ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WTVF) — Many eyes are on the Antioch community as it continues to grow. More businesses are opening, like the Tanger Outlets and soon, the revitalization of the Global Mall.
"When I was in high school my brother and I directed community choir here at Antioch and it was the place to be, and all of a sudden it dried up," Edmondson Chapel Church's Pastor Ron Parham said.
Pastor Ron Parham always had high hopes for Southeast Nashville. It’s why he took a chance 13 years ago to purchase the property, across the street from the Global Mall, and make church's new home.
Then in 2016, disaster struck when a car came barreling into the building, initiating a new chapter for Edmondson Chapel Church.
"That kick started a lot of revitalization of the church because there was a lot of damage to the front breeze way of the church," Pastor Parham said.
At the time, there were talks of Antioch growing into a major community hub once again like in the past when Hickory Hollow Mall was open for business, so Pastor Parham and the congregation started planning.
They've been busy putting in the work to upgrade the church facility, anticipating the growth by knocking down walls and creating more space.
"We are accommodating the growth happening in the Antioch area, we're bulding a self sustaining area. We will have a youth area all the way down here at the end of the hall. We have a kitchen that will accommodate this area," Pastor Parham.
Pastor Parham is grateful to see city leaders and corporations investing on this side of Nashville.
"When government areas invest in their communities it says we care. We want more than just your vote, we want to let you know we love this community enough to invest finances into it," Pastor Parham explained.
He doesn’t see this momentum slowing down anytime soon. The church plans to open part of they’re building up to community members in need of office space.
They expect phase one of the revitalization of the church to be completed in the next few months.
