1,200 Members Took On the Debt, 140 Are Left to Pay It: A Tallahassee Church Seeks to Sell 30 Acres

• Northwoods Church in Tallahassee sought to sell 30 acres on Capital Circle NW to reduce its $1.1 million debt.
• The debt had been $3.2 million, when the church had 1,200 members; it now has 140.
• The church asked Leon County to rezone the land from Residential Acre to R-2, allowing about four homes an acre.
• Neighbours opposed the plan, citing traffic on Capital Circle.

A Tallahassee church whose membership has shrunk wants to sell land to clear its debt, but its neighbours are pushing back. WCTV reported that Northwoods Church was seeking to sell 30 acres for development.

The church, on Capital Circle NW past Fred George Road, once had 1,200 members and took on debt of $3.2 million. That debt has been reduced to $1.1 million, but the membership has fallen to 140. The church asked the Leon County Commission to rezone the 30 acres from Residential Acre to R-2, which would allow about four single-family homes per acre. No buyer was named.

Lead pastor Todd Sapp said: “Now, there’s 140 people servicing that same debt.” He added: “We feel a sense of urgency to get that debt off our shoulders. One of our goals is to be free from the debt, so we have more opportunities to serve, give and be a benefit to our community.”

Mike Nissley, a neighbour for 25 years, said: “To be able to get out onto Capital Circle right now on busy days is almost impossible.” He added: “But, we shouldn’t have to bear that burden in the sense of development that’s not really sustainable.”

Debt taken on by a large congregation can become a heavy burden when membership falls. Selling land is Northwoods’ chosen way out, but the land is worth much more if it can be rezoned for houses, and that depends on the planners and the neighbours. Jamaican churches borrowing for buildings or land should plan for the possibility that membership may fall, and should borrow only what a smaller congregation could repay. Churches planning to sell land should also expect neighbours to raise traffic and other concerns, and should be ready to answer them.