The onetime largest pool hall in the country closed this winter because business had slowed to a trickle since the city’s smoking ban was enacted in 2003, the owner says, but thanks to a local church, the space at 5905 Broadway in the Bronx is bustling once again.

The 20,000-square-foot former garage where Fieldston Billiards thrived for 27 years has been leased to Words of Life Church, which has seen its membership leap by nearly 45% since moving this spring into the large space — a rare find in that area of the Bronx.

The church is leasing the space with an option to buy for $3 million. Karl Brumback of Massey Knakal represented both buyer and seller in the deal, which closed February 28.

The former owner of Fieldston Billiards, Gregory Brust, closed the business December 27. During its peak in the late 1990s, it was the largest pool hall in the country, he said, adding that he’s not sure which establishment holds the title now.

While Mr. Burst said he’s sad to have closed the business, which he purchased with his father in 1980, he said he’s happy to see the space occupied by a church. “They are really nice people and I wish them well,” he said.

The church, one of the few in the neighborhood that holds services in Spanish, has swelled to 450 members from 300 since moving, members say, largely due to the new facilities.

Words of Life, or Centro Cristiano Palabras de Vida, was founded 15 years ago by the Reverend Ben Paz. It had long ago outgrown its 5,000-square-foot basement space at 1828 Amsterdam Ave., he said in an interview in the cavernous basement of the former pool hall.

“Over there, we were full,” a church member, Fabio Alvarado, said. “People didn’t want to be standing.” He added that since moving, the church has bought 200 new chairs.

The old space “wasn’t very visually appealing,” Rev. Paz said. In the new building, “the facilities are a lot nicer.”

Church members couldn’t believe their luck when they heard the space was available, Rev. Paz said. He lives in the Marble Hill neighborhood and wanted to keep the congregation as close as possible to its former location, but large spaces are hard to find in the area.

“There aren’t too many spaces like that in the Bronx,” Mr. Brumback said.

Moreover, the building is close to the no. 1 subway line and other transportation options, making it convenient for church members who come from as far as New Jersey and Connecticut, Rev. Paz said. Being situated across from Van Cortlandt Park is a bonus, he added.

“It was big, it was open, it would be easy to convert,” Mr. Brumback said. “They just fell in love with it.”

Sure enough, the congregation began renovating almost immediately after the deal closed, ripping out bowling lanes, raising the ceiling, painting the walls a bright white, and adding a stage and a sound room. “They did an amazingly quick job,” Mr. Brumback said. “They were holding services the day we closed.”

Rev. Paz said he hopes renovations will be completely finished within the next three weeks.

When Mr. Brust purchased Fieldston Billiards, it was operating as both a billiards hall and a bowling alley. In the 1990s, he covered the bowling lanes with carpeting and placed additional pool tables in the space, bringing the total to more than 70.

At its peak, the pool hall drew hundreds of customers a night, Mr. Brust said. At one point, clients would put their name on a waiting list for a table, go to the movies, and come back two hours later, he said.

The pool hall fell on hard times with the smoking ban enacted by Mayor Bloomberg in 2003, Mr. Brust said, with business falling by as much as 70%. “The smoking ban — that cut my throat,” he said. “People had cigarettes in their hands as they were paying me because they wanted to smoke so badly.”

Mr. Brust tried to weather the storm, cutting staff and offering special promotions, but the large space worked against him, as it required a significant amount of manpower. “I just couldn’t stay open any more,” he said.

. Mr. Brust said he’s pleased the space is occupied by a church rather than a bar or club. “Hopefully they’ll help people with their outreach programs,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of people in programs like that who have survived because of the goodness of churches.”