New Hope Church is looking to sell its property on West 220th Street and move to larger quarters. The church wants the property rezoned to make it more marketable. (West Life photo by Kevin Kelley)

New Hope Church looking for bigger quarters
By Kevin Kelley
Fairview Park
Published Jan. 27, 2010

The Rev. Dan Sewell, pastor of New Hope Church, said his congregation has outgrown its current home and is seeking a bigger location.

As a result, the church is seeking to rezone its current 1.41-acre property on West 220th Street in anticipation of a sale. The church also owns a single-family house immediately to the south of the church along West 220th Street.

Sewell spoke about his congregation’s wish to relocate and sell its property at City Council’s Jan. 20 meeting.

The east end of the church’s property abuts the Fairview Park Schools’ Early Education Center, formerly Parkview Intermediate School, located on Mastick Road. Sewell said the church has held discussions with the school district on a possible sale of its land on and off for roughly a decade. However, those discussions simmered off after the district pursued the Gemini Project plan about five years ago.

Ironically, New Hope purchased its property from the school district for $10,000 in the 1950s, Sewell said.

The property is currently zoned for civic/recreational use. That classification limits the potential buyers, Sewell said.

Under the city charter, all rezoning changes require a vote of the public. Zoning changes also must be approved by council and the city’s Planning Commission.

The church is seeking rezoning to the general office category, which would provide both property and income tax revenue for the city.

At the Jan. 20 council meeting, Mayor Eileen Patton said rezoning to the general office category was a better choice for the site than general business, which has fewer restrictions.

The rezoning issue will be further studied by a council committee.

Sewell told West Life that New Hope has 140 worshipers attending its two Sunday services each week. Services are held in the congregation’s original chapel, which was intended to be a temporary worship space. However, a planned larger church was never constructed, Sewell said.

“We feel the church is too small,” Sewell told council members.

Seventy to 80 percent of the church is filled for each service, Sewell said.

“If we expanded on the property, we wouldn’t be able to have the kind of space we are looking for,” Sewell said.

Last fall, the congregation voted unanimously to sell its current building and seek a new location, Sewell said, although some members still felt an emotional attachment to their current sanctuary.

A lot of the current church building is now used for a pre-school, Sewell said.

New Hope is not looking for traditional worship space, Sewell said, as a great deal of space will be dedicated to the congregation’s outreach programs.

In fact, Sewell said the ideal new location would be a “friendly commercial space” such as a vacant big-box store. The congregation may even consider renting a worship location on a temporary basis, Sewell said.

Sewell said a major reason the church is growing at a time when others are shrinking or closing is that New Hope is “intentionally outward focused.”

“We make it our priority to serve those outside the church,” he said, referring to activities such as the church’s nursing home ministry.

Although the church has been looking at several properties, no decision on a future site has been made. No move is imminent, Sewell said, adding the congregation’s top priority is to market the property and sell to a buyer who will have a positive impact on the community.

Sewell, whose family joined New Hope when he was just 6 years old, said New Hope intends to relocate in the immediate area — if not Fairview Park proper, then not far from its borders.

Sewell said he has been thinking about some sort of expansion since he became pastor 20 years ago.

Mid-size churches such as New Hope face the challenge of members wanting the services of a larger church that their church is not always able to provide, Sewell said.

“A mid-size church is always either shrinking or growing,” Sewell said. “This is our bid to grow.”

On the Web:

• New Hope Church