Allison Park Church prepping for debut Christmas Eve service at Tanglewood
BUTLER TWP — The Tanglewood Center, once one of Butler County’s senior centers, will enter a new era on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, when the Allison Park Church’s Butler campus holds its very first service there.
The church — which also has locations in Allison Park and Pittsburgh — purchased the property in November for $600,000.
“We’re looking forward to having our own space that we own, where we are investing into our own space instead of paying rent,” said the Rev. Gregg Jacobs.
Allison Park has already vacated its previous location at the Clearview Mall in Center Township. The last service there was held Sunday, Dec. 21.
According to Jacobs, construction crews began work on the interior of the new campus at Tanglewood, 10 Austin Ave., Butler Township, as soon as the purchase went through.
As of Monday, Dec. 22, new Allison Park Church signage could be found throughout the building, and crews were working on erecting interior walls for new rooms. Letters for the “Allison Park Church” sign have not been placed on the building, but could be seen piled outside the entrance, ready for their proper placement.
Although construction is not expected to finish until the early part of 2026, the church will hold its first service at the Tanglewood building at 3, 4:30 and 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. However, the “grand opening” is scheduled for March 22.
“We’re going to have services here between now and then for people,” Jacobs said. “We’re gonna be in a renovation and remodel mode. So every week, it’ll look a little different. Some weeks, we’ll be painting the walls. Other weeks, there’ll be drywall going up, but it’ll be a safe and secure area for our kids.”
Word of a potential sale of the Tanglewood Center first became public in March of this year, and Jacobs says the church became interested in acquiring the center around July.
“We had outgrown our space at the Clearview Mall,” Jacobs said. “The staff at the Clearview Mall is incredible to work with. They helped us out in so many ways.
“It’s just that we outgrew that space.”
According to Jacobs, the primary motivation for leaving Clearview Mall was to find extra space for the church’s growing food bank.
“Our food bank is just continuing to grow on a regular basis,” Jacobs said. “We were using the previous location to serve people, so people pushed their grocery carts up and down aisles.
“We just needed more space because our participants were sometimes waiting two to three hours for their turn.”
Another advantage of the new location is the plan for a new and improved “Kids Zone,” the children’s ministry at the church, Jacobs said. Unlike the children’s space at the Clearview Mall location, the Tanglewood Kids Zone will feature a secure, outdoor play area.
“The space is going to be completely renovated and designed for kids,” Jacobs said. “We also are now adding a courtyard to that space, so they’ll have, in the warmer months, some outside activities for the kids as well.”
Jacobs said that the response to the move from the church’s Butler community has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Every time I talk to people, it is with cheering and excitement,” Jacobs said. “It’s close enough to the groups of people that we generally interact with and reach. We’re within walking distance of many people now, and we still have plenty of parking for all those people who drive.”
Although the building is now under new ownership, Tanglewood will continue to hold its traditional bingo games and twice-monthly community dinners.
