‘Open Door’ Church Reopened in L.A. to Cheers of 4,000

With a saxophone in his hands and his ministry’s television cameras rolling, the Rev. Gene Scott reopened the Church of the Open Door on Sunday to a cheering crowd that packed the 4,000-seat auditorium in downtown Los Angeles.

The 73-year-old structure, known for its rooftop neon signs that proclaim “Jesus Saves,” was sold last week, along with two adjacent buildings, to Scott for about $23 million in cash and notes.

The preliminary agreement was reached in January, shortly after a San Francisco developer, Lincoln Property Co., defaulted on an arrangement to buy the church complex, demolish it and build a 33-story office tower.

City planning officials have said that the collapse of the San Francisco developer’s plan was symptomatic of a growing slump in downtown construction. The area is expected to suffer high vacancy rates in the next several years, as a result of ongoing projects, they said.

Scott, whose prominence and income come mostly from a broadcast ministry, will move his Glendale congregations, Faith Center Church and Wescott Christian Center, to the building, which will adopt the Wescott name. Much of the television programming will emanate from the new location.

Sunday’s service resounded with the music of a five-piece Christian rock ‘n’ roll band. Scott, who, with his long, white hair and beard resembles a Nashville singer in a gray three-piece suit, pledged to his congregation that the doors of the church will not close again.

“Welcome home,” he said to the standing applause of his congregation, after a long introduction that included his own saxophone accompaniment to an upbeat and jazz-style rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

Mayor in Attendance

In attendance was Mayor Tom Bradley, who sat through the service in the balcony, and later offered praise to Scott.

“I don’t know if he had $23 or $23 million to his name, but he knew he was going to save this church,” Bradley told the assemblage. “He’s my kind of man.”

Scott said he intends to retain the landmark 14-foot-high neon signs. The Church of the Open Door, an independent Christian congregation which installed them in 1935, has relocated to a site in Glendora. The congregation last held a service downtown in June, 1985.

Scott has an eccentric reputation in the electronic church, in part over his opposition to prayer in schools, his belief that women have the right to abortion and statements he has made that his church would accept homosexual members.

Dispute on Disclosure

In addition to fellow evangelists, Scott has done battle with the Federal Communications Commission. Between 1983 and last year, the Faith Center lost the licenses of three television stations and one radio station in disputes with the FCC over financial disclosure.

Nevertheless, the church now has its own 24-hour satellite channel, available to those with home dish equipment. The signal is also picked up and broadcast by 50 television stations, including three UHF channels in the Los Angeles area.

Scott said he eventually plans to open a Bible institute for 1,200 students in one of the downtown church buildings.

Offer to Library

In the meantime, Scott has offered to use the vacant space to store books from the Central Library, which was heavily damaged by fire April 29. The church is just south of the library, on Hope Street.

Library officials were unavailable Sunday for comment on the proposal.

The other building is the 187-room Rainbow Hotel. The hotel is still in operation, and Scott told the congregation he intends to keep it open as a place for out-of-town worshipers.