San Diego Church Purchases Popular Local Strip Club

The Rock Church in San Diego has purchased a popular local strip club in a continuing effort to make a positive impact and bring transformation to the city.

The strip club, formerly known as The Body Shop, was located in Point Loma, CA.  The Rock Church tentatively plans to use the building for ongoing community outreach efforts.  

"The Body Shop had been in continual operation in San Diego for 50 years," said Miles McPherson, the senior pastor at the Rock Church, in a press release Wednesday.

"When it came on the market and we learned that other adult entertainment operators where trying to buy it to keep it as a strip club, we thought we should get involved and provide something more beneficial to the residents of Pt. Loma," recounted McPherson, a former NFL player who founded the church in 2000.

The megachurch, with 20,000 weekly attendees, is committed to serving the needs of its community, especially in San Diego which is known as a hot bed for the sex industry and sex trafficking.

According to Rock Church leadership, targeting the ills of the sex industry has been seen as one of the church's highest priorities—for the industry's ability to inflict profound damage to both individuals and communities.

"A sex shop should not be in such a prominent location that so many kids and families have to drive by each day. Having something to offer to create a positive image of Point Loma is a good thing for the community. Its all about transformation," said Miles.

The Rock Church currently has 101 Outreach Ministries and 38 community partners that are committed to serving the needs of San Diego. To date, the estimated value of the its volunteers' combined efforts comes to $38,199,336.

This real estate acquisition follows recent strip club purchases by churches in Wisconsin, Alabama and Ohio, with some of these churches reestablishing the spaces as community and worship centers.