The Point

I recently touched on the types of lenders that are out there lending money to churches, but it’s worth further discussion because of the varied forms that church loans take, especially today.

“Traditional/Conventional”- These terms are most often used to refer to a standard commercial structure which typically has a 3,5, or 7 year term with a 15,20, or 25 year amortization. This is the most common structure used by banks and credit unions to structure a commercial credit and church loans are generally considered commercial. Advantages include fixed payment which helps with budgeting as well as the lowest average closing costs which should be under 2% of the total loan amount, this can vary from state to state and even county to county as things like deed recording tax vary widely.

Bonds- Bonds differ in structure in that they generally have a fixed rate for a longer period, as long as 30 years, great for the church that expects to have a one and done master building plan. The rates are often competitive with bank financing but fees are typically significantly higher, in the 6-8% range,  depending on a variety of factors including if the church is willing/able to sell a portion of the bonds to congregants.

Alternative/Hard money- This group includes direct loans from congregants as well as high interest lenders, which can obviously be very different from one to the next. The main advantage is that you can sometimes get these loans even when no other options are available, but you will usually pay for the privilege in the form of higher rate, fees, and often are used for very short term needs while the church works to find a more permanent financing solution.

That’s a basic overview of the general basic types of financing for church buildings. If you have specific questions or want additional detail, you can send me an email by clicking on the button on the top right hand side of the header.

Keep the Faith!

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My wife asks me the question all the time…What were you thinking?

So today, I thought I’d share a few random thoughts from my random mind…

Why do we do it this way?

What if there is a better way to do this that nobody has even considered yet?

Who is doing things differently and getting results?

Would what’s working there work here?

What can I do better than anyone else?

Why am I not doing more of that?

I try to ask questions a lot, when it works I get better, when I stop asking questions I often stop getting results and almost always stop getting the results I want…

GO.

THINK.

ASK.

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Last week we talked about some things that help ensure a visitor makes it to the front door, today let’s talk about some things to do once you get them there.

Friendly greeter/greeting- Seems like a given, but I’ve been to some that made me feel like I was intruding on their private gathering. They don’t need to be over the top, but a smile and a handshake go a long way to making someone feel welcome.  This is in addition to the parking area greeters that offer a smile, wave, and point me to the visitor parking area.

Literature/information- I’m NOT a fan of the bulletin hand out at the door, but that’s just a personal preference, I don’t yet have any proof that it’s helpful or hindering so I’ll leave that to you. What I KNOW works is a central point of distribution for information for visitors as well as breakout material for more info on small groups, special events, etc. The best I’ve seen have a sort of welcome desk hub that is manned by friendly and knowledgeable volunteers that can do more than hand out the right brochure but can actually talk to the information requested. 

Kids drop-off- This one is HUGE! There are few things worse than coming into a church with my two young kids and staring around blankly looking for some direction, someone showing us where to go, a sign, anything! The check in process itself can take many forms, I prefer an electronic check in, to me it seems more secure, and when I’m dropping my kids off with people I’ve never met, security is IMPORTANT.  On the positive side, Kids ministry done well makes everything else secondary, I GUARANTEE if the kids want to come back you’ll see the family again!

Cafe/Other- I love a well located and quality cafe at church. Of course I’m also an early thirties on and off church attendee,  so if your target is the lifelong church-goer, this is probably not an area of much interest. But if you are attracting the same people you’ve always attracted, maybe it’s time to change things up. This catch all is mainly centered on the look, feel, overall experience of your environments outside of the worship spaces. It should be relevant to the crowd you are trying to attract…

Going to a new church is uncomfortable enough without having to go through additional awkwardness because of the smell, poor signage, or other hurdles we unintentionally put between people and God.

Next time we visit this subject of visitors we’ll look at what happens in the seats and then things  you can do to encourage return visits and involvement.

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By some estimates, over $8,000,000,000 is funded in church loans…every year.

So who are the institutions that loan money to churches?

Banks- Some big players among banks include, Bank of the West, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, BB&T, Regions, and hundreds of regional and community banks all over the country. They tend to have the most standardized approach and are both reasonable in price and service. Most churches look here first.

Credit Unions- Unique because of their membership requirements and restrictions, some of the church lending focused credit unions include ECCU, ACCU, and CCCU. They generally specialize and offer a level of service and expertise that few banks can match, but they also have a smaller deposit pool to fund from which can limit their potential to do loans in certain size, denomination, or geography.

