SAGINAW, Mich. — New Covenant Christian Center Church joined a growing number of churches across the country expanding their reach into the business community, according to a news report by the Saginaw News.

Several megachurches, such as New Covenant, are taking a lead in redeveloping inner cities, said the Rev. Charles H. Coleman Jr., a member of Metropolitan Church of God in Christ and the Saginaw City Council.

Coleman voted in favor of granting New Covenant $175,000 to help purchase a former department store. The church's development arm, New Covenant Inc., plans to use the building as a sanctuary and mini-mall. The church originally planned to renovate a vacant stadium, but shifted its focus to the department store.

"God called me to a city ministry," said the Rev. Ron Frierson of New Covenant. "Shifting over there would enable me to stay in line with the vision God gave us, and it's in the middle of everything."

While the trend may be new to the Saginaw region, the newspaper reported, faith-based organizations have spearheaded several community enrichment programs around the country.

In 1989, the Abyssinian Development Corp, the economic development arm of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, N.Y., began investing in various building projects. Today, the faith-based organization is responsible for more than $100 million in housing and commercial development projects.

"Leadership in the church is about meeting people's needs," said the Rev. Calvin Butts III, Abyssinian's pastor, in a USA Weekend Internet report. "It's congruous with the ministry of Jesus: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless."

In Houston, New Light Christian Center Church established New Light Church World Outreach and Worship Centers Inc. That organization employs more than 260 workers, has a nationwide television ministry, a drug rehabilitation center, a satellite network, an aviation division, a daycare and an elementary school.