I'M BUYING A CLOSED CHURCH TO STOP IT BECOMING FLATS

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]I'm buying a church. I was recently offered to buy a church to convert into flats for profit. And this idea really grated on my soul because we need churches to stay open. So, I decided to buy a church that to convert it back into a church and save churches closing down all across the country. Here's how it all happened. Watch till the end because this takes an unusual twist that could be the answer to making Britain great again [music] forever.

[00:00:37]When I was driving here to to Walsall, we were driving How many churches were we driving past that were like closed down? It was crazy, wasn't it?

[00:00:44]>> 17, 16. Churches that were closed down.

[00:00:46]And and it was grating me. I had a message off of somebody yesterday saying, "Oh, I've got a really good development opportunity. It's a rundown church and it's got planning permission to develop the flats."

[00:00:56]And I literally thought, "You know what?

[00:00:58]I want to buy it just to convert it back to a church. This is This is madness." Then I saw a church for sale in Walsall, in my area, in my hands. And I'm like, "Oh my goodness, I'm going to buy it." So, we just literally went round it, called up, put an offer on it for the asking price. I was thinking, "I'm going to rent it to the church on the basis they can have Sundays there, then we can house homeless people, and do some good stuff." All right, what's going on, my brother?

[00:01:26]Great to see you. Good to see you, sir.

[00:01:27]We spoke before, haven't we?

[00:01:28]>> We have, of course we have.

[00:01:29]>> times in Birmingham.

[00:01:30]What are you doing in Birmingham? Where do you live? Come to church. Respect, brother. So, this church, we saw it and I'm like, "Man, I'm I'm I'm I'm buying that church." I wasn't going to post it on social media, but as a result of posting it, I got the media contacting me like crazy. GB News have been trying to get me on the show. Christian Premier Radio, I've got an interview with them.

[00:01:47]Everyone's trying to pull me to London and stuff, but I don't really want to go on the media right now. I just want to just crack on and do what I need to do.

[00:01:52]So, meetings, busy, getting rich and leaving Walsall and making money and building my business, and but then coming back and being able to actually do stuff.

[00:02:00]It's a good feeling.

[00:02:02]Don't see any churches for sale for redevelopment. I think we're all clear.

[00:02:07]Good, let's go.

[00:02:09]>> [music] >> We're here at the Academy boxing right now and this is the thing, the Academy is not just about learning about property, it's community, bringing people together, training, going to church, working out, keeping fit. So, we've got branches like this across the country and we just hire out the whole gym, hire trainers and let Academy members all come for free as part of their membership and it's absolutely fantastic and I dip in and dip out as and when I can when I'm in the area.

[00:02:34]>> [music] >> Christians love seeing So, we need you to come. Yeah, definitely.

[00:02:39]We [laughter] worship Jesus with us.

[00:02:41]Jack, right? Join the Academy and he'd never had a fight, but he literally had a fight in front of a thousand people, didn't he? I did last after training boxing and it was probably the best fight.

[00:02:51]I did have a fight last night. No, you didn't. I did. Yeah, yeah. What did you say to him?

[00:02:56]Good, I need to get my points. Your financial freedom, right? You've got a property business financial freedom, but then I just want to push people out their comfort zone in different areas, you know? Definitely. So, turn six TO CHRISTIANS. NOW, >> [laughter] [music] >> IS HOW WE USE THESE OLDER buildings to respond to the needs of people in >> You're boring.

[00:03:19]And just buy a church.

[00:03:21]That is crazy that GB News have done a whole story on it, isn't it?

[00:03:24]But they didn't even tell me. You've got a call in a sec with Premier Christian Media.

[00:03:29]>> I'd rather talk to Christian Premier Radio than any other media company cuz at least their purpose is to actually glorify God.

[00:03:36]Good afternoon, Samuel speaking.

[00:03:38]Hi Samuel, it's Nyana from Premier Christian News and Radio. How are you?

[00:03:43]I'm very well, thank you, Nyana. Thank you for asking. From your experience as a property developer, what are some of these churches that are being sold and developed? What are they being turned into? I think they're just being developed into all sorts. Some of them are even being turned into mosques. Some of them have been turned into HMOs. Um they've been turned into flats, but they're being used to generally to try and make make make profit, which I haven't got a problem with making profit. It's fine. I make a lot of money myself as a property developer, but there's something almost Do you know when Jesus went and whipped the temples? It's just when something's been built as a building to glorify God and to to be gathered and to be a Christian place of worship, then to turn that building into something to make profit, it just it doesn't sit right with me. And finally then, if someone knows a church that's closing down after listening to this interview, or maybe they just want to support what you're doing, how can they get involved?

