Dear Servants of Christ,
As I write this letter, I realize that some of you receiving this were not around when we stepped out in faith to purchase our first permanent facility in April of 2018. With everything that has happened over the last twelve months, 2018 seems like a long time ago. Hopefully, you will agree with me that regardless of when you joined us at Servants of Christ, our facility has been a blessing both during the online-only stage and throughout our social distancing phases thus far.
I want to take this time on behalf of the vestry to give you an update on our facility and to share with you an exciting opportunity. Our building was purchased April 2018 with 25% down ($206,239.15) and we incurred a mortgage of $684,000. Our mortgage included $200,000 towards a total roof replacement which we completed August 2019. In addition, using budgeted building funds, we replaced or repaired all our HVAC equipment, replaced flooring in the East Wing, renovated the Community Room, replaced carpet in the Sanctuary, and upgraded our lighting system. Despite the fact that we paid for these renovations as we went along, we have continued to pay down our mortgage, and we now owe $526,000. In addition, our treasurer, Fred Cantrell, asked for and was given a reduced interest rate on our loan from 5.125% to 4.25%, meaning that every month we are paying that principal down at a greater rate.
Commercial loans are renegotiated every five years, which means our mortgage will need to be satisfied or renegotiated in April 2023. The vestry recently concluded a two-month discussion of what to do with our existing mortgage. First, we committed to paying off our mortgage before considering renovation of the East Wing. Additionally, the vestry took action by committing a monthly $1,000 payment towards the principal, over and above our mortgage payment. This will dramatically accelerate the pace of eliminating our debt. In addition to this action, the vestry also approved of the staff launching our Freedom to Invest initiative within the parish. This letter officially kicks off this initiative and I am inviting you to consider if the Lord would call you to make a one-time or recurring contribution to pay off our mortgage. How exciting it would be to free up nearly $4,600 each month in mortgage payment, so those funds could be invested back into ministry! These funds could be invested in our staff and ministries and used to expand our discipleship space with a second floor to our East Wing. This is why we’ve chosen the name Freedom to Invest.
Now is the chance for each of us to consider what we might be called to do. Some of you receiving this letter have already given sacrificially to our Building Fund, and once again I want to sincerely thank you for your gifts. Might the Lord be calling you to make another investment to help erase our outstanding debt? For others, you have come to Servants after our original capital campaign, but maybe the Lord could be calling you to make an investment in the future of Servants of Christ parish. For still others, you were around during the original campaign, but were unable to invest at that time, but might the Lord be calling you to give this time? Please consider a gift towards the mortgage payoff.
Will you pray for God’s provision as we build for the future? We will send regular updates to the parish on the progress as we watch the mortgage debt fall away, and additionally, our online Freedom to Invest campaign will provide participants with constant progress updates. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and please let me hear from you with any questions or comments.
Onward and Upward,
