Dear West Side,
For those that were not in attendance last Sunday, Pastor AJ and I (Tim Wellert) announced that the elders have chosen to begin a giving campaign to pay down our building debt. This was unplanned (we did not plan to begin a giving campaign any time soon, let alone after Pastor AJ preached a vision series ending with giving). Our action came at the request of some church members, our observation that the congregation seemed excited to pay down the debt when AJ addressed this in his October 12 sermon, and a prompting by the Holy Spirit. We trust that now is the time to begin paying down our debts so that we are strongly positioned to utilize more of our resources for Kingdom work in the near future.
Some background: Approximately 10% of our annual budget currently goes toward servicing our building loan (currently valued at $622,000), which equates to just a little under $10,000 each month. This is a large sum! Aaron (our financial admin) analyzed some scenarios and found if we were able to pay an additional $100,000 against the building loan for the next three years, we would be debt free by the end of 2028. Although a lofty challenge, we believe that God can take our gifts and multiply them so we can re-focus our budget to spend considerably more on global and local missions, outreach, and ministry within the church.
When Nehemiah led the Israelites in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, each family pitched in and built their portion. The insurmountable task of repairing the wall was competed in just 52 days—family by family, brick by brick. I see our building debt in a similar light. With God, we can accomplish this task family by family, dollar by dollar, paying off brick by brick. We ask you to contribute if you feel called, whether from your little or your abundance. If God is telling you to abstain, wait, or to join the effort, we desire nothing more than your obedience to Him.
We (the elders) ask for you to prayerfully consider how God is asking you to help in paying down our debt. Seek Him. Fast and pray. Please seek what the Lord desires of you.
Please note this giving campaign is intended to be in addition to what you would normally give. We don’t want to take from the general budget giving to fund the building debt as we still need to maintain staff salaries, heating, electricity, etc. for day-to-day operations.
We plan to run this initial campaign for six weeks, wrapping up Sunday, November 30. You are welcome to give online, write a check, or use the envelopes at the offering boxes. When you do so, please choose the “pay down the debt” designation for online giving or simply write “debt” on the note of your check or envelope. We will make sure your contribution goes toward paying down the principal of our loan.
I am so greatly encouraged by the generosity that has already been expressed and look forward to reporting on the impact we’ve made to reducing our debt on November 30.
Heavenly Father, we trust that You will provide for this church. You have proven yourself faithful and we yield ourselves to You and Your desire for us. Guide us as we endeavor to reduce our debt. Give us courage to take action when You ask us to move or to stand down when You ask us to wait. I pray that we hear Your voice clearly and do what You ask of us. Help us to love well and share Your good news wherever we go. In Jesus' name. Amen.
You are all dearly loved,
Tim Wellert, Elder