Lead Church faces fight with local government

This is not my normal posting, but should be of concern to everyone.

Small Lead (SD) church again targeted on taxes

Once more, only seven years after an earlier attempt, a small Black Hills congregation in South Dakota again has to fight an attempt by local government to shut it down.

The Twin Cities Church of Christ began meeting in Lead in 1974 when a local man, Albert Harty, returned home after graduating from the Bear Valley School of Preaching in Denver, Colorado. Although at times nearly 100 saints have assembled to worship in Lead, membership dropped to only four at the beginning of this decade, but now numbers eleven. Many converts have resulted from this work, but most have moved from the area as the economy changed, most recently when the famous Homestake Mine closed after 125 years.

The Twin Cities Church meets for Sunday morning Bible class and worship in a former store building just across from the Post Office on Main Street in Lead, meeting Sunday evenings at a nursing home in nearby Whitewood (thus providing worship for residents of the home as well), and meets one Wednesday a month in a historic old church building (also in Lead) for prayer meeting and work sorting and packing donated Bible materials and clothing to be sent to missionary work in Nigeria and on Indian reservations in the US. Other Wednesdays they meet for Bible class in the Main Street Building. Portions of their buildings are also used to store items for the church’s lending closet and for support of the Black Hills Bible Camp, which leases other camp facilities one or more weeks a year but is not allowed by the camp site owners to store much on site for the rest of the year. (Members of the congregation also allow some camp equipment to be stored on their personal property during the year, but that, too, is limited.) The congregation has been active in the Black Hills Bible Camp for more than thirty years, first at Placerville, then at the Weston Camp near Four Corners, and now at the Kinship Ministries camp south of Lead: more than 100 people from at least a dozen churches in at least five states attend the camp each year, including many former members of the Twin Cities church.

In 1999, at the instigation of a local businessman (now a state senator), the county commission attempted to remove the church’s tax-exempt status and make it pay several thousand dollars a year in property taxes for their facilities (or sell the property – likely the ultimate objective). Among the claims made were that the congregation was “not really a church” because it had no denominational affiliation, had no “licensed” or “ordained” preacher, was not a “registered religious organization” and was not “contributing to the community.” That attempt was ultimately defeated after three appeals, finally to a State of South Dakota Department of Revenue administrative law judge, who ruled decisively against the county. Although represented for the final appeals by another state legislator and helped by donations from other churches, the successful effort drained their building maintenance fund and much of the church’s other resources. Since then, due to falling exchange rates and severe conditions in Nigeria, the church has had to devote more money to supporting the preacher in that country, and aiding the congregation there – so they have not been able to replenish their coffers for this new attempt, and needed work on their own facilities has gone undone.

In recent months, there have been several attempts to purchase the church’s property. These have been politely rejected, but may be behind this fresh attempt by the county to revoke their tax status. The church is incorporated under state law as a religious organization, and has IRS 501.c.3. status.

The next hearing, by the County Board of Commissioners acting as the County Board of Equalization, is scheduled for 1 PM, Tuesday, April 25^th

The following message is going out to churches throughout the US, distributed by friends of the congregation, asking for aid:

“Although funds may be needed to support this new struggle, more is needed immediately. First, prayers need to be raised to God to ask His intervention in this matter, that He might cause the county commissioners to cease this attack on a small church. Second, letters of support for the Twin Cities Church, addressed to the county commissioners (fax to 605-722-6221, Lawrence County Commissioners/Board of Equalization, County Courthouse, Deadwood, SD 57732) are needed (with copies to the church c/o 519 McQuillan St., Lead, SD 57754), are needed urgently.. The letters should be tactful, stating that you believe their actions are wrong and illegal, and an attack on all churches, especially churches which have no denominational organization, no “ordination” and no “licenses,” and small congregations with few members. Support from other churches will be key in this effort, and your help is asked.

For more information call Albert Harty, the church’s preacher, at 605-580-1030.