Church Unlimited
Brandon and Abbe Ball, a pastor and worship leader, respectively, started Church Unlimited in December. The church meets in the former Edwin Watts Golf building in Brook Highland Plaza. Photo by Madoline Markham.
As Brandon Ball commuted from Chelsea to the Colonnade daily for six years, he would dream of opening a church on the 280 corridor, often tossing around potential names for it with his wife, Abbe. At the start of this year, that dream became a reality, and its name became Church Unlimited.
“Unlimited speaks of the unlimited goodness of God,” Brandon said, referring to John 10:10’s statement that Jesus “came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
“God gives us unlimited peace, unlimited joy and unlimited success,” he said.
The church has remodeled the Edwin Watts Golf building adjacent to Outback Steakhouse and the new Five Below store in Brook Highland Plaza.
Brandon said the heart of the church is “victory in life.”
“We have a vision of hope and victory,” Brandon said. “We want to empower people to experience the victorious life Jesus intends for all. People have different ideas of God, but our understanding is that he’s a good God. We are trying to raise up families as world overcomers. God intends for us to succeed at all times.”
Church Unlimited is a member of the Champion’s Network, a part of Joel Osteen’s ministry. First-time visitors receive a copy of You Can, You Will: 8 Undeniable Qualities of a Winner, the newest book by Osteen, a Houston preacher, pastor, televangelist and author.
Brandon and Abbe moved first to Birmingham, Abbe’s hometown, after meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was attending Rhema Bible Training College. After that point, Brandon worked as an electrical engineer before starting to serve as a full-time pastor at another church. He and Abbe, who now live off Highway 119 and are the parents of 9-year-old twins, started Church Unlimited in December.
Their first services were held in the Birmingham Marriott on 280 near I-459. Around 220 people came the first week and 240 the next, so they signed a lease for the Brook Highland building and began meeting there Jan. 11. Abbe now serves as the church’s worship leader.
“Our hope is to have an impact on as many people as we can,” Brandon said. “We want to give answers to people going through life with question marks.”
Since moving into the former golf shop, the church has installed walls to partition off a lobby from an auditorium that now has a stage at its center. The building is larger than it might appear, with 10,000 square feet on the first floor and more upstairs. The Balls are planning to add more reclaimed wood and brick to enhance the interior in the future.
Inside the space, Brandon said they want to make church look like heaven, creating a place where different races worship together. Each Sunday, they have about a 50/50 black and white racial makeup.
“God has given a voice to bridge that gap,” Brandon said. “We have a sense of love and acceptance here. We come together with a common goal.”
Brandon hopes to expand to two church services by the end of the year, and that people who drive by the church on 280 will see their new signs and banners and come on a Sunday. For him, it’s a dream come true.
Church Unlimited meets at 10 a.m. on Sundays at 5235 U.S. 280. Children’s programs are held simultaneous to the service. To learn more, visit mychurchunlimited.com or call 968-1180.