[00:04:37]>> Okay, here's how people can get involved and here's how people can help. I've had hundreds and hundreds, maybe thousands of people saying, "Can I donate? Can I help?" Yes, you can. What you can do is you can go to your local church and you can donate to them. I don't need any money or any help with anything. No, you're just like on a mission.

[00:04:53]Yeah.

[00:04:54]During lunch I received some bad news from the estate agent. I think I need to up my offer.

[00:04:58]To how much? Here's the thing, right?

[00:05:00]The asking price was 225. Right.

[00:05:03]But it said offers over.

[00:05:05]And apparently that guy, when we rang him, he said there was loads of offers.

[00:05:09]They're going to be developers, aren't they? It's a big site.

[00:05:13]Yeah, it's it's it's >> [sighs] >> The problem is I just need to know how much do I need to buy it for, really. He just needs to tell me like The estate agents don't work on the side. Wait. No, they don't.

[00:05:22]But I do have the guy's number, don't I?

[00:05:23]Maybe I can WhatsApp him and just say, "Look, man, I'm going to up my offer to 275."

[00:05:28]I'll get If I give him an extra 50 grand, and it's staying as a church, and I'm buying it cash, and I'll complete within 14 days, they can't say no to that.

[00:05:39]One more you can do me honest.

[00:05:41]Dear Lord, thank you for presenting this church opportunity to us. Help us start a movement to really save churches, but most importantly than saving the church buildings is actually bring people to the buildings, God. We pray that you bless this food, you bless the people that made it. Amen. Amen.

[00:06:06]So, we are now in Academy families. A lot of people in the Academy are single moms, sometimes even single dads, and they struggle to get to the ordinary networking events in the week. So, that's why we do this. We have entertainers and stuff that look after the kids and occupy them, which means that the adults can just have a break.

[00:06:23]For some of the parents it's like it's the one time in the month where they can actually just relax and not have to think about the kids. We do this across the country. So, we have like up north, down south, now in the Midlands, and there's also a spa here as well. And it's just fantastic little thing that we do for the Academy members all the time, every month.

[00:06:39]Hello. How are you? Hello, Baba. Hello, guys. You got four kids.

[00:06:46]Bro, I need to get another one now. I need to win this race. Hello.

[00:06:52]How are you? Oh, how's my hair? Jose, come here to Daddy. Wait.

[00:07:02]It's just a really nice place for Academy members to just mingle and network and also just for the kids to play. Sometimes there's a misconception online. People think that the Academy is a £12,000 course.

[00:07:13]It's not. It's this.

[00:07:16]It's community. And this is all free.

[00:07:17]Everything on the Academy is free. All the dinners, and the boxing, everything we do, it's all just included in the membership. What about Spider-Man?

[00:07:30]What is it then?

[00:07:32]I don't know these people, okay? 3 2 1 ACADEMY FAMILIES!

[00:07:42]It's now been a since I put my cash offer on the church and unfortunately the day after I put the offer on, they took the church off the market because apparently there was a an issue with a restriction on something and they won't let me access the church. I've got builders wanting to go in and to quote things up, but it's been paused. I'm calling the estate agent now. Hello, is it George?

[00:08:05]It is, yes. It's Samuel Leeds in regards to the Methodist church for sale.

[00:08:09]>> I think you're doing an open viewing.

[00:08:11]Are there multiple block viewings or is it just the one that's happening next next week?

[00:08:16]Well, we've got one next week that's that's fully booked and there's another one the following week. First one next week we've probably got I don't know, maybe 35 parties looking to attend.

[00:08:26]>> 35 people looking around it next week.

[00:08:28]That is crazy. Do you think that the client mind at all? Are they only looking at price or if the fact that we're keeping it as a church, would that matter to them?

[00:08:36]>> I think if we had two offers that were identical, one was from a developer and one was from a church, it would go to the church. So, all right George, really good to speak with you. Thank you so much for your time and uh I look forward to receiving your email. Thank you so much George. A lot of compliance and everybody needs to see it, everybody needs to then put their offer forward.

[00:08:55]It's annoying as well because I literally first saw this two months ago maybe. It could literally be up and running as a church right now, but I understand it is what it is and everyone's just doing their job and doing their thing. I'm I'm trying not to get emotional about the building but because it's so close to where I'm from I'm from Walsall. Just literally 10 minutes down 10 minutes down the road is where I went to school. I know the area well and and for me it is a little bit emotional, but also I know that the building is not everything. It's ultimately it's just a building.

[00:09:27]>> [music] >> Even when you buy a building that's smooth, quick and easy, generally speaking it takes between three and six months for solicitors, searches to be done, everything all the checks, it takes time, especially with a church.

