While most of the building industry slows, spending on religious structures jumped 17 percent in the past year and is on track to hit $4.6 billion in 2025. This leap bucks the 3 percent drop seen across general construction and adds fresh energy to a sector still short of its 2001 peak.
Architects note that congregations want spaces that work seven days a week, not just Sunday mornings.
Adaptive reuse is turning empty big-box stores into bright worship halls. In Ohio and Texas, old supermarkets became churches with coffee bars, co-working zones, and free childcare. Such models cut build costs by up to 35 percent and spark strong community engagement when neighbors share space for tutoring, food pantries, and youth sports. The trend signals a shift from single-use sanctuaries to hubs where faith meets daily life. Even as overall declining attendance trends worry traditional sanctuaries, repurposed malls and big boxes are filling pews with first-time visitors drawn by weekday programs. Asia-Pacific region congregations are now exporting this model to convert aging shopping centers into mixed-use worship campuses.
Designers add revenue streams too. New sanctuaries host coffee shops that stay open after worship, rentable offices for nonprofits, and flexible classrooms for ESL courses. These moves help offset shrinking weekly offerings, as Mainline pews sit half empty. Urban churches say the extra cash keeps the lights on and doors open six days longer than before.
Still, closures outpace births. Roughly 4,000 to 10,000 U.S. churches shut yearly, while only about 3,000 new congregations planted before COVID. Leaders call the 3-to-1 loss ratio “a quiet crisis.” Empty chapels often become condos or breweries, feeding the adaptive-reuse wave even as it solves zoning headaches for cash-strapped towns.
Trade tariffs also lurk. Imported stone and specialty timber now cost more, trimming forecast growth from 3 percent to 2.4 percent through 2029. Contractors stockpile Italian marble and Mexican pavers when deals appear, storing them on church lots like instant slices of heaven.
Globally, the market reached $21.9 billion this year and should hit $24.1 billion by 2029. Analysts say steady growth will come from towns rebuilding their heart, one reused storefront chapel at a time.
