ROGERS — Churches of many denominations and faiths meet in Rogers, but no one knows where every church is located, city officials said. That lack of information appeared to play a part in the rejection of several liquor license requests earlier this month.
Churches aren’t required to get a business license, officials said. They are allowed in almost every zone in the city except those for single-family housing and industry. A church can locate in a residential or industrial zone if a conditional use permit is obtained from the Planning Commission, according to city ordinances.
Churches are required to have a certificate of occupancy for the building where the congregation meets, said Mike Rouse, city building inspection manager.
At A Glance
Church Attendance
Church attendance is in flux as the population changes.
Between 1990 and 2050 church attendance will grow from 50 million to 60 million. Census estimates forecast a population growth from 248 million to 520 million people. In other words, the United States would need (as of 2008) 15,000 new churches of any kind every year to keep up with population.
Source: 2013 Pew Forum On Religion And Public Life
“The certificate of occupancy is a safety issue. We have to make sure the building meets all the city codes for fire, plumbing, and structure. Churches need to be safe places just like any other structure,” Rouse said.
Often, a small group will want to start a church and leaders don’t know what conditions must be met, Rouse said.
“The only way we discover a new, small church has opened is when we happen to see it when we are on our way to or from the office,” Rouse said. “When we find a church we didn’t know about, we write down the address and check for a certificate of occupancy when we get back to the office. If it doesn’t have a (certificate) we try to contact someone at the church. If no one is there, we leave a notice to come to City Hall.”
Churches open in strip malls, homes, said Rouse, who recalled one in a former chicken coop. There is just no way to track a small church opening or closing, unless it has a certificate of occupancy, he said.
Patsy Simmons was refused a liquor permit for Susie Q Liquor at 612 N. Second St. in Rogers. Measurements showed the location to be within 1,000 feet of three churches. Simmons denied she was within 1,000 feet of Sunnyside Baptist Church, saying she intended to place the store further back in the lot than from the point measured.
She presented a letter from Rogers officials saying a second location, Bonnie’s Blessings at 728 N. Second St., wasn’t recognized by the city as a church. Photos by investigators showed a worship area and a posting of service times. The church is inside a thrift store.
“We didn’t know there was a church in Bonnie’s Blessings until one day we were in the thrift shop and saw a podium,” Rouse said. “We asked if there was a church there as well and were told the store doubled as a church.”
The church was in operation for about eight years before inspectors discovered it, Rouse said.
“In this case, the thrift store had a certificate of occupancy. Because there are only about seven people that attend the church, we allowed them to continue to operate a thrift store, but they are not officially a church as far as code enforcement is concerned, because they don’t have a certificate of occupancy for a church,” Rouse said.
The computer program the city Inspection Department uses can’t search certificates of occupancy for subcategories of structures, such as single family homes or churches, according to a department official.
“The only way we can do a search is by address. If we know the address we can check to see if the church has a certificate of occupancy,” Rouse said.
Affiliated churches, such as Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian, sometimes help to open new churches for the same faith, according to Jackie Chesnutt, pastor of Southside Church of Christ.
“We’ve helped open a couple of churches recently. We worked with them until they were able to find their own building and stand alone. We made sure all the city codes were addressed for the new churches,” Chesnutt said.
The affiliated churches are usually not a problem, Rouse said. It’s the unaffiliated churches that fail to follow the rules. The fastest growing churches in the United States are unaffiliated, according to the July 2013 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Live. One-fifth of Americans are unaffiliated, according to the report.
Jim Dixon, a longtime pastor in Rogers and member of the Rogers Ministerial Alliance, said there is a reason so many churches are opening in Northwest Arkansas.
“It’s the economy. People move here because of the stronger economy and the low unemployment in the area. As people move here they bring their faith and want to share that faith with others. A church is a gathering place for people who share a common belief,” Dixon said.
“It would be hard for city officials to know when a church opens or closes because some people starting a church simply don’t know what is necessary to establish a church in Rogers,” he said, adding the people starting a church are moved by their faith not municipal code.
“However, in my experience with city inspectors, they will work with individuals or churches to meet the necessary requirements,” Dixon added.
MISTY GITTINGS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY.