When an old church sells its building

Apr. 17—Two historic local church buildings are up for sale here in St. Joseph, but for different reasons, bringing about new opportunities for both the congregations and potential buyers.

Like other kinds of buildings and businesses, churches go up for sale for a variety of reasons. Some are sold because of declining attendance. In these cases, over time, congregations cannot afford the upkeep of the facilities.

However, this is not the only reason churches are sold. According to Jacob McMillian, pastor of Journey Baptist Church on King Hill Road in St. Joseph, selling a church building can be about maximizing the safety of congregants and the effectiveness of the church's mission.

"We've been in this building since 1927," McMillian said. "Our new location will be more accessible and will be more in line with fulfilling our vision."

Journey Baptist, which has over 30,000 square feet of space, is on the market. The hope of the congregation, after many months of planning, is that their new location will make more sense for the kind of presence and ministries they wish to have in the area.

"What prompted the sale for us is that five years ago, we started a strategic vision," McMillian said. "We wanted to reconnect with our city, and ministry changes throughout generations. This building is designed for kind of an older style of ministry."

For Journey Baptist, the new land and facility they are moving to at the junction of Highway A and Interstate 229 includes the addition of a lobby, not present in their current location, which McMillian said will create a deeper sense of community. Also, a new children's section in the new building will be safer and more easily accessible for children, leaders and their families.

"In our culture today, connecting to one another is so necessary," McMillian said. "Also, energy efficiency and safety is so important. There is a lot of strategy that went into the decision to upgrade to a new facility and to make this move that will help our church do ministry well."

Repurposing the older facilities is among the many challenges sellers face. Lisa Rock is a realtor overseeing the sale of Calvary Church St. Joe, located near Downtown St. Joseph. The building dates back to the turn of the 20th century and includes architecture and stained glass unique to late 19th-century church design. It will also likely need a new or at least patched-up roof. This means the selling price for Calvary is only around $99,000.

"Banks are reluctant to make loans on church buildings like this one," Rock said. "So, we have to take that into account when pricing them."

Also, the repurposing of usable church buildings like Journey Church and buildings in need of a bit more repair like Calvary St. Joe often requires some creativity.

"We're suggesting a wide range of possible uses," Rock said. "This building could become a winery, a restaurant, a children's indoor playland or a bookstore."

Other suggestions on the realtor site include an ultra-modern home, an entrepreneur center or a brewery. Likewise, McMillian of Journey Church said that a business could benefit from the office suites and meeting places available in the Journey Church building.

Although congregations rightly create strong attachments to their church buildings, McMillian said that churches should remember that there is more to a church than its building, especially if that building is no longer an effective tool for ministry.

"Ultimately, the building is not the church," McMillian said. "The people are the church. The building should be a tool for the people to conduct ministry to the community in the best possible way."

Charles Christian anchors the evening news for News-Press NOW and also serves as an ordained minister at United Methodist Churches in Union Star and Helena, Missouri. Charles can be reached at charles.christian@newspressnow.com. Follow him on twitter: @NPNowChristian.