‘God Is Opening Up Some Doors’: Florida Church Buys Strip Club to Use as House of Worship

A church in West Palm Beach, Florida, is purchasing a former strip club to use as a house of worship.

Josh Mauney, pastor of NewSound Church in Wellington, calls the purchase of Double Dee’s Ranch—a former bar and strip club—a miracle. And he says he and his congregation are “so excited” about it, reports CBS12. Up till now, the church’s 1,000 members have met each week at Wellington High School. The new building will seat 600-700 people, according to WITN.

While some may find a strip club to be an odd location for church services, Mauney says the new building is an answer to prayer.

“I believe that God is opening up some doors that a 20-month-old church can’t open by themselves,” Mauney says. “I don’t mind being in a building that was a strip club any more than I mind somebody walking in our doors that had at one time in their life been a stripper. We believe that we can bring hope and healing to any location. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Although Mauney wouldn’t reveal how much the church paid for the building, CBS12 reports that the property’s asking price was $9 million. According to Fox 13, the building’s layout is 13,000 square feet on its ground level and was built in 2016. It’s been on the market since November 2018.

The church plans to do some renovations so they can start meeting in the new location by early next year. {eoa}