Pastor and Church in Foreclosure Soup in Columbus

October 2nd, 2009 | Tags: Foreclosure

church-foreclosure

The Mount Galilee Missionary Baptist Church is facing foreclosure. Its previous pastor Rev. Henry J. Scott’s residential house is being foreclosed upon since the church did not keep its promise of monthly payments apart from other benefits. $17,958 had also vanished from his account. He filed a suit and the ruling of the judge has been in his favour. Meanwhile septuagenarian Scott is working in a night shift as guard to pay for his rented apartment which he shares with his wife.

After Scott retired the next pastor Rev. Marcus Martin and two other deans made grandiose plans of making a magnificent church. This caused them to run up huge debts and now the church is facing foreclosure.

Martin together with three deacons took a loan amounting to $660,000 in the closing months of 2006 from Park National Bank. A new block comprising of a sanctuary and offices opened by the side of the old church in 2007. Within months the contractors filed suits for not having their dues of $25,000 cleared. Martin then borrowed $723,613 from Huntington National Bank in January 2008 to pay off Park National Bank. He only signed the loan papers.

Martin and his team have declined to make any comments on the impending foreclosure or on the financial mayhem of the church. It has been recently renamed New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church. The attorney representing the church, Jeffrey Sams also refused to make comments.

Jeri Grier, speaking on behalf of Huntington said that foreclosure is being processed against the church. Attorney Byron Potts is representing Martin individually excluding the church. He said that the loan problem had been solved but he was unaware of the details.

Anonymous church members said that they were in the dark about Martin borrowing over $700,000. They also did not know that the church was in foreclosure. One member was rather surprised about Martin being the sole signatory for the loans taken from Huntington. Another former member complained that the there was always a veil of secrecy about the finances of the church.

Anthony Edwards, a member, said that three months previously he had joined the church. For two decades he has been bringing his mother to this church. Martin had greatly attracted him because of his plans of transformation and his manner in dealing with the children and seniors. Edwards had no idea of the financial troubles of the church but his trust for the pastor remains unshaken.

Martin is 37 years and his own finances show up a speckled record. He suffered personal bankruptcy in 1995 and owes $40,000 in various taxes and fees towards court judgments. The house in which Martin resides with his wife is also facing foreclosure.

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