the 400,000-square-foot Lakeland Mall for $5.6 million in the late 1990s, and spent more than $2 million on renovations transforming it into the "Church at the Mall."

Church is blown out this weekend! Every service has been so great so far!! #Everybody #ChurchAtTheMall

A post shared by JC (@joshtexcardwell) on Apr 2, 2017 at 8:14am PDT

Source: Christianity Today 

Advertisement
Advertisement

From the outside, the Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park, Illinois still looks like mall.

#GiveThanks to your #creator by going to church today. Happy Resurrection Day!! #HeHasRisen

A post shared by Oh•tho•knee•él (@_the_believer) on Apr 16, 2017 at 6:23am PDT

 

Advertisement

The ministry purchased the Forest Park Mall, a 33-acre shopping mall, in 1997.

The Word of God is the Wisdom of God. Ask God for wisdom and he will elevate you with step-by-step instructions. #LWCCOnline

A post shared by Living Word Christian Center (@livingwd) on Apr 23, 2017 at 11:29am PDT

 

Advertisement

Today, the church has more than 20,000 members.

Let the Church say Amen

A post shared by Mitchell Payne (@baldhead53) on Jun 11, 2017 at 8:16am PDT

 Source: Living Word Christian Center

Advertisement

Southland Christian Church is a Kentucky megachurch with four "campuses" and thousands of members.

Southland Christian Church
Southland Christian Church
Advertisement

The Lexington, Kentucky campus is located in the former Lexington Mall, which the church purchased in 2010.

Service number two is off!! Thanks @4wall_lighting for the @robelighting pointes!! #robepointes #vl500

A post shared by Christian Muncie (@christianmuncie) on Apr 16, 2017 at 8:24am PDT

 

Advertisement

At the time, The Lexington Herald Leader estimated that the defunct mall was valued at $10.7 million.

Time for church

A post shared by hurley_joshua (@hurley_joshua) on Apr 9, 2017 at 8:18am PDT

 

Advertisement

One of the most striking of the mall-turned-churches is the Euclid Square mall in Euclid, Ohio.

#kodak #portra #deadmall

A post shared by Tag Christof (@americaisdead) on Jan 14, 2015 at 9:12pm PST

 

 

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Seefried Industrial Properties, a developer that has created distribution centers for Amazon, is considering buying and bulldozing the site, according to Cleveland.com.

 Source: Cleveland.com 

Advertisement

But, the phenomenon of churches opening up in malls seems far from over. As thousands of stores close across the country, retail centers are going to need to be repurposed — and churches with huge congregations could be the perfect fit.

May Co.

A post shared by John Drain (@johnhdrain) on Mar 27, 2016 at 8:58am PDT

 

Retail Religion
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.