[00:09:39]I've never bought a church before. And because of that, I decided, you know what? Why wait? I really want to buy churches. I really want to restore them and stop them closing down. I was speaking to my wife about this, and she rightly told me that churches is not just about the building, it's also about the people. Now, I've actually got a lot of houses in this area already. I own over 100 properties in the UK, and a lot of them are in the Midlands. So, we decided instead of just focusing and obsessing over buying this church and renting it out to a church free of charge and doing all these wonderful ideas that we had and the visions to do, we would start by just doing it and being faithful with what we have, what God's already given us. So, we've taken one of our existing properties that we own in Walsall, and we've leased it to Bethel Lighthouse completely free of charge, and we're also paying a member of staff provided by Bethel Lighthouse Church who are facilitating it as a refuge for homeless people. And this is just incredible. So, I'm going to continue pushing this, but we're I'm about to go and meet up now with Bethel Lighthouse to discuss how it's going.

[00:10:45]We've just had our first couple of guests in there who were taken for off off the streets, and we're trying to help them change their life.

[00:10:55]>> [music] >> I just bought this house for 107,000 pounds in Bloxwich, Walsall. I've refurbished it. It's in really nice condition. I've decided, rather than renting out the normal way, to give it away to help the homeless community here in Walsall, which is my hometown. So, let me show you around, and I'll talk through exactly what I'm going to be doing with this and how I've structured it. Now, I will make zero money from this house. I will not be getting grants. I will not be getting government schemes. I will not be getting housing associations or charities renting it from me. No. I am giving it myself. In fact, I've hired a full-time member of staff and their sole job is to go out and find homeless people and house them here for free. That's their job. They're going to have 2 weeks completely free in the house.

[00:11:45]Now during those 2 weeks, it's not just a roof over their head, they're also going to get food and they're going to get the most important thing, which is education. I am an educator. I've trained thousands of people who've become financially free through property and I want to help homeless people. So how do I do it? They're not going to register for a training program to learn to be property investors, but when they come to this house it's mandatory to stay in this house, you have to go through my new training program that I've put together, which is called rebuild your life. And this training program goes through how to get a job, how to think positively, HOW TO GET YOURSELF OUT OF A RUT, HOW to apply for long term housing through the council. If they don't do it, we're putting keypads on the doors. The code will change. Sorry, you didn't do your training. And people are going to complain that's harsh and people are going to be upset with me probably for saying that, but I believe that you have to help yourself in order to be helped.

[00:12:44]If they do the training, you know what happens? They unlock another 2 weeks in the house.

[00:12:51]I used to think my actions used to be, "Ah, that's the government's job. No, the government take care of all this."

[00:12:56]And I've been doing charity work through the Samuel Leeds Foundation for years.

[00:12:59]I'm continuing to [music] do my work in Uganda and many other different countries, but there's needs to be done here in the UK and the government just aren't doing [music] enough.

[00:13:14]So what's happening then? Give me a lowdown. We've got two residents and you'll meet them later. They walked in and they said it's seven star because in comparison to where they were, it was >> Come on. SEVEN STAR. YEAH, THIS That's the Bethel refuge right there. Seven star. Boom.

[00:13:30]And they were getting good food because where they were before, all they had each day was sandwiches.

[00:13:36]Yeah. But we were able to give them the lasagna, proper meals.

[00:13:39]>> Jerk chicken.

[00:13:40]>> oh yeah, of course, >> [laughter] >> of course.

[00:13:45]I'm O'Neil.

[00:13:46]And I'm the senior pastor of Bethel Lighthouse. This is my wife, Maureen.

[00:13:51]>> Yeah, I'm Maureen Lewis. She does so much at church that Yeah, yeah, I've been secretary. So, as a community church, we um uh as well as the services, we provide a soup kitchen. [music] We have a holiday program. And we do various things for the community to help vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our area. Cuz the area that we're in is a very deprived area. [music] There's a high crime, prostitution, drugs, that sort of thing. So, we're there to help as much as we can. I think Samuel coming on board is where I think he's sort of um revitalized our vision.

[00:14:23]>> Yeah. Um because what he's trying to do is falling [music] in line with what we want.

[00:14:28]>> Mhm. And I think it's for me it's a godsend. Yeah. Uh and God sent [music] him to to help us to do the mission that God's given us to do.

[00:14:42]What you've done for us, took us off the streets, gave us a second chance. Yeah, that's what it's about. And what have you achieved today, James? I actually found a place cuz my Friday WAS ON COME ON! COME ON! I WAS I WAS ON THE STREETS, dragging my feet, sleeping [music] in I was wiping my backside down in McDonald's toilet or something. I was destroyed before I came here. Mentally, physically, [music] and I was a train wreck.

[00:15:12]At the beginning, we were we were trying to follow your program in regards to the >> Yeah, I mean, it was only rough. What What work are you doing in the area?

[00:15:18]>> to learn driving.

[00:15:19]Driving? That's what I want to get to.

[00:15:21]Moving out plan of action and I've just put seven markers on here and I think they're I think they're just Come on, man. Let's go, man.

