Q: As you navigated the appeal, what did you and your church learn?
We learned a lot. For instance:
Urgent action at the very beginning—when the bill first arrived—probably would have helped.
Find experts, such as lawyers and real estate developers, and call upon them right away. Some may even attend your church, and if they have the right expertise, it can be a way for them to serve, especially if they haven’t found another way to serve. We found individuals like this—that was my favorite part of this process.
Keep diligent records.
For a proceeding like this, you have to gather numerous legal and property documents. When they’re kept organized and accessible upfront, everything works more efficiently.
Keep good communication going with the church’s leadership and the congregation.
Leadership especially wants to know the ministry staff knows what’s happening and has a plan.
Don’t forget the big picture.
City leaders and officials are part of the mission field, too. Be respectful in public and in private. Don’t get angry or scared—look for solutions. Don’t attack city officials—work with them. Attacking only makes officials defensive and that doesn’t help anybody. We also know we will have to work with the city in the future, whether for building codes or other issues, so we need to maintain relationships. City officials are politicians who need to serve constituents, so it’s important we understand their job. It’s also important we understand their potential need for the gospel.
Be discreet.
We didn’t go to the media about this, either. We didn’t want to shame anyone. We didn’t want to be viewed as adversarial. We also didn’t want to trigger community debate about whether churches should even receive property tax exemptions.
Becoming contentious only works against you—and for those in your community who are already adversarial toward you, it only adds more fuel to the fire.
Pay attention to unused property.
Empty parts of your church’s property can appear to be unused or irrelevant to worship purposes. Remember that the entire property doesn’t have to have buildings to still be relevant for worship purposes.
As we examined those two plats, and the challenges we faced with environmental restrictions, we realized we could create trails, a picnic area, and a disc golf course—all of which we made available for neighboring residents to use. We still use those plats for religious purposes, too. We host outdoor events, worship services, and other gatherings.
This just goes to show what can be done when you think creatively. If we could have done that sooner, it would have maybe helped avoid all of this.
Above all, good due diligence, intentionality, and consistent communication are good ways to solve this faster.
Editor’s note: This interview was edited for length and clarity.
