“It’s something that started out as a hobby and ended up as a business,” said owner of Lansing Athletics, Al Salas.
Thirty years later and Lansing Athletics still hasn’t gone out of style.
“Well, we have seen a couple of changes within the past ten years, and one of them has been online shopping,” said Salas.
Salas probably prays that he can keep his store open in a mall these days.
“Here in the Lansing mall, we probably have about 25 percent vacancy,” said Salas.
It takes a second glance.
“I saw the lights and I heard music, I thought it was like a clothing store or something like that and I saw the impact church sign,” said James Jackson.
To realize there a church inside of a mall.
“We like to think our church has a food court, our church has a movie theatre, our church has a bar,” said Paster Tiny of Impact Church.
Paster Tiny does realize malls across the country are struggling.
A Finish Line athletic store resurrected into Impact Church.
“Impact Church is now our starting line,” said Paster Tiny.
“I’ve been out of church for awhile, this is like totally different from anything I have experienced. But I liked it the music really hit me,” said Jackson.
So the question still remains: are malls dying?
“The other thing is to invent new things come out with new ideas, come out with new designs. I think the malls are here to stay, I really do, I really do,” said Salas.
It’s ideal… churches ending right when the mall opens.
“People are going to see it and come pouring in after church, yes they’re going to come in and shop at Lansing Athletics because it is a friendly place,” said Salas.
For Al that is like an answered prayer.