Life Church, which has campuses in Walla Walla and Pendleton, announced it will relocate its Walla Walla location to the Walla Walla Cinemark Grand Cinemas in 2028.
Lead pastor Bob Grimm shared the news in a release. He wrote that Life Church has formed a partnership with the Alamo Group, which owns the Walla Walla Town Center and has the current Cinemark under contract, making the move possible.
The Cinemark Grand Cinemas location will offer more space for programming and parking for Life Church.
Grimm also wrote that Alamo Group is planning an extension of its shopping center, including a new movie theater, five new retailers and a hotel. The new buildings will likely be built next to the existing Hobby Lobby at 1571 W. Rose St.
Cinemark Grand Cinemas’ lease will continue through 2027, and it’s expected for the theater renovation to take an additional year before Life Church moves into the space at 1325 W. Poplar St.
Alamo Group first took ownership of the shopping center in February 2024, according to past U-B reporting. The 120,169-square-foot shopping center is home to Old Navy, Planet Fitness, Burlington, Ross, Marshall’s, Ulta Cosmetics, Hobby Lobby, Famous Footwear and Sportsman’s Warehouse.
Pam Ransier, the city of Walla Walla’s administrative permit coordinator, wrote in an email that the city has not received any permits or pre-application requests from Life Church or Alamo Group.
“To the best of my knowledge, this is a private transaction and was announced by a private entity, so the city is not involved,” she wrote.
For Life Church, the announcement comes at a time of growth. Grimm wrote that Life Church has been planning the move for a couple years and was searching for a permanent home for its Walla Walla congregation.
“The parking lot runs out of space almost every weekend and there is no more space to expand at the current location,” Grimm wrote. “With more space in both the building and the parking lot it creates opportunities for Life Church to increase its outreach to youth and to those in need of food or clothing.”
Life Church operates an outreach ministry called Storehouse that provides food and clothing to those in need.
The move was also announced in a Facebook post, “This isn’t just about a new building. It’s about creating a place where lives are changed and our church family can flourish.”
In addition to the current Walla Walla location, Life Church has also been renting a spot for Kids Church services across the street at the Walla Walla Senior Center, 720 Sprague St.
The Senior Center was utilized for the church’s children’s services because of “the number of children coming on the weekends.”
“We have just been running out of space,” Grimm said.
In 1997, Grimm began serving as an associate pastor at Life Church alongside his wife, Cara Grimm. Later, the two became lead pastors in January 2000, according to the church’s website.
The Walla Walla church offers services at 611 S. Ninth Ave., including its nursery, preschool, elementary and preteen services, middle and high school services and young adult services. Its main service is at 9:15 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Sundays.
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