Sunday, January 8th, 2023, we held a congregational meeting to discuss our plans for the rebuilding project of our sanctuary. Since not everyone was able to attend the meeting, we felt it prudent to provide a summary of what was discussed.
General Church Information
Information was shared as to the Church's current financial state, which includes
A 2023 annual budget of $345,000
The Church is debt-free, having paid off our mortgage of over $350,000 in 2020
Current assets earmarked for capital and building expenses are about $300,000 in a Vanguard Money Market Account
Building Project Estimates
The project to rebuild our sanctuary has a total expense of approximately $1.5 Million.
Bid from Contractor - $1.2 Million
Technical Expenses - $100,000
Additional Expenses - $300,000
In case prices continue to rise
Other projects that need to be accomplished at the same time
Solar Panels removed and reinstalled from the roof
Painting of stairways and hallways
Resurfacing the parking lot
Landscaping, etc
Feasibility Study Results and Interpretation
In the Fall of 2022, MUMC engaged with Horizon Stewardship to perform a Feasibility Study, and the results were reported
For the 2017-2020 God @ Work Capital Campaign
$375,000 was raised
2023 Capital Campaign Expectations
Reasonable expectation of raising $500,000 - $600,000
Debt Possibilities
Assuming a project cost of $1.5 Million, minus $500k from a capital campaign and $300k in reserves, that leaves about $700,000 to be mortgaged
A 20-year mortgage @ 6.5% interest would be an annual debt service of about $65,000/year over and above regular giving and capital campaign pledges.
With our annual budget of $345,000, that would mean a 5% increase in giving would be necessary to pay the mortgage, if we do not see that increase, we would need to cut back on staff salaries or maintenance and upkeep of the church property.
Moving Forward
I've spoken before on the differences between trusting God and testing God. I believe we're at one of these moments as a congregation. We could take out the mortgage and stretch and hope that we could afford the debt payments, however since we'll also be raising money for the capital campaign, there is a valid concern of fatigue. We may grow tired of constantly talking about money, and if we cannot increase general offerings by another $65,000 a year, we'd need to reduce ministry, which will have a diminishing return.
A more prudent option would be to wait. While no one wants to see us rebuild our sanctuary more than I do, if now is not the time, it is not the time. Therefore, the leadership team will be directing the building committee to investigate reducing or changing the scope of the project in an effort to reduce the cost of the project.
Maybe we can reduce the scope of the project and save money, maybe costs will come down in the next few months, or maybe we need to reevaluate the need to renovate the sanctuary and instead renovate the gym into a permanent sanctuary, replacing the floor with wood, and dismantling the cages and other components of our gym. Someone told me yesterday that they had told their daughter we were meeting to discuss rebuilding our sanctuary and the daughter said, "What are you talking about? We're in the sanctuary already."
No decision will be made without your knowledge and consent, as we continue to navigate moving forward, we'll keep making updates and provide information.
I do ask two things, first, please continue praying for our church, for the leadership of our church, and that God will show us ways to serve the community and look outside of our walls. Secondly, if you have questions, opinions, concerns, complaints, or compliments, please reach out to members of the Building Committee or to myself. We will only move forward with everyone's help and prayers.
Friends, I thank God every day for the opportunity to be your pastor, Alyssa and I pray for you all daily, and I know that we are going to have a great year in ministry.
Keep the faith!
Jesse Ruch
