A 35-Year-Old Cinema Becomes a Church: A Texas Congregation Buys a 16-Screen Theatre to Grow

• Turning Point Community Church bought the former Cinemark Movies 16 in Lubbock
• The cinema closed on February 9 after 35 years
• Three theatres will be joined to form a sanctuary
• The new site offers accessibility the main campus lacks

A growing Texas church has found its next home in a shuttered multiplex, KCBD reported in March 2025.

Turning Point Community Church bought the former Cinemark Movies 16 in Lubbock, which closed on February 9 after 35 years. The purchase price was not disclosed. The church’s main campus at 11202 Quaker Avenue lacks the accessibility the new building offers, which will allow specialised ministry to families with special needs.

In the first phase, the church plans to convert about 60 per cent of the building, joining three theatres into a sanctuary and creating children’s areas. Some theatres will stay as they are. “We will keep some of the theaters in tact just so we can do special events in there, show movies for our faith family, our kids,” said senior associate pastor JD Small. The church aims to hold its first service there on Easter 2026.

Small linked the move to Lubbock’s growth. “People are going to continue to move to Lubbock where they need a church home, so we’re just believing that God is positioning us to be apart where Lubbock is growing,” he said. Generations pastor Ben Chavez added: “Our hope is that these walls get to be used by people all over the city constantly and regularly.”

Former cinemas, big-box stores and office blocks are increasingly attractive to growing congregations: large open floors, parking and road access are ready-made, and such buildings can sometimes be bought for less than the cost of building new.

In Jamaica, churches often start in rented halls, shops or former commercial spaces before building their own sanctuaries. For congregations looking to expand, and for diaspora investors with vacant commercial property, converting existing buildings can be quicker and cheaper than new construction, provided zoning, fire safety and parking rules for places of assembly are checked first.

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