By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Saturday, October 11, 2025

After a years-long legal dispute over a downtown Nashville church founded by her great-grandfather, six-time Grammy-winning Christian pop singer Amy Grant and her family members have finally won it back.

The church, Nashville Church of Christ, formerly Central Church of Christ, is located at 145 Rep. John Lewis Way and was founded by civic leader and businessman Andrew Mizell “A.M.” Burton in 1925.  The church’s deed stipulates that if the church building ever stopped serving its originally intended purpose, the property should return to his estate.

In 2018, another businessman, Shawn Mathis, reportedly seized control of the church and its assets. He further renamed the church and claimed to have launched an online ministry, but didn’t hold church services on the premises, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In a settlement approved by the Tennessee State Court on Wednesday, it was ordered that the church be returned to the estate of Grant’s family since Mathis was in violation of the deed. The settlement cited by the Journal ruled that the building must be sold at fair market value, with most of the proceeds going to the Burton estate.

Grant told the Journal that she was relieved by the court’s decision and that “our relationship with Shawn Mathis is now finished.”

Burton was a successful insurance company founder and donated much of his wealth to Christian organizations and charities when he died in 1966. The church, which boasted hundreds of members in its heyday, was left boarded up thanks to Mathis, who had been serving as its director.

Burton’s descendants and court filings allege that after Mathis joined the church in 2017, he pushed out longtime members and assumed control of the church and its assets, estimated to be worth about $30 million.

Jeremy Goolsby, an attorney representing the church for Mathis, told the Journal that his client committed no wrongdoing and “made the strategic decision to settle the very narrow litigation related to certain deed restrictions.”

In an op-ed published by Tennessee Lookout on Oct. 2, Grant said her grandfather was so generous with his fortune, he gave away more than $100 million before he died in 1966, which would be the equivalent of about $1 billion today.

“I believe in the power of stories — and Burton’s, specifically — to win hearts, change minds and inspire action. I wouldn’t be a songwriter if I didn’t. But bigger questions have started to replace that initial desire: What do I do with your story? What have I learned from it? How do I honor it? How do I live it? It’s time to walk the walk,” Grant wrote.

She then revealed that in honor of the church’s 100th anniversary, her family has launched the A.M. Burton / Matthew 25 Fund.

“We start from humble beginnings, just like Burton. We will be guided by his example of service, community empowerment, and civic responsibility, with a core mission to uplift individuals and thus strengthen our city,” Grant wrote.

“Luckily, the causes Burton championed, and the philanthropic services Central offered to all, provide a roadmap for our efforts: from charity medical care and disaster relief to affordable housing and childcare. The community’s voice, support, and needs will determine our future.”