Episode 186 - REIT's & Redemptive Innovation in the $1 Trillion in Church Real Estate with Nick Bonner of AARE
Dec 9, 2024
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Nick Bonner, a leader in faith-driven real estate with extensive experience from CBRE and the Pine Tops Foundation, discusses his journey in transforming church properties. He reveals that churches typically utilize their buildings only 5% of the week, leading to innovative models like Open Doors for shared spaces. Bonner emphasizes the $1 trillion locked in church equity and how impact investing can create community hubs while maintaining Christ at the center. His personal testimony reflects the beauty of surrendering to divine redirection in business.
Nick Bonner highlights the need for churches to optimize real estate utilization by transforming their buildings into community hubs with shared spaces.
The establishment of a Christian impact REIT aims to democratize faith-driven investment, enabling individuals to contribute towards meaningful community initiatives.
Deep dives
The Vision of Impact Investment
The episode discusses the need for a transformative approach to church real estate and stewardship of capital. Nick Bonner, a leader in the real estate space, emphasizes the church's historical struggle with effectiveness despite its wealth, identifying a lack of actionable strategies as the core issue. He references the Great Opportunity Report, which outlines the church's future and highlights effective models for revitalization. By asking critical questions, Bonner and his team identify five common denominators for growth and propose innovative ideas to inspire church leaders.
Open Doors: A New Real Estate Model
Bonner introduces the Open Doors model, aiming to change the way churches utilize their real estate assets. By suggesting the creation of a for-profit sustainable fund, the model allows for shared spaces among multiple churches and other community uses, maximizing the utilization of property that is often underused. This approach seeks to generate additional income while fostering community engagement and outreach by transforming church real estate into versatile community hubs. Bonner argues this shift in mindset is essential for churches to optimize their stewardship and mission.
Challenges and Lessons Learned
The conversation reflects on the challenges Bonner faced during the implementation of his ideas, particularly a period of significant personal and professional struggle. He recounts a transformative moment of surrendering his ambitions, likening it to the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, where he had to trust God's plan over his own. This season of introspection led to a deeper understanding of faith and the importance of aligning one's identity with God's purpose. The episode underscores that setbacks can serve as crucial experiences that ultimately shape a greater vision.
The Future of Faith-Driven Investing
Looking ahead, Bonner reveals plans to establish a Christian impact investment real estate investment trust (REIT) that will allow more people to invest in faith-driven initiatives. The REIT aims to democratize access to impact investing, providing opportunities for smaller investors and promoting innovative real estate solutions. Emphasizing that faith-driven investing is not only about generating profit but also about creating meaningful community impact, Bonner inspires listeners to engage actively in the movement. The discussion concludes with a call to action for investors to apply their resources towards causes that align with their values.
In this compelling episode of Faith Driven Investor, Nick Bonner shares his transformative journey in Christian real estate investment and the innovative solutions he's developing to address inefficiencies in church property usage.
Key Topics Discussed:
The Great Opportunity Report's findings on church growth and the critical role of real estate
Analysis revealing that churches typically only utilize their buildings 5% of the week
The stark contrast between business and church property ownership (12% vs 84%)
Development of the Open Doors model for shared church spaces
The concept of transforming church buildings into community hubs with multiple revenue streams
The vision for democratizing faith-driven real estate investment through a Christian impact REIT
Personal testimony of surrendering business plans and experiencing God's redirection
Notable Insights:
Approximately $1 trillion in equity is locked in church buildings alone
Current church property models often burden pastors with responsibilities outside their core mission
The potential for shared spaces to create "divine collisions" and new ministry opportunities
How investment capital (150x larger than donation capital) can be leveraged for kingdom impact
The importance of maintaining Jesus as the central focus rather than the dream itself
Featured Guest: Nick Bonner brings extensive experience from CBRE, the Pine Tops Foundation, and various real estate ventures. His unique perspective bridges commercial real estate expertise with faith-driven investment strategies.
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