The Old Testament tabernacle was the structure ordained by God as the center for worship. It had to be financed so Moses went to the people to ask them to give. The requirement was “a willing heart”: “Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass” (Exodus 35:5). In this manner of free-will offerings from the heart, a marvelous thing took place. The Bible says, “And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much” (Exodus 36:4-7). What a pleasant problem! One in which I would gladly welcome; the people had given so superabundantly, Moses had to ask the people to refrain from giving. The pattern of free-will giving stirs the heart to go above and beyond the call of duty. Our plan is to incorporate the same spirit of giving for paying off our Church facilities that was used for financing the first house of worship.
This is our financial situation:
1) Right now our monthly mortgage payment is $11,559. If we could eliminate that payment, we would not only be free from that payment, but also the amount we save in interest (estimated to be at least $160,000). By paying off early (it can only be estimated since the interest rate would change again every few years), we may well save substantially more, but there is no way to know for sure right now.
2) In order to successfully retire the debt, the effort essentially requires us to apply an average of $43,647 per month to the loan for 24 months. After this is paid off, in addition to no longer having bank covenants and debt coverage ratio hanging over our head, that money will be freed up for use in ministry.
The task looks rather daunting, until you figure the biblical concept of “a willing heart.” Until we pay off the building, our expenditures must always include the huge monthly note with interest and accountability to the bank. I would love to have that money freed up for more staff, missions and building improvements of our present facilities.
The timing is ripe for this campaign for three reasons 1) The spirituality of our people is at a high, making the atmosphere and attitude superb for catching the miracle God is willing to offer an obedient people. 2) Christchurch is in a constant, healthy state of giving already, defining this campaign as an opportunity not an encumbrance. 3) The people are in greater unity than ever, making this team effort a unifying and bonding experience in the history of our Church. “And all that believed were together, and had all things common” (Acts 2:44).
The willing heart is non-coercive and provides a freedom that works toward financial freedom. Only those who are willing and have a heart for the advancement of God’s Kingdom on earth should participate. The reward is: when the house of worship is paid for, you may be able to say, I was God’s tool, His conduit of blessing to Christchurch, where His Love, His Grace and His Church is exemplified and lived to the fullest!
Dr. Johnny Pope Senior Pastor