Thursday, 13 August 2009
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Beyond the Four Walls: Church Sells Building to Focus on Service
Rev. Frank Mercer, the pastor of Rolling Hills Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is trying to sell his church building so that the congregation would be able to dedicate more money to working in their community, in downtown Atlanta, and in Mexico and Honduras.
The congregation is $150,000 away from paying off $1.4 million worth of land and buildings, a recent article reports.
In Fayetteville, a metropolitan area known for its megachurches and church-owned sports fields, Rolling Hills, with its 100-member congregation, stands out in that it challenges the true meaning of a church.
Mercer and his congregation willingly accept the fact that they will lose the mortgage, air-conditioning bills and insurance costs so they could devote the funds to helping the less fortunate.
Originating at a Charlotte megachurch with 20 pastors, this move is a challenging step for Mercer.
He initially intended to build Rolling Hills into a similar institution, until he visited a church in New York City that challenged him to think otherwise.
That particular church rented space, but was considering the costly option of buying a building. One of the members spoke out against the idea of buying a building.
“I’m afraid if we become a church of bricks and mortar, we’ll cease to be a church of flesh and blood," the member said.
These words inspired Dave Lebby, a Rolling Hills member, to discover "how freeing it would be” to not be confined to the church building.
Mercer completely agrees. “We spend over 50 percent of our budget on a building that we are in less than 10 percent of the time,” he said.
After returning from New York, Mercer began preaching a series explaining to his congregation that the church exists to serve others.
As a result, Rolling Hills members became more active, volunteering their time at local homeless shelters and children's homes.
After negotiating and considering the reservations some members held, the congregation arrived at a 95-to-5 decision to sell the building.
Once the building is sold, the congregation will likely rent a general-purpose building where both services and community programs will be held.
Mercer discusses his transformation through working with Rolling Hills, a church he initially intended to transform.“I came out of a megachurch in Charlotte with the idea that this church was broken and needed to be fixed,” Mercer said. “I have not saved this little church. It has saved me. I guess I am the one that needed to be fixed.”
What do you think of Rolling Hills' decision to sell their church building to dedicate more money to helping the less fortunate?
How important is the church building to you? Do you agree that "if we become a church of bricks and mortar, we’ll cease to be a church of flesh and blood?"
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