Dear Action Line,
I heard that the Vineyard Church will take over the Nissan building as their new place of worship. Vineyard is a nondenominational Christian group. Like so many new churches, they started in locations other than their own. Among those, they fellowship at Grace Community Church on Florida Road on Wednesday nights. I hope this helps. – Signed, Avid Reader
Dear Avid Reader,
Thanks for the intel. Action Line loves when readers are active participants in this column.
After some additional digging, Action Line can confirm that the building that formerly housed the Stephanie Morris Nissan dealership is the new home for Durango Vineyard Church.
“She’s OFFICIALLY ours and already PERFECT,” Durango Vineyard Church posted on social media earlier this week ahead of a Wednesday night service in the building.
Church officials didn’t respond to our request for comment by press time, but email newsletter communications that are publicly available on the Vineyard Church website give more insight into the acquisition.
For context, Durango Vineyard Church is a local branch of the broader Vineyard USA organization, which has been around since 2013. The church holds Christian, Protestant, and orthodox beliefs, according to its website. Until now, Vineyard operated out of Grace Church on Florida Road, another nondenominational church.
However, Vineyard wanted a long-term home of its own.
In an April email update titled “Final Nissan Update,” Vineyard revealed that it had asked Nissan – the building’s owner – to lower its asking price to $2,000,000. The auto maker came back with its “lowest and best offer” of $2,375,000. This left Vineyard with $298,000 if it wanted to close on the property.
Fast forward two days, and another email was sent.
“All I can say is that God has made a way when there was no other way,” the newsletter said. “So many people have stepped forward with generous donations that have put us in position to close.”
It’s unclear where the money came from, but it is clear that the building is now in the hands of Vineyard Church. The church is now asking for volunteers to help paint, clean and fix up the space. Worshippers at this last Wednesday’s service had to provide their own chairs because, well, the building is currently no more than a vacant auto dealership.
That closes out this strand that we began pulling on with our previous column about the future of the building. As for Nissan drivers, it looks like Farmington will be the closest dealership for the foreseeable future.
Submit questions or concerns to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail questions to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301.
