Download the Jubilee Church Atlanta Financial Plan here.
Below is an email we received from Carl Herrington who leads Jubilee Church Atlanta. This email explains the journey they have been on as a church and the decision to self-finance their building.
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Hi Matt
The purpose of my letter and the attached proposal is to inform you about our efforts in Atlanta to self-finance the purchase and renovation of a building for our Church. The details are in the attachment, but I would first like to give you some background on how and why we have reached this point.
We at Jubilee Church felt at the first of this year we were to purchase a building. A building that could be used for the church to meet in on Sunday, serve as a significant resource, to serve the community, support existing/future ministries, and generate additional income. We have met in a school since being in Atlanta but felt we should go for the purchase of a particular building back in February. After negotiating a contract we took an offering in February and received $79,000 in money and pledges. Over the next few weeks that amount became $95,000, in actual money.
When we approached our bank for a loan to fund the balance of the purchase price and renovations, the bank said we needed more equity. We asked the Church to pray and felt God leading us to take another offering. Over a two week period in April people gave another $65,000 by giving more money and selling items such as cars, wedding rings, musical instruments and other items of great personal value. Watching people sell items they used and valued with such excitement was both humbling and exciting. It has been amazing to see people respond to God.
We knew from our conversation with the bank that we needed to raise $240,000 to qualify for a $500,000 loan to pay for the balance of the building purchase and renovation costs. We did not know if we could raise that much but we knew God was speaking to us about giving not our stuff but ourselves completely to Him. Our focus has changed from trying to buy a building to simply following God with all of our hearts. One man said, “I have read about this kind of stuff happening in the bible but I have never actually seen it”.
Well you can do the math. In April we were still short $80,000 but God did provide as we received another $80,000 from outside Jubilee. We had our $240,000 but we have been unable to get a loan through conventional financing, either because we have been in existence less than 10 years or we are too few in number.
I got a call from Sam Poe early in this process and he encouraged us to really come together and pray. He described us as being in a battle that we would win as we came together and prayed. We have gathered to pray each week and God continues to speak to us about the building being ours. God does not always do things the way we think He should. I feel he has given one of our men an idea that will make it possible to purchase this building. It will cost us less money than getting a conventional loan and be a blessing to those who join us, in this adventure.
We would like for you to read the proposal we have put together, to self-finance this building. This plan helps us, and will be a blessing, to anyone who chooses to invest, in what we are doing, here in Atlanta. Please let me know if you if you plan on sending this to your members. If you feel good about the proposal it would helpful to talk with people individually.
The first year we moved to Atlanta I was in a prayer meeting in Missouri with our Pastors from the Midwest. There was a prophetic word given that we would fight battles here in Atlanta that would make a way for other churches. I believe this is could be one of those battles. The idea could become a way to finance other church buildings projects, as our church plants grow to a place where a building becomes an asset to move forward.
Thanks
Carl Herrington