Lyons Leadership

We are all looking for conversions as instructed in the great commission. However, the conversions I am talking about today are a little different; converting a commercial building to a church. If you have plans to build a church you need to read this.

It seems like everywhere you turn today someone is reporting another problem with the economy and I don’t know about you but I have had about all of it I can stand.

I think it is interesting that there are two characters in Chinese that make up the word CRISIS, those characters when taken separately translate into DANGER and OPPORTUNITY. There are plenty of people talking to us about the dangers of our times; I prefer to direct our attention today to the opportunities that are already starting to manifest themselves.

This past March our company held its annual sales meeting and as a part of that meeting we had a panel of bankers talk to us about their outlook on the economy. The bottom line was this; there is a commercial foreclosure crisis on the horizon that will make the recent residential foreclosure crisis look like a Sunday afternoon picnic; estimated time of arrival late summer or fall.

Having been involved in several conversion projects in the past from grocery stores to movie theaters to car dealerships and based on what the bankers had to say we began a search for buildings that would fit the opportunity side of the equation and we have already identified a few of them and expect many more as time goes by.

It didn’t take long, in a matter of days I had identified several. Some were already foreclosed, some were no longer needed by the commercial user, some were investor owned and the investor wanted out. This makes a good situation for the buyers, especially end users like churches.

So how do you take advantage of this new opportunity? First things first. When shopping for any property but especially disressed properties you need to have your money (and/or your banker) already in your pocket. Distressed sellers want to know that the buyer they are negotiating with has the capability to close and usually they want a relatively fast close. Get your financial commitments first.

Another of the key steps is to get the proper professionals to assist you. Before you can convert a building you have to find one that has the potential. many churches try to use a member agent, but do yourself a favor and get the best commercial broker you can find and hopefully one that has successfully handled several church projects (check references). Keep in mind that the buyer’s broker is almost always free, the seller almost always pays the brokerage fees.

When I evaluate a building to convert to church my construction management team consists of an architect, engineer, interior designer, engineer, HVAC expert and contractor. With the proper team you should navigate past the landmines and save your church a lot of money.