Times Square Church

Times Square Church was founded by Reverend David Wilkerson in 1987. It is an interdenominational and multicultural church located at 51st Street and Broadway in New York City. Over 8,000 people, representing more than 100 nationalities, gather to worship together every week. Volunteers from the congregation participate in over thirty ministries, ranging from feeding the homeless in New York City to staffing an orphanage in South Africa. A major emphasis at Times Square Church is giving aid to the disadvantaged.

The church briefly held its services in The Town Hall, on 43rd Street in Manhattan, and then in the Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street until 1989, when it purchased the Mark Hellinger Theatre (Formerly the Hollywood Theatre).

The Mark Hellinger Theatre is the original home to "My Fair Lady", "The Sound of Music", and "A Funny thing Happened on the way to the Forum." There has been much controversy surrounding the purchase of one of Broadway's finest landmark theatres by a church. Numerous offers have been made to reclaim the Mark Hellinger as a legitimate theatre, however, Times Square Church purchased the building for $17 million in 1989 and says it has no intentions of moving. See quotes below from [CinemaTreasures.com]:
* ''"Times Square Church is one of the great churches of the world. There are three services on Sunday at 10:00AM,3:00PM and 6:00PM. The 6:00PM service is affectionately known as "camp-meeting." Times Square church preaches strong Biblical messages. Thousands of people have attended services and testified of life changing experiences with Jesus. They have been saved by the blood of the lamb. 3:00PM on Sunday is the healing service. Many get healed at this service when they go up for prayer by the elders. Pastor Carter Conlon is the Senior Pastor. He is a genuine man of faith. He really lives out the Biblical message he preaches. David Wilkerson trusts him to lead the churchwhich he founded. There are also visiting ministers and missionaries who come to preach from all over the world.Speakers aren't announced most of the time before hand so that people will come to hear the Holy Spirit and not justto hear a speaker. The church puts a strong emphasis on prayer and even has a "prayer during preaching ministry."There have been all night prayer meetings held on certain Friday nights for years by the "All Night Prayer Meeting Ministry"and also the "Missions Department." There is also a strong high school and Young Adults Program. (paragraph written by Charles DeWeese)
* "This place looks even better than it did when I saw a show there in the 1980s. Some trivia: Marlene Dietrich brought her one woman show here after it was such a smash the year before at the Lunt Fontaine."
* "This theater is obviously a success, since it has become a place for people to worship the good lord in such a heavenly atmosphere. At least it wasn't destroyed as the Paramount and Roxy were. The best part is that it is now open for all to see."
* "Two big names are associated with this theatre/church....Thomas W. Lamb and Warner!"
* "...the church has completed many restoration aspects of the former theatre which includes work in the auditorium and lobby areas (re-lamping the chandelier) in 2004. In addition to this theatre being known as the Mark Hellinger Theatre it was also known as the 51st Street Theatre and the Warner Theatre."
* "The status [of this theatre] should be changed to "open." If you go during a service, it's one of the best shows in town, and admission is FREE!"

External links

* The official Times Square Church web site
* Source 'statement of faith'
* Times Square Church Pulpit series
* Official David Wilkerson web site