For churches like Southland, paintball courts and letters to Britney are ultimately good because they help bring more people to God. Malls, similarly, are tools that bring in more members. But at what point does embracing commercial culture change one’s religious message?

Stroll through White Oaks Mall in Springfield, Ill., and you’ll see the usual suspects: Spencer Gifts, Panda Express, Gap Kids (GPS). If you’re preoccupied, you might not even notice iWorship. The low-key illuminated “iWC” sign, flat-screen TV, and a welcome banner splashed with what look like ’90s-era tech-company logos give it the appearance of a computer repair shop. Only if you look closely — or happen to be there on a Sunday morning — might you realize that iWorship is a church.

iWorship Center isn’t your typical Christian congregation. The self-proclaimed “media-driven” church opened in the space previously occupied by the White Oaks Mall Cinema in 2010, when membership at its first location had reached capacity. Sermons are preached in the theaters, with portions simulcasted onscreen. Originally, two of the theaters were to be converted into the aptly named “Paintball Heaven” in a deal struck with mall management to help the church pay its lease.

Malls and churches may seem like an strange combination, like Auntie Annie’s pretzels washed down with communion wine. Still, over the past decade, congregations in Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan, Florida, Ohio, and Colorado, among others, have taken advantage of cheap suburban retail space to expand.

Store Purgatory; Seeker Paradise

As malls across the country empty out, it’s no wonder their remains are being scavenged. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a third of America’s indoor malls are currently in “financial distress.” Retailers are leaving indoor and strip malls for popular outdoor “lifestyle centers,” those cutesy, mixed-use developments that resemble the Main Streets their predecessors helped destroy.

Meanwhile, it is no news that Protestant churches in the American suburbs are growing and franchising. The Hartford Institute for Religious Research defines a megachurch as a Protestant congregation with more than 2,000 members, and estimates that their numbers have grown from 350 to more than 1,200 since since 1993.

Most of the churches DailyFinance identified that reside in malls or former malls fit the Institute’s description. According to its 2008 survey, which got responses from about a third of the nation’s megachurches, most practice a generic form of evangelism, view themselves as contemporary, and regularly adjust worship styles to meet demand. While individual church practices vary, many are “seeker friendly” in that they use technology, pop music, and relatable sermon topics to reach non-churchgoers.

Looking conventional isn’t a priority for many of these churches, either. As Lead Executive Pastor Chris Hahn of Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Ky., explained, “We don’t want to seem intimidating. We want to convey welcoming, inviting space to anyone, including those who feel like the traditional church may have disappointed them.”

Southlands (a 9,000-plus member church famous for its “Jesus Loves You” letters to Britney Spears during her bald period) is currently renovating the two-story Dillards (DDS) department store in the empty Lexington Mall. The building will become its third satellite campus, a modern structure of glass and steel that will look more like a college science department building than a church. Southlands had raised $18 million from its congregation for the renovation as of November 2010.

God’s (City) Plan

Retail businesses aren’t always thrilled to have a church as a neighbor or tenant, even in a struggling mall. In Springfield, the White Oaks Mall owner Simon Properties recently informed iWorship that it wouldn’t be renewing the church’s lease, according to Lead Pastor Eric Hansen. “They found someone who would pay more,” he said, though offered no further details. Mall management also declined to comment on the alleged new tenant for the theater space.

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