World Overcomers Outreach Ministries  

There has been great controversy after senior pastor of World Overcomers, Apostle Alton R. Williams, placed a bed in the pulpit as part of a dramatization of marriage in the bedroom. Couples that experienced the message live respond to its impact and meaning. Apostle Alton R. Williams will also share from the message, Sex In The Kingdom focusing on a wifes dress attire at bedtime, and the fate of Queen Vashti when she did not honor her husband.

Contact: Apostle Alton R. Williams or Al Cousins FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Apostle Williams’ Contact Information: (901) 844-3800 (work)
(901) 861-0133 (home)
arw109@aol.com
Al Cousins’ Contact Information: (901) 473-3425
(901) 827-3451
al.cousins@woomc.org


WORLD OVERCOMERS OUTREACH MINISTRIES CHURCH
PURCHASES HICKORY RIDGE MALL
News Press Release on Hickory Ridge Mall


On Friday, October 10, our church completed negotiations and signed a contract to purchase the Hickory
Ridge Mall concourse and the front Applebee’s Restaurant from the Carlyle Rock Ridge Development Group.
The sale price is $1.4 million. The deal does not include any of the anchor stores at this time. However, we are
in contact with the other anchor owners, and there are future plans to acquire them in phases.
Our church has been seeking commercial retail shopping center space in the surrounding area for about
two years now. We were recently in negotiations with one of the neighboring shopping centers, but found
reasons to cancel the deal in June. It seemed as if the hand of God had blocked everything to lead us to this
point.

We initially called the mall after the tornado in March of this year to see if they had plans to sell, and we
were told they still had plans to renovate and reopen. We read a Commercial Appeal article about the status of
the Hickory Ridge Mall on July 16 or 17. We decided to try to contact the mall again to find out the status as a
result of the February tornado and if they had plans to sell.
To our surprise, we were told that the owners were ready to sell and move out of the city of Memphis.
At this point, we began to pursue the acquisition of the mall with visits, inspections, evaluation of the numbers,
contract preparations and negotiations.

When we were about to sign with the owners in mid-September, we received word that the city of
Memphis was interested in the mall. Of course, we ceased all negotiations at that time. We informed the owners to keep us in consideration if they were not successful with the city. We left them with a signed contract and an earnest money check. As a result of the council’s recent concerns and delays in making a decision on the property on October 7, we received a call from Carlyle Development (owners of the mall) on Wednesday, October 8. They expressed an interest to proceed with our contract with them because they did not think it would pass City Council, and they were ready to move on. I, in turn, called Mayor Herenton’s office on Thursday, October 9, to inform him of Carlyle’s call and their desire to sell the mall to us. My desire was to make sure we would not be in any conflict with his plans. I wanted to find out if he still wanted us to wait until October 21 to see what the council would do.

The mayor was very gracious in letting me know that his office had decided to relinquish its part in acquiring
the mall. The city CAO Keith McGhee can confirm this information, and we have the Mayor’s contract
withdrawal letter. Carlyle’s next highest bid was with another investment group from St. Louis, Missouri that was
interested in buying the property at $1.4 million, which is why we had to equal that price to get the deal. We
did not want to see another investment group come in, buy it, sit on it, wait to sell it for a profit and leave town
as the building goes down even more. We did not want to see the same thing that happened to the Mall of
Memphis happen to this mall. The Hickory Ridge Mall is an icon in Hickory Hill and sits at the heart of the
community. We want to see it revitalized and bring life back to this area.

This is a part of our church’s Economic Development and Empowerment Initiative. On July 8, 2007, we
closed down our church services, and all of our members were challenged to canvas the surrounding streets of
Hickory Hill. We returned with statistics that revealed the concerns of the community. The heart of our ministry
is to see the family restored with values that once made it strong. The mall will help to serve this purpose. We
have been working with the schools in Hickory Hill area, canvassing and praying for the neighborhood with our
prayer vans, doing graffiti cleanup, working with teens and children, providing security for the businesses,
providing assistance for tornado victims, providing shelter for Louisiana hurricane evacuees, and working with
established neighborhood watch efforts.

