Scott Boulevard Pastor Details Church's Struggles Before Sale

Scott Boulevard Baptist Church leaders struggled to find solutions to the congregation's financial woes before they ultimately decided to close and sell the North Decatur property to developers last fall, the Rev. Greg Smith said this month.

The death or departure of key elderly contributors helped push the church into irrepairable financial distress, Smith told Associated Baptist Press.

From the story:

How did you try to address that crisis?

We negotiated a lease with [a nonprofit serving the developmentally disabled] to house their state-wide offices in our education building.... But they were unable to come because … they couldn’t sell their building and the contract expired.… We pursued a merger with another church in which we would relocate to their building, but that merger fell through. That was a big blow to our people…. The third option was for an assisted living and nursing care provider to purchase our building … but zoning regulations killed that deal.

Read the full ABP story for more information, including how the Rev. Smith plans to continue the church's mission in the community.

The development planned for the church propertu would be called Decatur Crossing. It would sit directly across North Decatur Road from a redeveloped Suburban Plaza, including a new Walmart Supercenter that has been criticized by some nearby residents.

See also:

• POLL: Do You Want Development at Scott Boulevard Baptist Church?
• Sembler Vet Behind New North Decatur Retail Center Project
• More Development Along North Decatur Road?