Bond Companies- Church bonds are one of the oldest bonds of any kind and these companies have gone in and out of vogue for a long time. There a lot of companies in this category with few real leaders, but a few I run across with some regularity include Ziegler and Share.  The  benefits of bonds for some churches, long term, fixed rate, are also the disadvantage to others that may have more than one phase planned which could complicate and increase the cost of such funding.

Other Sources- Congregants, private money(Hard money) lenders, and pension funds are among some of the other creative sources of financing for churches. These often come with additional stipulations and challenges that make them a second or third choice…

In each of these categories there are a lot of options and the right fit for an individual ministry can be unique from one to the next. I’ll be doing a few posts in the future talking about things to consider with each type of institution and also steps ministries should take to ensure that when the time comes to borrow funds, they’ll be well positioned to have the request approved.

I’d love to hear from church leaders who have had a memorable experience in the church loan process, good or bad!

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I originally wrote this last summer, as I was trying to figure out what to write today this is what came to mind…

I don’t remember where I saw this video first, but…It’s AMAZING!
Watch the whole video, you won’t get it if you don’t!

A few things we can learn from this video…
1. One man can start a movement.
2. A movement need not be started by the most skilled.
3. When you look around and nobody else is joining your dance, just keep dancing.
4. When the one guy who joins your movement slowly fades away, keep going.
5. Before you know it, the people joining your movement won’t even know you started it.
6. When your movement takes a life of it’s own, just let go… There will be no stopping it.
7. The very people who are staring at you like your nuts, as you “movement” alone, will be the same people dancing the hardest in the end.

It’s time to start your movement, or if you already have and it doesn’t seem like anyone has joined the dance…keep dancing!

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I’ve spent a lot of time lately talking about problems I’m seeing when I visit churches.

Things that are making things worse, or at the least not making them better…

Today, I want to point out a few things I’m seeing that are producing positive results. There are churches that continue to grow and reach people in spite of the challenges that are facing their communities and congregations.  Some of the things that are working…

1. Honesty- people appreciate it. Ministries that are open about their financial ups and downs and can explain it competently and transparently are greeted with increased congregant buy in and higher giving.

2. Vision- A bad plan is often better than no plan at all, people respond to vision and a plan.

3. Change-Conventional wisdom says don’t rock the boat, if it’s not broke don’t fix it…I’m seeing that many churches that are continuing to thrive even in “tough economic times” aren’t only ignoring that advice but they are actively looking at new and innovative ways to do more with less and their communities are responding favorably! Part of this isn’t even the change, it’s simply the openness to change and the acknowledgement that there may be better ways of doing things and looking for those constantly.

There are other things but in almost every church I’m visiting where things are going well, it comes back to these. Next time we’ll take a look at Leadership and the importance of the second chair…

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What’s the most important thing you can do get people to visit your church?

According to my survey of 20-30′s young adults about half of which are not church-goers…

If you think it’s music, you’re wrong.

If you think it’s a great kids program…wrong again.

Phenomenal preaching/teaching/speaking?  WRONG

The things that will most entice a random visitor have nothing to do with what actually goes on INSIDE your church.

Most of the spontaneous church visits I do are encouraged… by a billboard, an ad at the movies, the church building itself as I drive by, signage…

When I’m thinking of visiting a church THE FIRST THING I do is check out their website, I look around for info on staff, service times, directions, what to expect, even blogs, to get a feel for what I’m getting myself into.

Once I’ve made up my mind that I’ll be visiting, the nerves set in…What will it be like, how should I dress, will I know the songs, are people going to single me out?

When we are driving onto the property I look for people, if I don’t see many cars, I may just turn around and pull right back out. I also love when a church makes it obvious where to go, a clear entrance, smiling faces…If the people going in aren’t expectant and a little excited… why should I even waste my time?

-Good website

-Visible Signage

-Clean building

-Clearly marked directions

-Friendly greeters before I hit the front door.

I get nervous visiting churches, and I visit them every week! Imagine if I was a first time visitor really looking to find a community to become a part of, I’d be a wreck! Anything you can do to put me at ease would be greatly appreciated…

Of course, if what happens inside with music, kids, and speaking aren’t engaging then you’re not likely to get that visitor to come back again, but getting them there the first time is all about getting the word out and making a great first impression, what happens once they hit the front doors…

we’ll talk about that another time…

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