As of July 28, 2008
Great News
Total Pledged: $2,104,886
Received through July 20, 2008: $196,317 (9%)
Refinance
Shortly after we received our Love.Loud. pledges, we re-financed our building loan at a lower interest rate. Our monthly note payment is now $33,592, which represents a savings of $4,723 per month. At the advice of Morning Star's Administrative Board, we are currently making the same monthly payment ($38,315) we have made in past years, and we are applying the savings of $4,723 toward paying down our principal.
To Build or Not To Build
First and foremost, we are committed to not taking on additional long-term debt. However, our children and youth are still busting at the seams. In othe words, our challenges did not disappear just because we don't have the funds to build what we originally had in mind. We are challenged to think creatively about what we can do in our current space and what we might be able to build to alleviate this issue.
At this time, we're working with our architect to determine how much space we can build with the difference between our pledges and our mortgage management. We have $2.1 million in pledges. If we pay just the required monthly payment to the bank, our mortgage management is a little over $1.2 million. After deducting the cost of the Love.Loud. initiative and our mortgage management, we would have approximately $800,000 to cover the cost of the building and soft costs (interest, architect fees, and so on). We're just exploring possibilities at this point, and we won't make a decision to move forward with any type of building project without first bringing our recommendations to the Morning Star church family for consideration.
Your Tithes and Offerings
Just as a reminder, your tithes and offerings provide the funds necessary to continue to do ministry. Absolutely none of the Love.Loud. funds pay for the day-to-day operations of the church. Love.Loud. monies are strictly used for mortgage management and capital improvements.