Crystal Cathedral Church Gets $47.5 Million Purchase Offer From Retailer ‘Hobby Lobby’

Hobby Lobby Stores are attempting to buy the Crystal Cathedral Church for $47.5 million after the religious organization recently said they needed to raise nearly $50 million to pay back creditors. Hobby Lobby recently donated the 170-acre Rancho Capistrano property to Rick Warren and his Saddleback Church.

The Hobby Lobby offer to buy the church isn’t the first they have received, while they have said they will raise the needed cash to save their building over the next four months they have still received the following offers:

Greenlaw Partners LLC and Chapman University ($46 million), Romanc Catholic Diocese of Orange County ($50 million), My Father’s House International Church in Norco ($50 million).

In a statement about their purchase offer Mart Green, son of Hobby Lobby CEO David Green said they want to buy the 40-acre property in Garden Grove and lease it to King’s University.

The statement also reveals that the Van Nuys-based seminary would have the option to sublease any or all parts of the property as needed.

The Cathedral recently shuffled around their church board during Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearings, attempting to remove all Schuller family members from the board (Robert Schuller founded the church and was recently removed from his voting position on the churches board) and during a court hearing the churches lawyer Mark Winthrop said the church was relying on a “faith-generated belief” that funds would be provided in order to save the church from being purchased by an outside group.

The church is best known for the popular televangelist show “Hour Of Power” which helped initially give a boost to the church in your home TV movement.

What do you think about Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. buying Crystal Cathedral?