After several months of transforming a landmark, 100-year-old building in Whaleyville, the Divine Church of Deliverance and Transformation Holiness will hold its grand opening next Sunday.

It will be the fourth weekend of services in the former general store located at 6315 Whaleyville Blvd. Its pastor, Chief Apostle Prelate Bishop Brian E. Outlaw Sr., said the congregation is excited and has grown just in the last two weeks.

“We had 10 people join the first week” in the new building, Outlaw said. The church moved from a storefront on West Washington Street downtown.

Not everyone is happy about the church going in the building. The former owners of Whaleyville General Store, which leased the building from its owner for about a year, posted on Facebook, “Can’t believe a church is going in such a landmark,” which elicited some incredulous responses from followers.

The church already has changed the outward appearance of the store. It added a sign above the door and removed the antique gas pumps, planning to replace them with butterfly figures. Butterflies are the symbol of the church.

However, the recognizable Coca-Cola mural on the south side of the building is still there.

Outlaw said the church does not plan any more changes to the façade unless it buys the building, which he hopes will one day happen.

“If we buy the land, we will make some changes,” he said.

Significant changes were made to the inside, including refurbishing the bathrooms, redoing the lighting and putting up interior walls.

Most of the interior changes were accomplished by the hard work of members, Outlaw said.

He said the church hopes to be an asset to the Whaleyville community. A Family and Friends Day is planned for June 16 and will include a cookout and other activities the church could not do in its storefront downtown.

“I’m looking for a great time out here in Whaleyville,” he said, adding that he believes God provided the building for the church when it was searching for a new facility. “Everything has a season, and the season was up. It worked out for the best. We didn’t lose, we gained.”

Outlaw said he also hopes the new location will attract people to church who do not currently attend.

“We’re not trying to take another body’s members, but you’ve got enough unsaved people to fill churches,” he said.

The church will hold a dedication and ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. June 9, with Women’s Day festivities also taking place that weekend.

Call 986-5115 to reach the church.