Atlanta Urban Foursquare Church narrowly avoided immediate eviction Thursday by the Fulton County Marshal's Department.
The Rev. Mark-Anthony Mitchell Sr. said he was told by officers that the church had to leave the building at 1766 Lakewood Ave. immediately but was given the opportunity to leave on its own.
"Today was another day of grace," he said. Mitchell said the church was spared from immediate eviction because about 55 children were in the building in a child care program, that also uses space in the building, at the time the marshal's department arrived. In the afternoon, he said, an after-school program also uses space in the building as well.
He said the church fell behind in its rent payments after funding from a grant ran out.
In a statement, Jamie Jenkins, executive assistant to the bishop for the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, said the church has not paid rent on the facility for the last eight months. Additionally, "Rev. Mitchell and the Atlanta Urban Foursquare Church have violated the terms of the lease by sub-leasing to other organizations and collecting rent from them," according to the statement. "We regret that our relationship as a landlord-tenant had ended in this manner."
Jenkins acknowledged the child care programs provide much-needed services to community. "Therefore we are working with them to find a way for them to continue their operation in this location," the statement read. Mitchell said the child care program has never paid rent and the after-school program's last rent payment was in August.
While he anticipates meeting with others on what to do next, Mitchell said he hopes to hold a fund-raiser for keeping the church in its current location. He said it's important that the church remain so it can best serve the needs of the surrounding community, offering free food, clothing and other services.
In recent months, several churches in the metro area have faced financial troubles, with some ending in foreclosure.
More than 90 metro Atlanta churches were posted for prospective foreclosure from 2006 to 2010, according to a review by the Kennesaw-based real estate research firm Equity Depot. Roughly 50 of those churches were actually lost through foreclosure proceedings.
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