Blurring The Line Between Prayer And Profit | A Bloomfield nondenominational megachurch converts to corporate behaviors
Nearing the end of Sunday services at The First Cathedral church in Bloomfield, Archbishop and church CEO LeRoy Bailey Jr. invites the congregation of more than 1,000 up to the pulpit. He wants to bless their wallets and pocketbooks and make them bountiful, so he asks the men and women to squish up front and raise their money-holders to the heavens.
As the church goers stand, arms and accessories raised, the archbishop initiates a mass blessing, calling on God to make their financial woes fade away. Trust in God, he advises, and may he fill your empty pockets. After all, First Cathedral has dubbed 2008 the year of abundant overflow.
The blessing complete, the congregation lowers its purses and wallets. Now, it’s time for the offering.
But while the First Cathedral pushes the power of prayer on its congregation, it isn’t leaving its own finances entirely up to God.
To support its size and mission, First Cathedral, a megachurch with upwards of 11,000 members, behaves less like a tax-exempt nonprofit and more like a full-fledged business — a national trend that’s raising gritty tax issues across the country.
The First Cathedral is registered not only as a 501(c)3, but also as a nonprofit business entity — under the name First Cathedral Development Corp. — with the Secretary of State’s office since 1994.
According to the cathedral’s amended certificate, “The corporation is formed solely for nonprofit purposes and not for pecuniary profit or gain.”
That nonprofit status means the church is tax exempt, but only for services related to its mission; anything unrelated is deemed taxable.
Nontraditional Model
However, according to church officials, everything is related to its spiritual purpose. “Whatever we do is always leading back our mission,” said Charles Frazier, executive director of operations at First Cathedral.
The broad definition of “mission” is a trend among megachurches and something current tax laws are not equipped to deal with, said Scott Thumma, a megachurch expert and professor at the Hartford Seminary. Although it may look like a side business to most, it’s all part of the “mission” to the church.
“It’s a very fine line,” said Thumma. “It’s a model that doesn’t fit the traditional framework of what a church is.”
For First Cathedral, the ultimate mission is “really to make a difference in the community,” Frazier said. And to do that, the church offers several community-enhancing and money-making services.
The church bookstore, The First Connection, is open seven days a week and is plugged repeatedly in the church service flyer, giving the word of God a shot of “act now” advertising.
Women are encouraged to buy the next book-of-the-month-club book at The First Connection “as soon as possible” because “this book will bless you.” Teens are “challenged” to read Martin Luther King Jr.’s autobiography, a copy of which can also be found in-house. And just in case anyone needs one, “all bibles are still 15 percent off!”
For those suffering from obesity, the church’s The Good Life Wellness Center pushes a weekly health tip in the flyer. But if turning to God instead of food doesn’t seem to help, the center offers health products for sale Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The church’s in-house catering company, First Harvest, offers an after-service feast for church members but also caters to events outside the confines of the church.
Frazier maintains that the church’s biggest source of income is donations from parishioners, but the other services do provide extra income. Still, the mission, he asserts, remains intact.
The bookstore provides inspiration and professional development for their members and the community. The wellness center promotes better health in the community. And the catering company brings healthy eating to life.
Rental Income
On top of smaller endeavors, First Cathedral’s 120,000-square-foot, 3,000-capacity facility is available for rent — a facet of operations that Frazier also confirms is part of the church’s mission because it’s providing a space for the community in which to gather.
The church doesn’t advertise facility rental prices, nor would its special events coordinator confirm specifics because prices vary. But last summer, South Windsor High School and Enrico Fermi High School in Enfield both rented the First Cathedral to host graduation services. The facility cost the schools $6,000 and $6,500, respectively.
The First Cathedral also rents its adjoining athletic fields and courts, which include basketball courts, a tennis court and a softball field. And prices range from $150 to $5,000 a day.
Weddings will also cost, with a minimum rate of $500.
In contrast, the Holy Family Catholic Church in Enfield hosted 19 weddings and 71 baptisms last year — and made a total of $746.
“This is not a mom-and-pop operation,” said Frazier of First Cathedral. “It takes a lot of skills and resources to run this operation.”
The “operation” is currently a little more than halfway through development. Formerly the First Baptist Church of Hartford, First Cathedral shed its denomination when it moved to the Bloomfield from Hartford to broaden its appeal. It was built from scratch on a plot of land dotted with wetlands. The project was estimated to cost $4 million, but construction costs climbed to $5.7 million. Its sign alone, which streams a digital ticker of church events, cost $38,000.
The next phases of the project will add another 80,000 square feet to the main building plus an additional 80,000-square-foot family life center with an Olympic-sized pool.
With new endeavors may come the tricky issue of tax exemption.
“The question is how far can they go,” said Dwight Merriam, an attorney with Robinson & Cole in Hartford who specializes in such issues.
Last April, when a religious organization in Stamford tried to claim an overarching mission, the state Court of Appeals sided with the city.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’i of the United States was claiming tax exemption for several parcels of land it owned in Stamford. The city didn’t contest the exemption for the area where religious worship took place. It did, however, argue the tax exemption for parcels not used exclusively for religious purposes. The Court of Appeals agreed and sided with Stamford.
But it’s all a question of angles, and First Cathedral remains firm that current endeavors are mission-specific. Frazier doesn’t rule out, however, expansion into the for-profit sector in the future. The church has already collaborated with T-Mobile to erect a cell tower in the church steeple to provide better reception to the area. And First Cathedral does, Frazier asserts, pay taxes on that.
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