We have had several fundraising campaigns in recent years. Why is the church still in debt? At a series of the most well-attended congregational meetings in FPC’s history (March 24, 2002; April 13, 2003; January 30, 2005), the membership unanimously approved a $12.2 million project to build the new Worship Center on Main Street and fund improvements to the existing Padre Drive facility (extensive remodel of the Wing Room and restrooms). The approved project included a projection of 10 years to pay off the debt. On April 15, 2007, the FPC congregation met again and unanimously approved the purchase of the Mini Mall building for $1,975,000. That vote, which ensured that FPC would have space to grow its ministries and serve generations of future members, added to the overall church debt and extended the 10 year time frame for repaying our loans. Over the past 8 years, FPC has had three fundraising campaigns to pay for the approved building and space improvements like the Wing Room at Padre Drive. Our dedicated congregation has come together with best intentions to fulfill our pledges and retire our debt. We are now in the final and crucial phase of our 10+ year campaign. We still have work to do to honor our original commitment, complete our vision, continue our purpose, and ensure that we do not leave debt for future generations.
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Why did we purchase the Mini Mall building next door to the Main Street Worship Center? In 2007 the building next door to the Main Street Worship Center became available for purchase. Our congregation was growing quickly, our Sunday school classes were over-capacity and there was no additional room for growth in the existing Main Street facility. The FPC congregation met on April 15, 2007 and voted unanimously to purchase the Mini Mall building for $1,975,000 to ensure that the church would have the room to grow and serve the congregation both now and in the future. In answer to prayer, a group of investors purchased the Mini Mall building for FPC for $2 million. Our investors held the space for as long as possible, but needed to be repaid for the purchase price. This loan is now included in the total remaining debt shown on the Remaining Debt chart (the Mini Mall purchase price is only approximately 15% of total debt). Why is a new fundraising campaign necessary now? In September 2010, FPC will run out of money in the Building Fund account. We have a monthly payment of $51,000, consisting of $16,000 toward principle and $35,000 of interest expense, that services the mortgage of our Main Street Worship Center, the purchase of the Mini Mall, and the remodel of our Padre Drive facility. The founders of FPC had a dream to provide for future generations. They built our beautiful red brick church on Padre Drive to make space to add to the numbers of souls saved, and they left no debt for us. It’s our turn to continue this dream….to provide space for ministry for future generations debt free.
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Is this our final campaign? It depends on how much we give and how fast we give it. The more we give at the beginning (1st Fruits Offering May 16, 2010), the greater value of our dollars given. This means that more of our dollars will go towards paying off debt, resulting in a reduction of our total interest cost. If we collect $6.4 million on May 16th we will pay off our entire debt. How quickly we pay off our debt depends on how much we give and how fast we give it, as the following graph illustrates.
What are the plans for the Mini Mall/ Kids Central The original plan for the Mini Mall was to build an entirely new building as a Family Life Center. Given the church’s financial situation and the economic downturn, the Family Life Center plan was significantly scaled back. The new Kids Central area, which occupies a small portion of the Mini Mall, was constructed with the help of hundreds of volunteers and about $150,000. Kids Central has expanded the number of 2nd–5th graders we can save from 140 to 500 every Sunday. We have also solved the problem of the over-capacity situation in our Worship Center classrooms. Remember we were so crowded we moved the babies to the library! Now we have room to grow again and have relocated our babies into a proper and safe space! An after school tutoring program for disadvantaged kids (reading / English language / math / science); |
