Future In Doubt for Without Walls Central Church Property

Published: Monday, December 26, 2011 at 9:48 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, December 26, 2011 at 9:48 p.m.

LAKELAND | Polk County's largest church sanctuary sits idle, its power turned off and its future uncertain.

Without Walls Central, the 9,000-seat sanctuary in North Lakeland formerly known as Carpenter's Home Church, has not held services since at least August, when Lakeland Electric disconnected electrical service because of missed payments by its owner, Tampa-based Without Walls International Church.

Rev. Randy White, a co-founder of Without Walls International and the ex-husband of its senior pastor, Paula White, told The Ledger in November that the Lakeland property was on the verge of either being sold or going into foreclosure and that an announcement on its future would come soon. White has not responded to several subsequent phone messages.

The status of the sanctuary became even more uncertain last week with reports that Paula White may assume leadership of one of Florida's largest congregations, New Destiny Church in Apopka. The megachurch's leader, Pastor Zachery Tims, died in August. Paula White replaced Randy White as leader of Without Walls International in 2009.

A spokesman for New Destiny Church did not return a call from The Ledger. Church leaders are scheduled to announce Tims' replacement on Jan. 1, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The First Assembly of God constructed the 9,000-seat sanctuary in North Lakeland in 1985 and began holding services in the renamed Carpenter's Home Church. The church split in 1989 and never again had a congregation large enough to fill the sanctuary.

If services were held at full capacity, the sanctuary would rank among the eight largest churches in Florida, according to a database maintained by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.

Lakeland Electric discontinued electrical service to the property in August, city spokesman Kevin Cook said. He said Without Walls owed more than $50,000 in unpaid bills at the time. Lakeland Electric applied the church's deposit of $51,180, he said, leaving the owners with a balance of $2,953.79.

Lakeland Fire Marshal Frank Bass posted notices at the property in late September reading, "This structure is unsafe for human occupancy and ordered vacated. This structure must remain vacant and unoccupied until all violations are corrected."

Bass said he posted the order because the lack of power to the sanctuary makes it unsafe for use. Bass said he had heard reports that a small remnant of the church's congregation had continued to meet at the sanctuary, using an emergency generator to power the lights.

Cook said Without Walls owes $84.53 on the building's fire pump account, but the city has not disconnected it because an ordinance requires the sprinkler system to be in working condition in case of a fire.

Without Walls International bought the property for $8 million in 2005, renaming it Without Walls Central. The church has struggled to attract a large congregation, and in 2008, Without Walls International announced that both the Lakeland and Tampa sanctuaries were up for sale.

Later that year, the mortgage holder, California-based Evangelical Christian Credit Union, reportedly began foreclosure proceedings on both properties, claiming the church defaulted on a $1 million line of credit.

Without Walls managed to reach a settlement with the credit union in 2009, thanks to the sale of two parcels to the city of Lakeland for $1.38 million. The city bought the parcels for a stormwater project to improve water quality in nearby Lake Gibson.

The credit union filed a mortgage modification document with the Polk County Clerk of Courts in January. The document listed the original principal amount as slightly more than $4 million and gave a revised loan maturity date of Jan. 1, 2013.

A spokesman for Evangelical Christian Credit Union this week declined to comment on the status of the property, saying the credit union doesn't talk publicly about member institutions. No new foreclosure records have been filed in Polk County.

Without Walls Central had a substantial congregation for a time, though never one nearly large enough to fill the cavernous sanctuary.

Senior pastors Scott and Cindy Thomas drew about 1,500 people for weekly services, according to their spokeswoman, but the couple broke off to form their own church in late 2010, and much of the congregation followed them, according to people familiar with the church.

In February, Randy Coggins stepped in to lead services at the North Lakeland sanctuary, but he departed a few months later to form his own congregation, Bridge of Hope Church.

Without Walls International filed a lawsuit against Coggins in August, claiming he made "derogatory statements and allegations" about Without Walls International from the pulpit of the Lakeland branch and used his position there to lure parishioners to his new church.

The suit, filed with the 10th Judicial Circuit Court in Bartow, sought $15,000 in damages. No court records have been filed since the original suit, and Coggins did not respond to a request for comment about the suit's status.

[ Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Join his discussion of books at www.facebook.com/ledgerlit. ]

Source: http://www.theledger.com/article/20111226/news/111229474

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