DALLAS -- Forget stained glass and steeples. More congregations are opting for non-traditional sites to hold their worship services, according to The Dallas Morning News.

The Rev. Merle Stephens tends his flock in a former bank, complete with a vault. The Rev. Lester Cody ministers to his congregants in a former Save-A-Lot. And the Rev. Dan Aleman wedges worship between a Donut Palace and Dollar General store, the paper reports.

"We can have church anywhere," said Aleman, who pastors Creek Crossing Harvest Church in Mesquite, Texas. "The people are the church."

Kathy Bell, a member of Stephens' Country Church, agreed.

"We have people who really love each other," Bell said. "Whether you have stained glass or a bank vault in the hallway makes no difference to me."

The Country Church - named for its country gospel music - has always met in non-traditional places, including a steakhouse, a shopping center and the Mesquite Opry building.

The church bought the former Mesquite National Bank building in 1998. The building was in a good location, with rooms big enough for classes to meet and grow, Stephens said. Such sites are good, he said, because people can focus on God and not the church building.

Members have no desire to build a traditional church.

"We want to fill this one," Stephens said.