Funding & Finance

Securing Outside Financing
Helping you realize God's vision for your church also involves sound financial advice and making the best use of resources. We have teamed up with professional financial advisors and fund raisers to bring experience and expertise to help you:

Plan for stewardship/capital campaigns.


Develop appropriate financial information for stewardship and financing.


Develop a project budget and cash flow needs analysis.


Negotiate and secure funds for construction.


Develop self-financing programs.


Maintain a working budget for expansion.

Your church has a unique financial profile, with unique needs to finance your construction or renovation project.

We can get you in touch with professionals that have the experience and skill to analyze your situation and develop a sound financial plan to mobilize your ministry programs. Our financial consultants will project the building fund cash flow, before, during and after construction. They can pre-qualify your church for loans, negotiate the best terms, and assist in the preparation of the extensive documentation required for a commercial loan. They can also help determine the equity and collateral position of your church's assets. You also need to become aware of your savings capability, know all your options for raising the required funds, and understand the advantages and disadvantages of the various programs and campaigns.

"For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'."
(Luke 14:28-30)

The Lord implies that it's common sense to have a good financial plan before you begin to build. Our financial consultants will prepare for you a sound financial structure to support the expected costs, before you begin to build.

Fund Raising Services
A good stewardship campaign is always a by-product of a deeper understanding of God's loving plan. Done right, a stewardship campaign can bring a church together and unite the congregation with a common vision. Done poorly, a fund raising campaign can lead to bitterness and resentment. We will partner you with a fund raising consultant to help you generate the capital needed for your building program and enable your leadership to prepare for long-term growth.

Our fund raising consultants can review with you various options to raise funds and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each. Depending on the type of campaign to be conducted in the church, our team of consultants can project potential and expected fund raising results. This will have a direct effect on your building budget and the design.

Financing
We will partner you with the appropriate financial institution to obtain the financing needed for your church building project. As a general rule, if the church plans to borrow funds for any project, the total long-term debt should stay within approximately three times the annual income. Many churches are in financial difficulty now because of over-borrowing or starting Christian schools while they had existing debt. We suggest you heed the old adage, “don’t go too fast too soon with too little.”

Types Of Financing

Money in hand

Bonds: The church sells all bonds or a bonding company buys all bonds - usually a one year maximum term. The average bond program takes several weeks to complete

Banks

Savings and Loan Associations

Individuals

Capital Gift Programs: According to national statistics, about 65-85% of monies pledged are eventually collected

What Lending Institutions Will Want

Collateral: Normally a lending institution will loan 60-70% of the value of the new structure.

Capacity: Ability to repay the loan. Mortgage payments should stay within a maximum 35% of monthly contributions.

Credit: The bank looks at how the church has paid its bills.

Pastor’s Character: How long has he been with the church? How is he viewed in the community? What is his life-style? Has he had any previous dealings with lending institutions?

Tenure of the Organization: How long has it existed?

Audited Financial Statements: Usually at least the last year of operation is required