For 14 years Mill City Church was a predominantly “portable church” as we worshiped at Las Estrellas School. However, in 2015 we had the unexpected opportunity to purchase what became known as the Mill City Commons. This building became a midweek hub for community life, equipping and other needs of our church. When God led Mill City to adopt Elim Church in 2023, and we moved to the church building at 685 13th Ave NE, most of the Mill City Church programming moved to that location as well. 

This opened up a significant opportunity for the Mill City Commons to be a blessing to our partners! This asset brings in enough “mission driven revenue” from affordable rental fees that it pays for itself and then some!

Here is a summary of how the building is currently used:

• Midweek Hub for North City Church – North City is our church plant that is a “pop up” dinner church! This expression of church reaches folks we could never connect with! Together we hope to help start more creative expressions of church that have the potential to be more evangelistic in how they connect people to Jesus.
• Worship and Community Space for Church Plants – Currently 5 different churches regularly use the space at the Commons throughout the week. On Sunday mornings you can find Up Rock Church, a multiethnic church whose worship is a mix of jazz, hip hop and other artistic expressions. Learn more at uprockcommunitychurch.org.
• Baptisms – Up Rock and Espiritu Santo have both hosted baptisms in a tub we now store at The Commons. See images below!
• Tasks Unlimited Support Center – Tasks Unlimited provides supported employment, housing and recovery services to create opportunities for people with mental illness so they can achieve their full potential. They utilize a majority of the Commons during the week to support their clients. The bus stop right in front of the building makes it a great home base for these services in our part of the city.
• Recording Studios – Friends of Mill City have built out state of the art recording studios in the lower level of the Commons where musicians and recording artists from all over the country travel to record their albums. 
• Parking & Storage – The commons has space for the church vans as well as the trailer that houses all of North City’s dinner church trailer. There is also space for Espiritu Santo, Up Rock and North City to store their portable church items when they aren’t in use.
• Event Space – On many evenings and weekends, the Commons is filled with birthday parties, graduation celebrations, and family reunions from those inside our church community, as well as the eight additional churches that use our two buildings. We also rent out the space to those outside of our community to bring in rental income just as we do with the building on 13th & Madison.

If you want to reserve a room at the Mill City Commons or at our Logan Park building you can always find “Space Reservations” tab on The Hub! Click here to learn more.

Photos from Up Rock Church: