Pastors and elected officials managed to save the historic North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church from a forced courthouse sale, which was supposed to take place on Friday, March 17.
Community’s Support
According to a report by the Post News Group, Pastor Sylvester Rutledge of NOMBC presented checks to the Alameda County Tax Assessors Office on Monday, March 6.
Other pastors and elected officials accompanied him.
They prayed and showed their support for removing the church from the list of properties scheduled for action on Friday.
As of Thursday, March 10, the crisis was resolved as all the back, and current taxes were paid in full.
Thanks to the donations from the pastors and the interventions of the elected officials, the future of NOMBC is now secure and no longer in doubt.
The local West Oakland faith community, The Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC), Central Hills East Oakland Congregations, Statewide Baptist Association, and community members all responded to the call for help.
After 30 years of leading NOMBC, Rutledge was grateful and appreciative of the group of supporters who helped save the church from an auction.
He expressed his belief that humbling experiences can lead to learning and mutual assistance and that their ultimate calling is to serve each other, save people's souls, and practice and protect the word of God.
Crisis Averted
Previously, North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church was unable to pay the $43,000 owed in back taxes for the parking lot on an adjacent property that it had purchased.
The situation caused a great deal of stress for the church's members and leadership, as they were given only two weeks to come up with the payment.
In another report by the Post News Group, Rutledge explained that before his tenure, the church had removed houses on the property to create the parking lot, and taxes had been exempted.
The church believed that it was up-to-date with all taxes, as it had been paying annual city taxes.
However, the County informed the church that it had been in arrears for five years.
Church administrators had worked with the County to try to reduce the bill, but their efforts were interrupted by the COVID pandemic.
Moreover, the closure of offices and the lack of continuity during the pandemic made it harder to find solutions to the issue.
North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church had no other option but to raise the funds needed to save the church.
If the church were lost, dozens of congregants would be displaced.
North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church has a long-standing history, dating back to its origins as the Richard Clark Memorial Church from 1904 to1905.
The church originally met in the homes of its members before settling at 843 29th Street near San Pablo Avenue.
In 1921, the church expanded to include the building at 32nd and Linden, which was previously St. Paul's English Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Although the church building burned down in 1930, the congregation quickly rebuilt it.
The old building on 29th street now serves as the home of the True Gospel Missionary Baptist Church.
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