SHREVEPORT, La.  Summer Grove Baptist Church leaders signed a contract and expect to close Sept. 29 on mall property the church is buying for its new home.
The Times reported that the 5,000-member church could occupy the South Park Mall property in another 18 months.
The Rev. Rod Masteller, senior minister, declined to discuss the agreed-upon sale price of the property, but the newspaper reported observers speculate it was less than the $5 million asking price.
Business leaders are warming to the idea of the church occupying the mall property and are encouraging the community to support it as well.
"It's something that the community should endorse and look forward to as being progress," said John Lorick, president of the Southern Hills Business Association. "Everyone would say this is not our first choice, but on the other hand, we have to be realistic and realize the mall's not coming back as a mall."
In the next few weeks, Masteller plans to ask the congregation what they would like to see happen in the space, the newspaper reported.
Though nothing is definite, Masteller talked about bringing family movies to the theater, and renting space to coffee shops, Christian bookstores, or "anything that's wholesome."
"We want a Christian center where people can have a great time, food and fellowship," he said. "We want the entire community to feel welcome."
The church will have 750,000 square feet at its disposal. The new sanctuary will be located in a former J.C. Penney store.
Demographer Elliott Stonecipher said he knows of no other church in the country that has taken on a project of this magnitude.
"There are many instances where small congregations move into commercial zones  but on the size of a restaurant," Stonecipher said. "To move into a mall that size is unheard of."
