THE POTTER’S HOUSE DENVER SELLS PROPERTY TO TRANSITION PERMANENTLY TO VIRTUAL WORSHIP

The Potter’s House of Denver has decided to sell its 32-acre property and 137,000-square-foot building and take its worship services completely online citing financial constraints due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The church—led by the daughter and son-in-law of T. D. Jakes—is one of the first and most prominent megachurches to move one of its locations online permanently without operating other in-person campuses in an area.

“COVID-19 forced every church in America to rethink how to best serve their parishioners and the broader community,” pastor Touré Roberts told the Denver Post. “Due to the inability to gather and the economic instability of the pandemic, our church, like many other churches in the nation, experienced declining donations.”

The pastor explained instead of continuing the upkeep on an “old building that needed significant repairs,” the congregation decided to stay virtual. The church’s community outreach programs, including its food bank, will however continue.

The Potter’s House, founded in 1996 by Pentecostal preacher T. D. Jakes, has over 30,000 members across its locations in North Dallas, Fort Worth, Denver, and Los Angeles—the latter two led by Sarah Jakes Roberts and Touré Roberts.

The Potter’s House of Denver’s decision to sell their physical facility is another example of the effect the pandemic has had on churches globally. Over the last year and a half, many houses of worship were forced to end in-person services, many changed course and switched to online streaming. Some churches adapted successfully while others struggled to conform and had to close their doors for good.

Source: Christianity Today