“We’re Running Out of Money”: Sacramento’s Oldest Congregation Lists Its Historic Church for $3.2 Million

• Pioneer Congregational Church, founded in 1849, has listed its building at 2700 L St. in Midtown Sacramento for $3.2 million.
• The congregation has about 50 active members; recent Sundays have drawn about 30 people in person and 18 online.
• The sale includes the sanctuary with stained glass and an antique pipe organ, church halls and a kitchen.
• The church hopes a buyer will let it stay, or that it can share another congregation’s building.

Sacramento’s oldest congregation has put its century-old church on the market. Abridged, in a report by Felicia Alvarez, said Pioneer Congregational Church has listed its Midtown building at 2700 L St. for $3.2 million.

The congregation traces its roots to May 1849, when the Rev Joseph Benton preached its first sermon in a park in what is now Old Sacramento, during the Gold Rush. It has moved twice, in 1854 and 1926, and is one of four religious groups that claim to be Sacramento’s first. The building is protected by historic preservation rules that apply to its exterior. Inside are a sanctuary with stained-glass windows and an antique pipe organ, church halls and a kitchen that the broker sees as useful for a mixed-use conversion.

Membership has fallen to about 50 active members. Before the pandemic about 100 people attended regularly; recent Sundays have averaged 30 in person and 18 online. Tithes and contributions are no longer enough to maintain the building. The Rev David Bocock said: “We’re running out of money.” He added: “Very few people go to church every week anymore. It’s once a month, or sometimes it’s twice a month.”

The broker, Jack Scurfield of Turton Commercial Real Estate, said: “The building itself is incredible. You could never rebuild this building for what it costs to purchase.” The church is considering offers that might allow the congregation to remain, or it may share another church’s building. Bocock said: “We don’t believe Pioneer Church is going away. Lord willing, the creek don’t rise, someone buys and the building and allows us to stay here.”

When a congregation’s income falls, a large historic building can become its biggest liability. Pioneer is trying to turn that liability into capital while keeping a place to worship, either by staying on as a tenant of a new owner or by sharing space elsewhere. Jamaican congregations with old buildings and shrinking rolls should face the numbers early, while they still have choices. A sale with a leaseback, a shared building or a partner who invests in the property are all options, and each is easier to arrange before the money runs out than after.

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