[00:15:28]I can read it out to you if you want.

[00:15:29]Yeah, read it out. Okay, the number one's moving into my new house my new flat.

[00:15:34]Start off my 90-day plans straight from tomorrow.

[00:15:38]Uh weekly little bit of work.

[00:15:40]Look after my health. Stop drinking booze to drown my sorrows. Yeah. Uh look after my new place. Keep great relations with my family. And live life to the full.

[00:15:52]I love that. Yes. That's like my goals basically.

[00:15:56]That's basically my goals right there.

[00:15:58]Congratulations.

[00:16:00]You hit the you hit the rocks to be a lighthouse to others. Be the lighthouse.

[00:16:03]Let's go.

[00:16:06]We might have I've not been homeless or anything, but we will been through our own things. You know what I mean? Life has its seasons. There's but there's no such thing as as the summer without the winter. You just got to say to yourself, [music] don't break.

[00:16:18]So there's there's there's a help there.

[00:16:20]These people that you know, if you connect with these people Samuel and the whole family, >> [music] >> you can never you'll be rehabilitated in every single sense in your mind, in your heart, in your soul.

[00:16:33]And you'll come out shining like I'm smiling now. Because >> [music] >> I didn't think I'd be here a month ago like this. I thought I'd probably end up dead or whatever.

[00:16:50]I moved Friday. So yeah, it's not my clothes. I washed these. I put them back. This I donated to Maureen. Aw, that's kind. And this for church. Maybe a church. That's kind. And the clothes that I don't need. Um some of the people yeah that we've reached that that that that that come to the uh soup kitchen they think it's like uh maybe uh a scam or we're trying to take take their benefits. Also some people they they they come to the even [music] the soup kitchen and they they you know they they want the food and stuff, but they think there might be some scam, so they take the food and go quickly. Hopefully people will see, >> [music] >> and then if they're interested in the house or coming, they'll be able to people will be able to tell them there's some Yeah.

[00:17:34]First, I [music] could settle myself, my soul, my to good rest, proper rest.

[00:17:41]Yeah. And put my my thoughts in order. Yeah. I came last Sunday. Maureen met my my misses. I asked my misses to marry me.

[00:17:52]You asked your misses to marry you? Yes, because we are not married. What did she say? Yes. She said yes.

[00:17:57]>> Wow.

[00:17:58]Okay.

[00:17:59]>> [music] >> And obviously I need to demonstrate. It's not words. Words without action >> [music] >> are simply words. You know I'd love to see as well some of these guys doing coming back and volunteering. Oh yeah, that he's offered already. I offered.

[00:18:18]And he's Yes. [music] See this one? He helped put some tables up as well. So the one opportunity is the forklift truck. Forklift and CSCS or pre-qualified myself. Yeah. Can get a good job.

[00:18:30]Yeah. But I have my ex-job is far. They was located in Winsford. It's Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm I'm from here, you know? I'm from here.

[00:18:38]Thank you.

[00:18:38]>> [laughter] >> So, this is the soup kitchen. We lease this building. Bethel church run everything here. And they run the show.

[00:18:53][music] I just donate food. When you say soup kitchen, you might think oh okay, soup. Mhm. Mhm. What kind What kind of food do you get here at this soup kitchen? Chicken, rice, coleslaw, salads, lasagna, all sorts.

[00:19:06]>> It's the best [music] food, so Bethel Lighthouse are what I would define as a real church, because a real church is not somebody just that [music] meets and gathers, which they do do. A real church is somebody that actually reaches [music] out to the community and and and shares what they have. And >> [music] >> yeah, we're planning one day that Bethel will have its own building.

[00:19:27]But we've been faithful with what we've got right now, which is this wonderful venue in a great location. And this Friday come down if you want to get food. Yeah, man, show us the soup kitchen then.

[00:19:40]Behind the scenes. All right, then. This is Ruth, our cook. Ruth, what's going on? This smells good. So, this is going out on Friday and today's Wednesday, but you're already starting preparing it.

[00:19:50]Why do you start it 2 days early? Is it Because we have so many people that come here.

[00:20:00]Reason I'm doing this documentary is not to [music] show off, but it's because I want to inspire other property investors who watch my channel to do [music] the same thing. And hopefully this will become a trend. I've already got people like Bear Grylls reaching out to me to show support. [music] >> I actually sent you that message just now. I just sent it about the beautiful things you're doing. Just amazing. I really thought, "Wow, gosh, what an incredible guy you are." Russell Brand retweeted the idea. Now, don't get me wrong, when you've got people like Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, endorsing you and calling you a good man, it's a great feeling. But more than people saying how great it is, I want people to get involved and do the same.

[00:20:36]And if they haven't got the money to buy a house and do this, at least go and support their local church.