The controversy surrounding a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee is having a surprise impact on the church next door.

Pastor Dan Watts of Grace Baptist Church says that attendance has tripled and weekly giving has doubled since the construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro began in 2011.

Watts says that his church has been active in trying to reach out to the Arab Christians in the community who have been feeling pressured because of the controversy surrounding the mosque.  He said that the Arabic Evangelical Church, which Grace Baptist allows to meet on their campus, has been a safe place for Arab Christians and even some of the neighboring Muslims who are curious about Christ.

The church has also been very vocal about their faith and has built over a dozen large crosses on their property as a statement of how they feel about their faith in Christ.

Murfreesboro, a town of 100,000 residents, has a population that is roughly 25% Muslim.  Many of the residents are Somalian or Kurdish refugees who fled Saddam Hussein before the first Gulf War.