 |
| The Love Shack funded this purchase, a few blocks from another WELS church. |
Classic Ichabod, July 12, 2012 -
My secret Appleton source, the local paper:
Reader question: I have driven past Revolution on Franklin Street a couple times recently and noticed that the “available” sign is down. Did somebody lease finally lease the building and what is going to be in there?
Answer: That vacant building at 222 W. Franklin St., at the corner of Superior Street in Appleton, was purchased in a deal that closed Friday.
The new owner is The CORE, a church group that previously held services in the former Big Picture theater and then the OuterEdge Stage in downtown Appleton.
The Core is an outreach ministry of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Freedom.
“We’re not a standalone congregation. We’re a second campus,” said campus pastor Jim Skorzewski, who is known as Pastor Ski. “The Revolution building fell into our lap. It’s been a blessing.”
His congregation tends to be on the young side, mostly under age 35. Worship includes live bands. The Core will continue to hold its Sunday evening worship services at OuterEdge until this building is ready in September.
“We were never looking for a building, but we we’re always looking for a building,” he said. “We didn’t want to be a church that gets a building and then its vision and mission fall to the back burner because everything turns into paying the mortgage. We wanted to put our dollars into flesh and blood, people and relationships.”
Online, real estate listings show the asking price was $850,000. Outagamie County records listed its 2011 fair market value at about $523,000.
“We paid closer to fair market value,” said Jeff Ulman, a member of the church’s executive committee. “George Karl worked with us and helped us out extensively.”
George Karl, head coach of the Denver Nuggets and former coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, owned the building.
The purchase was handled through a church extension fund, said Skorzewski.
“We received a wonderful grant and loan from WELS, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Our remodeling was covered by the loan from WELS.”
Church volunteers are already inside working on the renovation. The church draws about 250 people on a typical Sunday.
Revolution was the last nightclub that operated in the Franklin Street building. It was open for about six months, until July 2010. Prior to that, the club had been opened and closed by several operators under the names Tom’s Garage, The Garage and Pulse Nightclub.
Skorzewski said the church would not keep the full liquor license that went with the building. If they chose to host wedding receptions in the building in the future, he said they would apply for a beer and wine license.
This is at least the fourth building in the Fox Cities to be converted from a business into a church in recent years, including structures that previously housed the Vineyard (now Living Faith), SK Flooring (now the Mission Church) and Big Picture (now Christ's Church of the Valley).
Note that in the printed version of this story in The Post-Crescent, the church in the Big Picture was incorrect. It is correct above.
---
bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Who Owns the Title to This Newest Stewardship Fail...":
It would be appropriate if this stinky bar became the new WELS synod HQs, since it is bought and paid for already.
***
GJ - The bar facilities that remain would be well used. I think they call it the Tiefel Room, in his honor.
---
bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Who Owns the Title to This Newest Stewardship Fail...":
You asked who owns the title for the old stinky bar turned church. I don't know who has the title, but since the WELS (I'm guessing Home Missions) gave a loan and a grant to The Core, the WELS is sure to put a lien on the property if the loan payments stop.
I find it ironic that Ski got in trouble in a bar after hours since his day job is at a church that still looks like a bar from the outside. All it needs is neon signs. It's as though he was barhopping.
***
GJ - Someone looked up the fact that St. Peter in Freedom is on the title, which makes sense, since The CORE is just the evening service of St. Peter. Ski is just an assistant pastor at St. Peter.
That is like naming the midweek services The Happening and making them seem to be a completely new congregation.
Deception is a way of life in WELS. Watch them try to lie their way out of this scandal.
