Communique about Relocation & Planned Sale of Our Church Campus

On Sunday, January 22, 2023, the College Church of Christ elders hosted a meeting for church members. During this meeting, they announced their unanimous decision to sell the church’s existing property and relocate to a more appropriately sized property elsewhere in the Fresno/Clovis area. Each elder and minister shared their own words of affirmation about this decision.

This move is not taken lightly and no doubt evokes sadness in many folks. Still, the church leaders believe this is a crucial, positive step. Despite the many memories that fill this campus, the church's current needs are no longer a match for this property. Selling and relocating will help the College Church more fully live into its mission and vision for the future.

A brief bit of context may be helpful. In early December, the elders asked church members for ideas about what to do with the building and property. It was acknowledged that the College Church sits on an expansive 9-acre property with nearly 45,000 square feet of building space. While this is a tremendous asset, the building and property are expensive to maintain and not fully utilized. To be clear, this is not a new development, and church leaders feel fortunate to have remained on this campus for this long.

At that meeting, folks suggested lots of ideas that can be summarized in five categories: (1) Use the building for more kinds of ministry activities. (2) Rent or share part of the building to/with another tenant. (3) Invest in improvements like solar or syn-lawn to save in the long term. (4) Let nonprofits use the building to do ministry. (5) Sell the property and relocate the church. While the elders would love to do 1, 3 & 4, they all require upfront money and/or extra facilities management, which also costs money.

In the meantime, the elders asked some local real estate experts to do an assessment and give advice about the campus and its overall value. After two extensive tours and a great deal of research, these local experts expressed their belief (based on comparable sales in our market) that the College Church has an extremely valuable property and that it would likely sell quickly. If sold, this property could not only finance a newer or newly refurbished building elsewhere but that the proceeds might also allow fiscal breathing room to do the kinds of things church members dream about doing.

Based on all these things and on what God seems to be doing in this church, the elders have announced their intention to relocate the church to a different site in Fresno or Clovis upon the sale of the existing property. The elders and ministers welcome conversation as folks process this difficult decision. As the church navigates the unknown territory of the many decisions ahead, the leaders solicit prayers of both former and current church members. This may seem hard, but the elders and ministers all feel this has the potential to be a tremendous springboard into the future.