God has also given us a vision of raising up entrepreneurs in our church who qualify to operate their
own businesses. We have several people who just need a start in life. Our church will give these members who
have a dream, but lack capital, an opportunity to get established. Our hope is to assist potential entrepreneurs as much as possible during the critical incubation period of their businesses. We also hope to provide jobs for
people not only in the church but also in the community, particularly to our young people. The mall units will
house both membership businesses and other entrepreneurs as long as those enterprises do not conflict with who we are as a Christian church. For example, we could not allow a liquor store or a business that produced t-shirts with obscene or lewd behavior and images on them.

The mall will operate as a combination retail, community service organizations, and family fun,
entertainment center. We envision a one-stop shop of community organizations that offer a wide variety of
community services. Many family organizations are spread out all over the city that could offer support to each
other under one roof. Our church will house its brand new School of Family classes for those involved in
domestic violence. We would also love to still partner with our city and county to house some of their services
to the area.

Many businesses are experiencing inside theft and lack of professionalism among employees. The mall
will also house our School of Business and Workplace Excellence to address these issues. We want to offer
local businesses a place to train workers. The school will also train youth in principles of excellence for
employment in hopes that local Hickory Hill businesses will hire them. It will equip business employers with
successful principles during times of crises. It will train individuals to go into business.
Our church wanted to get involved with a societal ill so we could help bring positive change to those
less fortunate. We recently saw the 20/20 special Babyland that reported that Memphis had the highest infant
mortality rate in the nation. In an effort to decrease those numbers, we want to offer plans that will decrease
teen pregnancy and support those teen mothers who have children. Our ministry will house in the mall a Baby
Thrift store for expecting mothers and teen mothers who already have children. This along with other support
services will encourage them and offer support to these children so they can get a fair chance at life. We will
also find ways to assist in the prenatal care of these expectant mothers and help these young girls avoid making the same choices again.

We want to see community organizations in the mall that provide possible services such as: legal
services, senior citizens services, employment services, child care, mortgage assistance services, counseling
centers, adult education, wellness and fitness center, family services, a pharmacy, Alzheimer’s daycare, child
care, disabilities services, and much more. New Directions recently expressed an interest in providing a
medical services business in the mall, and we hope to partner with them. Many business tenants who left the
mall after the tornado have also expressed an interest in returning to the mall.

There are plans for a 1500-seat banquet and conference center for weddings, receptions, family
reunions, funeral repasts, banquets, conferences, plays, birthday parties, family reunions, lectures, workshops,
seminars and other special events. The center will also include meeting and conference rooms for nearby
businesses and organizations.

The old Hickory Hill 4-screen movie cinema is still in great shape. We plan to make it a Family Cinema
where parents can take their children to a safe environment and enjoy Disney, cartoon, and other G-PG rated
movies. Movies with horror, extreme violence, nudity, sexual content, and profanity will not be allowed.
With the closing of Libertyland, people are looking for somewhere to go. Hickory Hill is in need of a
large venue where families can take their children for an evening of fun, food, games, and entertainment. On
July 4 of this year, over 3600 people came on our church grounds to enjoy rides, games, and food free of
charge.

We are very excited about our vision for a Family Fun entertainment center. The center will serve the
interests of children ages 3-12. It will be similar to the Incredible Pizza operation in Cordova. It will offer gocarts,
bumper cars, kiddie rides, party rooms, arcade rooms, other high-tech games and Putt-Putt miniature golf.
The added feature will be a tutorial program and computer center that will motivate kids to study before having
fun. We are also in contact with the local vendor who has worked with us over the last five (5) years that
provides carnival games, rides, snack stands, and other equipment for an ongoing, outdoor amusement park.
We believe this venue will bring traffic back to the mall to make it productive for the other businesses.
For our teens, ages 13-17, in one of the separate facilities from the mall, we plan to establish entities that
will motivate creative performing arts in a clean, safe, smoke-free, drug-and-alcohol free environment. Teens
will be challenged to produce their own morally responsible music with a recording studio and online radio
station.

We offer a Gentleman’s Academy for teen boys and a charm school for teen girls. There is also a plan
for an urban leadership project designed to identify, cultivate, improve and motivate inner-city youth to become
leaders and businessmen in their community. We also plan to offer an anti-gang intervention and prevention
program.

Hispanics need several services to help integrate them into society. We are also planning to reserve mall
units to meet the needs of the Hispanic community relative to their kind of food, movies, games, and social
services.

