By Gus Saltonstall
An Upper West Side synagogue recently sold its neighborhood building to a Christian group from Korea.
Romemu, a Jewish congregation with multiple locations in New York City, just closed on the sale of its building at 176 West 105th Street, on the east side of Amsterdam Avenue, to the World Mission Society Church of God.
The Korean Christian congregation purchased the Upper West Side building for $10 million, which was $1 million more than Romemu spent on buying the property from the YMCA in 2018, as first reported by Crain’s New York.
The 105th Street building has 10,242-square-feet of indoor space, along with a commercial kitchen, rooftop play area, and classroom space.
What do we know about World Mission Society Church of God?
The Church of God Worldwide’s website says that it has 7,500 churches across 175 countries with approximately 3.7 million members. After first arriving in the United States in 1997, there is now a congregation in all 50 states.
The 105th Street building appears to be its first location in Manhattan.
The group is a nondenominational Christian church founded in 1964 by Ahn Sahng-hong, whom the church declared to be the second coming of Jesus Christ. The congregation is now led by Zahng Gil-jah, who is worshipped within the church as God the Mother.
“The church has faced criticism over the years for its aggressive recruitment tactics and false prophecies about the end of the world,” Crain’s reported.
It is unclear when the World Mission Society Church of God plans to move into the Upper West Side building.
You can read more about World Mission Society Church of God — HERE.
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Interesting: the photos from the church’s website indicate that its congregation is almost entirely composed of young men in suits.
Are these not….the Moonies?
Also. Romeinu sold after 6 years. I wonder why. The article says “The sale was motivated by Romemu’s goal to optimize its real estate footprint in response to the evolving needs of the community”
I have no idea what that means. But as long as they are still on the UWA
This cannot accurately be described as a ‘Christian Church’ seems very similar to the Moonies
From Wikipedia: The Korean Christian community, including the National Council of Churches in Korea and the Christian Council of Korea, has “harshly criticized” the deification of Ahn Sahng-hong and Zahng Gil-jah. They have officially condemned the church as a blasphemous and heretical cult.
Romemu purchased the building in 2018 from the Y MCA. Grosvenor House ran community programs there for years. It is adjacent to the beautiful recently renovated inclusive NYC Parks Playground as well as the great open space and game fields of PS 145. The community should find out what are the plans for this site which has decades of history serving the needs of the Manhattan Valley community
Thanks for the useful background information. And I am always glad to see a location so precisely described–the avenue and even the side of the street, not just “176 West 105 Street,” the maddeningly incomplete format so often used.
I agree with others on here. The Korean church group sounds very much like the Moonies.
Very worrisome for the neighborhood!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Christians/comments/11wmh12/i_was_recently_baptized_in_the_world_mission/
What is Romemu doing with the money? Buying a new space? Or something else? That would be a helpful addition to the article. I assume they have told the members of the congregation. They are a tax-exempt organization so should not be in the real estate business.
Kind of like the church at 86 and Amsterdam – what is happening with that. The church should be trying to do the most good, not maximize profits.
Not the most ethical of sales. So where is Romemu going?
Hopefully they will renovate the building in and out.
Carlos wrote:
“What is Romemu doing with the money? Buying a new space? Or something else?”
Romemu is using money from sale of property to build out their endowment fund. This is clearly noted in linked Crains article reporting sale.
As a Korean American person with a lot of familiarity with the “Christian” churches of Korea, I assure you this is not a church recognized by any of the major Protestant or Catholic churches. This is more akin to a cult.