New Northside Missionary Baptist Church’s Family Life Center has served the community in north St. Louis for over 20 years, but the space now has new occupants to continue the mission of service.
Hundreds recently gathered at the newly renovated 36,000-square-foot brick building on Goodfellow Boulevard in North Pointe for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour of the Northside Movement Center, which now serves as headquarters for the holistic legal advocacy firm ArchCity Defenders and the social services organization Action St. Louis.
The grand opening was hosted on Friday, but ArchCity Defenders moved from its downtown office and into the space in early January.
New Missionary Pastor Rodrick Burton took to the podium Friday just before doors were opened for a tour. He said decades ago the center was a grocery store before it was used for ministry, adding that his predecessor Bishop Willie Ellis Jr. had a vision to keep the church in the city, even as other churches closed or moved…