• The Applebee’s will serve as a Christian singles’ club and restaurant.
• A restaurant is planned for the old Piccadilly’s that will serve only healthy dishes and play smooth,
instrumental background music.
• A childcare facility is planned for the community and employees who work at the mall.

This project will be financed by a combination of funds that include the church’s funds, bank loans,
government and private grants, possible investors, other funding resources, and faith in the Lord. Any profits
left over from the mall will be used to either fund future phases of the mall or other church projects. Hopefully,
this will lead to the acquisition of other vacant properties nearby. Having a large congregation of people with
various skills will also lower a great deal of the expense.

All the aforementioned projects will be completed in phases. This will be a for-profit corporation.
Therefore, the mall will be taxed like any other for-profit business entity. Our aim is to clearly be above board
in our finances and pay taxes on what should be taxed. In this way, we will not have any issues from any
business income that could negatively impact the church’s corporation status.
I have learned that if we are not making an impact for the Lord outside the four walls of the church, then
we are not making an impact at all. Jesus intended for His people to be involved in the marketplace. God’s
Word has sanctioned Christians to go into business. He tells us to occupy until He comes. The word occupy
means to engage in business until He returns. Ecclesiastes 5:3 states that dreams can be accomplished through the multitude of business. Truly, this mall is a dream come true for WOOMC members and me.
We love this community, and we have invested money and effort in this community. We call it “putting
seed in the ground.” When you do that, God will give a harvest in return. That’s what we see God giving us in
this mall.
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For more information about WOOMC’s purchase of the Hickory Ridge Mall, please contact
Apostle Alton R. Williams at (901) 844-3800 or (901) 861-0133 or e-mail him at arw109@aol.com. You may
also contact Al Cousins at (901) 473-3425 or (901) 827-3451 or e-mail him at al.cousins@woomc.org.

There has been great controversy after senior pastor of World Overcomers, Apostle Alton R. Williams, placed a bed in the pulpit as part of a dramatization of marriage in the bedroom. In marriage, what is more important to God? Is it sex in marriage or prayer and fasting? Apostle Williams answers this question and reveals how sex was viewed by the church, in the day of Constantine, was not based on scripture.

There has been great controversy after senior pastor of World Overcomers, Apostle Alton R. Williams, placed a bed in the pulpit as part of a dramatization of marriage in the bedroom. In marriage, what is more important to God? Is it sex in marriage or prayer and fasting? Apostle Williams answers this question and reveals how sex was viewed by the church, in the day of Constantine, was not based on scripture.

By Alton R. Williams
Special to The Commercial Appeal
Sunday, November 2, 2008

Why is a church buying a mall? Aren't churches only supposed to get souls saved?

Many Christians have criticized the increasing evil in our world, yet do nothing to help change it. We have erroneously thought that the church's mission must be confined to a building and that the marketplace (business, education and government) should be avoided at all costs.

I, too, once believed those traditional teachings.


The majority of Christ's ministry occurred in the marketplace. Jesus was not born in a church or synagogue, but in the stable of a business (an inn). He was not a priest by profession, but a carpenter (Mark 6:3). His parables focused on business principles: farming, investment, management, labor and use of money.

Most of His miracles were performed in the marketplace. Businessmen, not priests, were His first disciples. Jesus even tells us to occupy until He returns. The word occupy in Greek actually means to engage in business (Luke 19:13).

In the Old Testament, man (Adam) had work before there was a church. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, David and most of the prophets were all businessmen.

Herein lies the purpose of our church's plan to purchase Hickory Ridge Mall. It places us in the marketplace, where masses of people congregate. It enables us to offer hope and opportunity to people who may never darken the doors of our church; not to push religion, but to show people a better way of life.

We have found that many local community service agencies are unable to reach the people who need them. Hopefully, we will be able to provide a one-stop shop of agencies to make these services available to them.

Family restoration is a focal point of our church's vision. Our School of Family Values for domestic violence victims and abusers will help establish principles of family life.

In an effort to decrease Memphis' infant mortality rate, we will offer support to teen mothers, assist in prenatal care and provide training to help them avoid making the same choices in the future. In this way, these infants can have a fair chance in life. We want to encourage these young fathers and mothers to marry so their children can grow up in a two-parent home.

