The Memphis church where a young Johnny Cash hit the stage for his first performance is looking for a savior.

Sara Hazlerig practices vocal exercises with students in a Visible Community Music School course at Lifelink Church in Cooper-Young. 
(Photo: Lance Murphey)

Lifelink Church Memphis has put its building at Cooper Street and Walker Avenue in the Cooper-Young neighborhood up for sale, a little more than three years after moving there with plans to rehab it as a hub for artists and musicians. The church, represented by Rasberry Commercial Real Estate, is asking $795,000.

“I love the location,” church elder Ken Steorts said of the property, formerly home to Galloway United Methodist Church. “Really a crossroads of a lot of arts and culture and diversity of families, and a very energetic part of the city.”

Since purchasing the building for $550,000 in 2008, Lifelink has invested about $170,000 in repairs. About 80 percent of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system has been upgraded, and the building – a main sanctuary built in 1912 and a mid-20th century addition in the rear – is structurally sound, Steorts said.

The church primarily attracts younger “creative class” worshipers and makes the visual and musical arts a key part of its ministry, Steorts said. But after Lifelink’s former leader, pastor Joey Noffsinger, left in 2010 to pursue another career, the small congregation of about 70 decided the upkeep on nearly 40,000 square feet on 1.5 acres was a bigger cross than it wanted to bear.

“We can’t be the ones to do it,” Steorts said. “We love the neighborhood, we love the people and really love the building. It’s just a bit too much when you’re a small group. ... You don’t want to spend so much money on the building when you’re so small and you want to help people.”

Lifelink doesn’t have a new location lined up yet but hopes to stay in the Midtown area.

Besides regular Sunday services, the building houses the Visible Community Music School – an offshoot of Visible Music College Downtown – Gallery 210, an all-ages music venue called The Abbey, several community and recovery groups, a greenspace maintained by Girl Scouts and a smaller second church that worships in a chapel. Its 80-car parking lot hosted the Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest in October.

Some of the building’s tenants said they haven’t decided what the future holds for them.

Visible Community Music School has made a home in the building since 2010, offering music lessons to about 40 children and adults a week in an upstairs studio.

Students practice drumming in a Visible Community Music School course at Lifelink Church in Cooper-Young.
(Photo: Lance Murphey)

Director Sawyer Schafbuch said the location offers easy access to his students in Midtown, Binghampton and Downtown. He also loves the energy that comes from the building’s connection to rockabilly royalty.

“It’s pretty neat that that church building has been a hub for music for however many years,” Schafbuch said.

Despite some peeling paint and falling plaster inside, the sanctuary still houses its original stained-glass windows, woodwork and light fixtures. The ground-floor room where Cash and his band once played gospel music before signing to Sun Records still plays host to occasional concerts.

Steorts would like to remain active in the church building under its new ownership and hopes to continue working on a project to establish a Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two Memorial Tribute Stage in The Abbey music venue downstairs. A small museum display and documentary film would chronicle the building’s musical heritage and might put it on the map as a tourist attraction. He also hopes bands can continue to play in the space.

Even before the building hit the market, Steorts said the church received inquiries from charter schools and other churches interested in purchasing it.

“It’s a great opportunity for a spiritual community to come in and be a part of some things that cross racial lines and economic lines,” Steorts said.