Church property costs $7 to $10 per square foot annually to operate, which can mean $70,000 to $100,000 for a modest 10,000-square-foot property, according to Rick Reinhard, who unexpectedly has become an authority on repurposing church real estate. Reinhard, a…
How are houses of worship like retail stores? Changing channels of distribution
When a house of worship declines — and many are — the congregation tends to blame a dull pastor, an uninspiring music director or a drafty building with a bad sound system. Suppose the reason, more often than not, is…
What would Jane Jacobs do? Toward a new model for houses of worship
Cities need to prepare for a wave of declining houses of worship. While faith institutions, at least the Christian ones, have been asking What Would Jesus Do? municipalities need to get them to ask another question: What Would Jane Jacobs…
In Oklahoma and Georgia, two Baptist congregations bade farewell to their buildings last Sunday
Some pastors may dread having to move their congregation from a prominent church building into former retail space with a liquor store on the property. But not Jakob Topper, senior pastor of NorthHaven Church in Norman, Okla. “I’m actually excited…
Faced with a tech boom across the street, South Main Baptist Church invests in planning
The real estate value of a church’s land is usually irrelevant. There’s no property tax, and unless a church is ready to sell its land, the fluctuations in value over the years don’t matter much. Until the property becomes too…
‘Jesus was in the streets,’ Louisville pastor says in urging new ministries
Churches cannot remain places solely dedicated to worship and congregational fellowship if they are to answer the calling to serve their neighbors, United Church of Christ minister and activist Jamesetta Ferguson said during the 2022 Coldwell Lectures at Louisville Presbyterian…
Innovation can convert ‘sacred spaces’ to congregational revenue, church leaders testify
Church property and facilities — often financial liabilities for small congregations — can provide vital revenue streams, participants at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s 2022 General Assembly learned. Two pastors, a preschool director and a community ministry leader helped CBF roll…
Maybe seminaries should offer a class in mergers and acquisitions
I should have figured this out right away, but it took me several months of driving by the mid-sized Baptist church building on the busy freeway to connect all the dots. The church I knew had been battling decline for…
7 dos and don’ts when considering the redevelopment of church property
More and more houses of worship are shuttering their doors. Declining membership, increased internet streaming and COVID-19 pandemic pressures all have conspired against traditional, steepled structures. Faith communities are trying to hang on and even prosper by analyzing how to…