Vision for the Future

An interesting thing was decided at the Leadership Board meeting a couple weeks ago. It wasn’t a big issue. It wasn’t controversial. But it was a decision with vision.

When we purchased our current property in 2010, we also acquired a small, triangular piece of land between our property and 33rd Avenue. It’s just to the front of our land. It runs along 33rd Avenue and comes to a point where Wiley and 33 Avenue split and then follows 33rd Avenue to the west.

We went through the process of putting the two parcels of land together. This made sense as we would have just one deed. Also, we didn’t want someone to come along and purchase the land and put up a billboard in front of Salem or put some business in front of us.

Recently we sold a small strip of land to the City to put in a sidewalk along 33rd Avenue. When the City sent us the new paperwork, showing how much our property is worth after selling the sidewalk land, we received two documents. Even though we previously filed to do so, apparently, the two parcels of land were never conjoined. We inquired and the City sent us the paperwork to once again have them put together.

But the Leadership Board decided against putting the two parcels together after all. The reason?

With that little, triangular piece of land, we could do something to reach out to the community. For instance, we could build a little coffeehouse with a drive through lane. Jesus didn’t just hang out at the synagogue or even in people’s homes. He hung out at wells and at the marketplace where people gathered.

That was the thinking that led National Community Church in Washington D.C. to build a coffeehouse, Ebenezers (ebenezerscoffeehouse.com), now considered the best coffee house in Washington D.C. And the best part is that every penny of their profit goes back into community outreach and mission projects. They serve coffee with a cause!

Their approach has been to simply be a blessing and serve people well, the way Jesus modeled in the Gospels. When the church does that, we make a lot of friends in the process.

Salem doesn’t have a plan to do that—yet. But that is a wonderful vision. And it’s a vision that could happen if we make it so.

The first step was to keep our properties separate. It’s a little thing really. But keeping the two parcels separate means we could one day build something like a little drive through coffeehouse there and keep it separate from the church property. As a church, currently, we don’t pay property taxes. But if we do something that makes money, then we have to start paying property taxes.

For instance, when the church still owned the parsonage and rented it, we earned money and so had to pay property taxes. If we put up a coffeehouse and start earning money, we’ll have to pay property taxes on the entire 8.3 acres and all the dwellings. Keeping the two parcels separate means we would only pay property taxes on the little triangular piece of land. This of course, would be much less expensive and much better stewardship.

Would you pray about this and ask if God is leading us to do something like this to reach out to our community and give money for mission projects? It’s a vision for the future.