Church Construction Loans and Foreclosure

I recently read an article in the USA Today about how the mortgage meltdown is trickling down to churches.  The story starts off talking about a D.C. area church that was building a 3,000 seat, $30 million facility.  They had already sold and moved out of the old building when all of the funding for the new place fell apart.  Construction stopped and the church has no permanent home.

The article goes on to talk about other examples as well.  One church filed bankruptcy.  Another switched to an interest only loan.  Others are defaulting on payments.  A few churches were faced with foreclosure.

In contrast, I remember a visit to Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas for a conference.  They recently purchased two abandoned office building towers and built a beautiful, state of the art, 2,000 seat sanctuary.  They did it all without going into debt.  They waited until right properties became available and raised all of the money they needed before starting any construction.  Now, they're building a new bigger sanctuary and turning the old one into a children's ministry center.  Again they're doing it debt free.  (At least that was the plan a year ago.)

It would be easy to instantly condemn the first examples saying they were being poor stewards of money and should be above the societal norm of taking out massive loans, ignoring the fact that the economy could tank.  In turn, it would equally as easy to applaud Watermark.

But the truth is, there are many growing churches who don't have enough room or ones who have buildings that are beyond repair.  They need to build.  They feel convicted that God is telling them to grow.  And obviously some churches plan better for construction than others.

What do you think?  How should churches manage building a new facility?

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Comments (15)

You don't build, you go portable. Renting a facility albeit not glamorous as it is, is MUCH cheaper than owning a building. Thousands of churches are doing this and becoming much more effective at reaching others as well. The strain of finances does not over burden the church. You can grow easier, adapt easier to change, and you're not tied to a specific location.
renting instead of owning a building or property seems to me a biblical concept relating to our being "sojourner" here on earth and being always ready to move depending on the Spriti's leading. as i have seen, after so much effort in acquiring a property, churches often become complacent, becoming a little lazy and trying too much to maximize the asset (building) instead of focusing on the ministries and mobilizing its people. plus having to deal with rental payments gives the congregation a sense of continuous dependency on God.

i would also like to ask your thoughts on the so-called House Church movement.

thanks and have a blessed day!
Debt free is the way to go-- if God is truly guiding He will provide-- there was no lack of funding for the tabernacle nor the temple. In my opinion, too many churches are run like businesses, which they were never intended to do.
I think AJ makes a good point.

The strength of a church shouldn't be in its building, but in its people and the community they create. Churches can meet in all sorts of weird and wonderful settings, and they needn't be modern looking conference centres.

In some ways I actually think the more high-tech venues can be a distraction, and take people away from the realities of the world (where we're meant to be doing things to spread Christ in love). But yeah, I am willing to believe that this stance is purely my own. I kinda like the idea of low-key churches that don't rely on big productions etc.
Yeah, but the real problem is that many christians, especially sunday christians' tend to choose more comfortable and modernized venues for their services. Yeah, it's not only the problem of church leaders, but of the christian people themselves.

I also should repent in this aspect.
Agreed, big productions will always draw a crowd.

I attend a big church (have been there since the days it was a little baby of a thing) and sometimes i feel very sad about how big the production aspect has gotten.

But then again there are some amazing people who go there, so I hang out with them and feel comforted.
There is another alternative to building bigger when you have no more room; that is multiplication, starting elsewhere. This too should be taken into consideration. And having been a missionary in Africa for over ten years and now in France I do sometimes worry when I see millions being spent on buildings whether these churches have the right priorities. Ultimately it's up to the church to decide before God. But are churches really bringing their projects to God?
You're right (in my humble opinion).

Lots of small churches is a really cool idea in my mind, but at the same time I'd hate to be the person managing the logistics of splitting congregations into different areas. What with venues (in some cities harder to find than others), music equipment (if the church is big on music), people to lead it, volunteers etc.

Plus if I were to be cynical (and I will for a second) - I think there would be some pastors/church leaders out there who get an ego stroke out of having a big congregation. (I think most of them don't go after this at all, but it does happen).
Why does the Body of Christ need buildings? We Christians like to say that the Bible is our guide for faith and practice. However, the practice of the modern Church in America bears no similarity to the Church practice clearly detailed in the New Testament. The typical American church spends 90-100% of its income on building and salary expense, yet only about 15% of people surveyed say they were influenced in some way by pastor, building or program to come to Christ or to church. Sadly, 50% of churches in America today cannot report even one conversion annually. As we have centered our focus on buildings and lecture-style sermons we have lost sight of our co-mission. We are lovingly commanded by our Lord to "Go and make disciples". Instead, we have developed the attitude, "Come and grow with us." Please permit me to go down this path one step further. Unless you're in building-centered church leadership, you really don't even enjoy sitting in a pew listening to a lecture. You only do it because you think you're supposed to and don't know of any other option. There is another option. I dare you to study of the Book of Acts and Paul's epistles and compare the picture of the Church contained therein with the modern church.
Expand your people not your building. The church is the people not the building. In God's Grace John
The truth is... you're all right.

1. We don't really need a building, because the Church is us... not the house.
2. But then again, we do. You know, the rain and the cold causes worship to chafe.
3. Making a house of God can be a modest 1850 square-foot home, not the beachfront 9,500 square-foot temple. Who builds that: man or God? Or man's ego thinking he is just that deserving of God?

Nice post. Thanks for this!

Peace,
HiScrivener
debt is not bad, as long as it is managed. God tells us to be "good stewards". My question to you - is "paying intrerest" the "best" use of God's Money (remember - it's ALL God's Money!). If we're doing everything else God is telling us to do, then debt isn't bad. If, however, we're doing debt INSTEAD of something God is telling us to do, then it it is BAD. A Better option - put the money you WOULD pay for mortgage into an account and DRAW INTEREST on it monthly until you have enough to PAY CASH. That way you're both growing the kingdom, and using HIS money for the right things.

Deep thoughts by Tim.

God bless you all this Day!
I am part of a church that recently built a new facility--and we are feeling the pinch now that the economy has tanked and all the rules seem to have changed. No one could have predicted this a year ago. Was this facility needed? Yes! Our previous facility was too small 25 years ago, and we kept growing. Could we have started other churches? This was considered but not feasible for what we believe God is calling us to do. Since we opened our new facility we have seen more and more people come to worship, to serve, and to be served. Instead of questioning whether we should have built the facility, maybe we should be asking ourselves what God means for this challenge to do for us. Is God calling us to maintain our vision even when it seems to be foolish? Is God calling us to truly sacrifice for the mission he has given us? Are we willing to give up a vacation, a home remodeling projects, a newer car, so that we can give to the mission of the church? Maybe God wants us to learn what it really means to be claimed by a vision that calls us to us to leave all and follow him.
While there is obviously no one-size-fits-all prescription, I would mainly like to see Churches consciously examining to what extent they are affected by the surrounding culture. For example, is bigger always better? Are tangible results always the bottom line or are biblically informed principles?

The church should not be run like a business because our motivation cannot be more power, more money, etc...

To those who believe the church should never incur debt or build buildings, I would ask: "Will you turn people away? How will you be a good steward of the work of God?"

To those who believe a modern, beautiful, state-of-the art church building is essential, I would ask: "If your building was blown up, how readily would the relationships and the ministry of your church continue unabated?"
A loan might result to a foreclosure if the person or entity can't no longer pay it in due time. It is sad to hear church foreclosures news in the community but that is how the economy affects every institution. The same article in:Mortgage crisis in the house of the Lord . Church property foreclosures are at an all-time-high, according to a recent report. It seems that not even the God is exempt from the mortgage dilemma.

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