Empire cinema in Kingston's nightclub heartland bought by international church (From Surrey Comet)

Empire cinema in Kingston's nightclub heartland bought by international church

6:40am Friday 11th June 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

A new church has outlined ambitious plans to turn part of the former Empire cinema in central Kingston into a place of worship and engage late-night town-centre revellers.

London Church International, currently based in Richmond, plans to change its name to KingsGate to honour Kingston’s heritage when it opens its doors on September 19, as well as restoring the historic Empire sign on its south wall.

It said it deliberately chose a location in the centre of the town’s night life, and would hold monthly Friday evening meetings for revellers.

Senior pastor Ryan Matthews said: "We are going to connect with those guys.

"They are the type of people we want to impact.

"We are not afraid of guys coming into our meetings that are slightly drunk or a bit rowdy.

"Some churches are a little holier than thou.

"We have gunned for that property because it gives us a chance to have positive engagement.

"What better chance than with the guys coming out of Oceana?"

The church has 300 members and was founded in 1995, had an income of £603,000 in 2007-08 and spent £293,000 on charitable costs.

It secured a 999 year lease on the former LA Fitness and Laser Quest site.

Mr Matthews said: “It’s a church space but we want to facilitate it as a community space.

"For example, we could use the different rooms for different types of educational things like mums training to be parents.

"We really want to impact the community in a positive way."

He said he was in discussions with the landlord about the Empire sign, which he hoped to restore to its original state.

Would you use a church opposite a nightclub? Or is it a misguided venture? Use the form below to let us know...