Using an Oft-Neglected Asset to Fund Ministry
by Dr. R. Mark King
The American church is unique in that, historically, churches have been dependent on the generosity of their members, as opposed to European churches, which benefit from state-supported taxation.
We are increasingly daunted by challenges in teaching, inspiring and receiving that generosity. While I strongly believe that stewardship should be preached from the standpoint of abundance and not scarcity, the needs of congregations today outpace the will of people to give, especially given the generational differences between "the great generation" and baby boomers and then between baby boomers and millennials.
Churches need money for ministry. We typically generate income from contributions and offerings, program fees and revenue, issuance of debt (yes, it is a source of funds...albeit one that must eventually be returned) and investment income. Fortunately, many churches are investigating and establishing endowments that foster planned gifts from donor assets as opposed to annual gifts from donor income.
But are there other models available - ones that can fund ministry and operate with integrity, but not displace the priority of free-will giving? I believe so.
There is one asset that nearly all churches possess. Land. Placing buildings on church land does not have to be the land's sole function. Land can also be used advantageously to fund ministry.
The Collegiate Churches of New York City, which include the congregation I presently serve (Marble Collegiate), have embarked on a joint project with a recognized developer in New York City. We plan to construct a mixed use facility of some sixty stories that will encompass both needed sacred space for our ministries and residential condominiums for the public at market prices.
Working with a developer enables the church to obtain first-rate connections in navigating the vast legal requirements of the city, while also securing advantageous financing for the project. What did the church bring to the relationship? Land. Valuable land that sits in proximity to Fifth Avenue and the Empire State Building. We will split the profits 50%-50%, and after all expenses, that will more than secure a healthy return for our own endowment.
We're not alone in this. I am aware of other churches utilizing the same concept with joint ventures. For example, in the Southpark region of Charlotte, North Carolina, Sharon United Methodist Church is embarking on a similar mix use approach that will gain the congregation a brand new facility.
Context determines some possibilities, of course. In urban areas, congregations can use land for mixed use projects jointly occupied with other tenants or owners. Others might use their land as the investment in the project but have no plan to occupy, yielding new tenant buildings, commercial spaces and retail ventures. In rural areas, land can be used in leasing opportunities for timbering, oil and natural gas extrapolation, tenant farming or other uses. Read more » |
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Much has been written about the changing landscape the church finds itself in, and even more about the church's waning influence in our culture. From her vantage point as an under-40 pastor, Carol Howard Merritt, author of Tribal Church, moves away from the hand-wringing toward a discovery of what ministry in, with, and by a new generation might look like. What does the substance of hope look like right now? What about when it's framed by a new generation? Motivated by these questions, Merritt writes Reframing Hope with the understanding that we are not creating from nothing the vital ministry of the next generation. Instead, we are working through what we have, sorting out the best parts, acknowledging and healing from the worst, and reframing it all. Buy the book » |
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Ideas that Impact: Church Land & Buildings
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Buildings for a New Tomorrow A Faith & Leadership interview with Julia Groom
At a time when the Episcopal Church and other denominations are closing churches, the Episcopal Church Building Fund has expanded its mission to help distressed congregations think in new ways about their buildings and the future of the church, says the fund president.
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Growing in Relevance
by Lori Stahl
Our Saviour Community Garden began as an effort to show that a parish with dwindling membership still had relevance in an older Dallas neighborhood. Eight years later, the church garden has yielded nearly 20 tons of organic produce for the needy, serving as a destination for gardeners and a model for other churches.
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An Atlanta Church Restores Its Forests and Helps Neighbors Connect with God and Nature by Lindsay M. Moss
Under the guidance of a visionary minister and an energetic lay leader, Central Congregational UCC turned its overgrown eight-acre forest into a nature preserve. The payoff has been far greater than the church expected.
Read more »
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Make Time for Your Own Renewal
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Planting & Harvesting Seeds of True Self:
A Circle of Trust® Retreat for Women and Men of Faith
April 18-20, 2016 | Lake Louise Christian Community | Boyne Falls, MI
Our souls want to experience a connection with one another and creation, and to develop the habits that will sustain our passions without wearing us out. Our souls crave opportunities to pause, reflect, and re-discover who we are, not who the world proclaims that we are. There is a desire to be seen and to see what is true and real for us, beyond role or position. Our souls long to engage in a community that listens to and affirms the stories of our lives. We long to know that the work we do and the way we live is planting seeds toward a hopeful, world-changing harvest. This three-day retreat is designed to help you imagine what it would mean for you to inhabit your life and work fully as your best self, and will use the Circle of Trust® model developed by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal. This is an intergenerational retreat for women and men of faith who desire to step out of the rigors and routines of daily life and into a time of renewal and restoration for their soul -- a time to name and claim their soul stories.
This retreat will be facilitated by the managing director of Alban at Duke Divinity School, Nathan Kirkpatrick, and the program development director at Lake Louise Christian Community, Sarah Moore Hescheles.
Learn more and register »
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