St Michael's Church in Camden wants to become a live music venue on weekday evenings as well as a place of worship in the day and at weekends.
However the decision to allow the church a licence to serve alcohol has been put on hold after police have said concert-goers could hurt each other with religious ornaments and hide behind pillars.
Fr Tom Plant, speaking to the Telegraph at the time of the application, ruled out concerns of building damage: "The windows are too high to get smashed and we're not talking here about metal gigs and a mosh pit.
"We're not precious about the floor - St Michael's is a glorious place but it is faded glory."
It would hold approximately 270 people and the application asked for a licence for alcohol as well as live and recorded music to be played between 7pm and 11pm from Monday to Friday.
However, according to the Evening Standard, the Metropolitan Police said the area is known for alcohol-fuelled violence.
Officers said there was not enough CCTV in the area to justify the church conversion and that pillars would mean some areas are hidden from sight.
The police said: "Looking around the venue there are a few ornaments that could cause serious harm to patrons if a fight was to break out."
A spokesperson for the council said: "The applicant had updated the proposed premises operating manual, draft procedures and proposed licence conditions but interested parties did not have sufficient time to consider them before the hearing."
The date of the next hearing has not yet been set.
