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View By Category View By Date Recent Posts Loan FAQ'sWhat’s the deal with our loan?First of all, church loans are not... Wednesday SnippettDear friends, We hope you will be able to join us this Sunday morning ... Wednesday SnippetGreetings, fellow Sunridgers!Each Wednesday, our plan is to drop an e-... Recent Comments There are no comments yet.Jan 20th, 2010Loan FAQ'sWhat’s the deal with our loan?First of all, church loans are not structured like a home loan, they are structured like a commercial loan. Which means that a loan can be amortized over a length of twenty years, but it is due in five. It gives the bank time to re-evaluate the interest rate and the borrowers ability to payback the loan. In our case Sunridge secured our original loan of $4.8 million dollars on April 1, 2004 amortized over twenty years and due on April 1, 2009. In early 2008 Cass informed us that they were not going to offer us a five year extension because the church split in 2006 reduced attendance and giving to dangerous levels. We recognized our need to reduce spending and began a search for a new lender. The good news was that our cost saving measures over that time period allowed us to secure a one-year extension from Cass with a promise of extending it to five years at the end of our fiscal year (September 2009) -- if we continued to show the kind of fiscal responsibility we had shown in the prior months. While we held up our part of the deal and met all of the markers that Cass put before us, the sudden resignation of our Senior Pastor put a red flag on our loan and the five-year offer was immediately off the table. Without our prompting, our Cass representative offered us a three-year extension if our numbers for the fiscal year came back from the CPA without blemish. We pushed our CPA firm to rush the process and turned in our reviewed books in record time. At that point our representative from Cass explained that while our books looked good, they were only able to offer us a one-year extension when the note was due in April 2010 because we did not have a senior pastor. We called into question their honor and integrity and told them we would not accept a one-year extension. We explained that in order to grow our ministry we needed a three-year extension – NOW, not in April. The compromise we made with Cass was that if we could show “stability” through January 2010, they would offer us a three-year extension on our loan. We are currently pursuing this option. Why stick with Cass? From a financial position, staying with Cass is the best option because there are no fees associated with signing the extension, it’s a competitive rate, and we are six years into a twenty year amortized loan. What if Cass does not give us the extension in February? Based on recent history it’s possible that can happen. We need to pray that God would grant us favor in our request to secure the three-year deal. Additionally, we are looking at other options for our church. How can we help? We feel that this is a significant time in our church history. Therefore, we are asking that you continue coming to church regularly, give consistently and sacrificially, and most importantly, pray that God will continue to meet our needs. Our 2009 - 2010 budget of $117,780 per month does not give us much wiggle room. Our monthly hard costs are $97,350! "Hard costs" are our financial liabilities BEFORE we support our missionaries, or buy ministry curriculum, copy paper, toilet paper, paper towels, light bulbs, etc... We know this message is hitting a lot of people all over the spectrum of what they can give. Some of you cannot give at all -- we love you and ask that you are faithful in attending, serving and praying for your church. Some of you can give but don't -- we challenge you to start. Some of you are in a position to give a one-time donation in addition to your regular giving -- $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000, or whatever you can give. Just think, if 117 families in our church gave an extra $1,000, that is one month's budget to carry us through these very lean times. Nov 18th, 2009Wednesday SnippettDear friends, We hope you will be able to join us this Sunday morning for Greg's final sermon at Sunridge Community Church. Then, at 6:30 p.m., you are invited to come back for a Farewell Reception in honor of our pastor and his family. We look forward to the chance to celebrate together what God has done through the Sidders' ministry at Sunridge over the course of the past 14 years. Here's the scoop on our plans for the next few weeks... On Sunday, November 29, Britt kicks off our (timely) next sermon series: "Change Happens". This four week series will challenge us to look into what God is up to amidst one of life's most surefire guarantees -- change! After Thanksgiving week, we will have our annual Women's Christmas Dessert on Friday, December 4. Finally, mark your calendars for our next Sunridge Family Meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 9. Child care will be provided, and we truly hope you are able to attend this important event in the life of our church. As always, we invite your questions and feedback. May God bless you in the upcoming week. Serving with you, The Sunridge elders,
Jess Blasongame Nov 13th, 2009Wednesday SnippetGreetings, fellow Sunridgers!
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