Oxford Vineyard Church is looking to move into the old Lazarus department store building uptown after renting the space temporarily and previously using Talawanda High School.
Oxford Vineyard, a new church in town, has been meeting in the old Lazarus department store building uptown since August, but the question of whether they can make it their permanent residence still remains unanswered.
Oxford Vineyard has been renting the Lazarus space at 17 N. Poplar St. on a month-to-month basis from Red Brick Property Management, but there is a question if the church will be able to continue occupying the building due to a previous agreement Red Brick made with another tenant, according to John Richter, pastor of Oxford Vineyard.
Before the church began renting the building, Richter said Red Brick had an agreement with another man interested in opening a bar. It looked like the deal was going to fall through, allowing the church to rent.
However, the deal has begun to re-surface. Richter said he was told by Red Brick Property Management that it would have to honor its previous agreement if the other tenant wanted to purchase the property. If the Lazarus space is sold to the other tenant, Red Brick will give Oxford Vineyard plenty of time to move out.
If Oxford Vineyard is unable to stay in the Lazarus building, Richter said Red Brick will help them find another location. They have already started looking at a property on Church Street and another above Chase Bank.
"I'm not too worried about it. I want to be worried, but I know that God will take care of it," Richter said.
Before moving into the space uptown, the church had been holding services beginning in early July at Talawanda High School, but Richter said there was a little miscommunication between the church and the school because he believed Oxford Vineyard would be able to use the facilities indefinitely.
In August, Talawanda High School informed Oxford Vineyard that it would not be able to use the high school for that month because the floors were being redone, according to Richter.
"We had been praying that we would find a new space to meet, and God told us to raise up Lazarus," Richter said. "We were pretty sure we weren't supposed to raise a person from the dead like Jesus restored Lazarus back to life in the Bible, but then we found the Lazarus building uptown."
Eric Bean is a Miami University junior who has been attending Oxford Vineyard since it started holding services.
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"The Lazarus building is definitely a beneficial place for the church to meet because it has a central location," Bean said. "It's easy to find uptown and easy to get to."
Lazarus's uptown location gives Oxford Vineyard opportunities for ministry because it is within walking distance of Miami University, Richter said.
"I think (the location) is great. There's a bar across the street from us and other things going on around us," Richter said.
About 65 to 70 people attend Oxford Vineyard on a weekly basis, Richter said. He said around 30 to 40 percent is made up of Miami students. The rest is made up of the Oxford community with families and middle and high school students.
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