Twenty-three years ago, we started meeting in the movie theater at Union Station. It’s been clear from our beginnings that God is calling us to be a church in the middle of the marketplace. 

He gave us a crack house to turn into a coffeehouse. He’s led us to establish church communities and worship together in theaters across DC and northern Virginia. He gave us a historic theater-turned-church—and then equipped us to make it both a theater and a church. Next, it was an abandoned apartment building to turn into a Dream Center. 

And now, an exciting new call: He’s given us the historic Navy Yard Car Barn on an entire city block in Southeast DC. He’s called us not just to renovate a 127-year-old building, but to lay the foundation for the next generation of urban churches. 

NCC in the Middle of the Marketplace
1996: NCC has a vision for churches to meet in movie theaters across the DC metro area.

2006: Ebenezers Coffeehouse opens. A crack house becomes a coffeehouse—with all proceeds going to kingdom causes.

2011: The Miracle Theatre opens. A historic movie theater is restored to become both a theater and a church.

2017: DC Dream Center opens. An abandoned apartment building becomes a place where the dreams of young people in our city are nurtured.

2019: The Navy Yard Car Barn is being transformed into a place where the church and community can cross paths: an event venue, a child development center, and a marketplace.