Hobby Lobby Making a Big Impact on Churches in Orange County

The Oklahoma retailer recently purchased the Rancho Capistrano property that had belonged to the Crystal Cathedral, and just this week donated that property to Saddleback Church.  Now Hobby Lobby is going after the Crystal Cathedral itself:

Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., which recently donated the 170-acre Rancho Capistrano property to Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, has put in a $47.5 million cash offer to purchase the financially struggling Crystal Cathedral.

This offer from the Oklahoma-based arts and crafts retailer comes days after an announcement from Crystal Cathedral's leaders that their church is not for sale and that they will raise $50 million in the next four months to pay off creditors who are owed millions.

According to a statement issued by Hobby Lobby, its cash offer will pay off all creditors as soon as a sale is completed. So far, Crystal Cathedral has $46 million offers from Greenlaw Partners LLC. and Chapman University and $50 million offers from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and My Father's House International Church in Norco.

Mart Green, son of Hobby Lobby CEO, David Green, said in a statement that they intend to buy the 40-acre property in Garden Grove and lease it to King's University. The Van Nuys-based seminary will then have the right to sublease any or all of the property, Green said.

Green said the Hobby Lobby offer has the blessing of the Schullers.

"Before we submitted a formal proposal, we sought and received the blessing of the Schuller family in regard to purchasing the Crystal Cathedral property," he said. "Our family has extensive experience assisting ministries whose mission is to spread good across the nation and the world.

Hobby Lobby operates 485 arts and crafts stores nationwide. The company on its website says its operation is based on Christian and biblical values.

The Federal government is in even worse shape than the Crystal Cathedral. Maybe Hobby Lobby would like to make an offer on that too?