This past Fourth of July, more than 3,600 people attended our annual festival to enjoy free food and recreation. We saw the need for a permanent venue that will offer families a safe place to bond and have quality time. Our Family Fun Entertainment Center will accomplish this.

Our School of Business and Workplace Excellence will provide job training for teens. By learning principles of excellence, keys for promotion, and business ethics, hopefully young people will avoid illegally seeking gain. Hickory Hill merchants may also be more apt to hire them.

I originally sought retail space to offer members an opportunity to start their own businesses without the initial financial pressure. I wanted to give them a jump start to find a better life. However, the mall will welcome not only members, but also non-members and previous mall business owners.

The mall is open to all, regardless of race, color, creed or religion. Several stores will cater to the Hispanic community's unique culinary, entertainment and social services needs.

The Youth Reformation Initiative will offer teens a safe haven for recreation and after-school training.

Prayerfully, these various mall activities and ventures will offer jobs for teens and young adults.

Our 1,500-seat banquet and conference center facility will provide a place where the community can hold both large and small event gatherings: workshops, seminars, banquets, conferences, wedding receptions, funeral repasts, family reunions and community meetings.

We hope the mall will stimulate the local Hickory Hill business economy by bringing businesses back to the area and hopefully prevent other businesses from leaving.

Of course, people have asked, "Why buy a large and expensive piece of property during these economic crises?" First, God's favor placed us in position financially to acquire the mall at this time. Our church was paid off in 2006. Second, any savvy business investor knows that the greatest time to buy property is when the market is down.

The heart of any city is the marketplace. Yet, a wall stands between commercial pursuit and serving God. This wall has become a barrier to advancing God's kingdom. We believe that the Hickory Ridge Mall acquisition will help empower us to start knocking down that wall.

Editorial: Mall venture holds promise
A Memphis church project could bring back a distressed neighborhood and benefit the city.


Hickory Ridge Mall would have been a heavy stone for Memphis taxpayers to lift, and it won't be a snap, either, for members of World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church.

If the church succeeds, though, its efforts could become a model for economic revitalization initiatives elsewhere in the city.

World Overcomers, led by Apostle Alton R. Williams, announced Monday that the church would pay $1.4 million for the distressed mall, minus its anchor stores, as part of a plan to help revitalize the Hickory Hill Neighborhood, home to many of the people who fill pews on Sunday.

On the same day, city officials said they were dropping their plan to buy the mall and redevelop it for use by emergency dispatching units, retail stores, government offices and nonprofits.

The World Overcomers venture, if successful, will save Memphis taxpayers a lot of money and provide an economic shot in the arm to a neighborhood that has declined in recent years due to bankruptcies, foreclosures, crime, outmigration and other factors.

Plans call for a combination retail, community service and family entertainment center that would include a Christian singles club, restaurant, child care, baby thrift store, prenatal services, a 1,500-seat banquet hall, movie theater, employment services, adult education, fitness center, pharmacy and a family entertainment center similar to a popular Cordova pizzeria.

It would be financed by church funds, bank loans, government and private grants and other funding resources and, as Williams says, "faith in the Lord."

Williams says it will be modeled to some extent after the Living Word Christian Center in suburban Chicago, a 15,000-member church that purchased its first shopping center in 1998 and has flourished both spiritually and commercially.

Following a development track that few white churches have taken, churches like Living Word -- and now World Overcomers -- are filling a gap that government is becoming less capable of handling with its declining revenues.

They are carrying on a tradition with roots in pastor William Winston's hometown of Tuskegee, Ala., the home of African-American economic advancement advocate Booker T. Washington and where Living Word bought its second shopping center in 2005.

In a move described by the Chicago Defender newspaper as an "effort to help revitalize some of the economically ailing West Side communities," a company headed by Winston last March also paid $3.5 million to buy Chicago's fourth black-owned bank.

Similar success at Hickory Ridge Mall would mean a lot to Hickory Hill and a lot to the community as a whole. New jobs, new economic activity and new church-based recreational opportunities for a youth culture facing the temptations of gangs and crime in any economically distressed area within the city limits could help halt the erosion of the city's tax base and turn young lives around.

If it works, the entire city will have something to celebrate.
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