Mega-Churches Expand Into Former Retail Spaces

With growth of so-called "mega-churches" continuing unabated, congregations are outgrowing their current environs and are getting creative about new buildings in which to worship. But the trend is not without controversy.

1 minute read

April 26, 2006, 10:00 AM PDT

By Alex Pearlstein

Such mega-churches are typically Protestant with weekly attendance in excess of 2,000 people. To accommodate their members, many of the churches are locating in vacant former commercial and retail spaces such as strip malls and abandoned "big-box" retail buildings. They are finding plenty of suburban property to choose from as recent trends have seen commercial and retail outlets returning to the fringes and downtowns of large cities.

Not everything is rosy in the world of rosaries, however. Many suburban cities are fighting the relocation of mega-churches to former retail buildings due to concerns over increased traffic, higher demand for city services, and the presence of a nonprofit in space that could potentially hold a tax-paying business.

[Editor's note: This article is available for free online for seven days after the publication date.]

FULL STORY: Worship on a Grand Scale

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 in The Wall Street Journal

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