Hearing at our September 29th financial update that Pointe of Grace might not have enough money by the end of the year to pay all its bills may have come as a shock to some people. A shock, though, can be just what we need to get us moving. Out of the questions and ideas that came out of that gathering the council has put together an action plan, assigned tasks to people, and set up a spreadsheet to track progress. Here’s a summary of what has happened so far:

We are looking again at selling the cell tower lease and the northern portion of Pointe of Grace’s property where the community garden and the far parking lot are. Any sale of property will involve our mortgage company, Thrivent Financial. I have spoken to a senior loan officer at Thrivent about what restrictions they have on the sale of property. I learned that if the proceeds of the sale are enough to cover the remaining balance on the mortgage, we are free to sell. Thrivent would have first claim on any of the proceeds, but any remaining funds would belong to Pointe of Grace. If the proceeds of the sale would not be sufficient to cover the balance of the mortgage, then we would have to ask Thrivent for a partial release, and Thrivent would receive all the money.

To sell any portion of the property, we would require a realtor. Kristina Bowman arranged a meeting on October 2 with Kidder Matthews (KM), which has a group specializing in the sale or lease of church property. We learned that getting to the close on a sale could take 12 to 18 months. KM recommended we not do a property survey, as a developer would do their own survey. They did recommend that we have a wetlands delineation done. Kristina has reached out to some environmental services consultants.

Pastor Pam has set up a meeting with another realtor, First & Main, on October 17. Council will compare First & Main’s proposal with the one from Kidder Matthews.

Any property sale will take time – possibly as long as 18 months from acceptance of an offer to closing. Realizing the proceeds from sale of the cell tower lease would probably be faster, but still could take several months. In the meantime, we still have a $3300 average deficit per month that Pointe of Grace needs to cover, so we are looking at ways to cut costs and bring in additional revenue.

One way we could bring in additional revenue is by leasing a time slot for another faith community to use our space, much like the Unity Church is doing now. Kidder Matthews works with churches looking to lease the use of other churches’ facilities. According to KM, such arrangements could bring the leasing church $2000 to $5000 a month for 4 hours a week, depending on capacity and time slot. Pointe of Grace needs to ask itself, at what times are we willing to let another congregation use our building? Are we willing to shift our current Sunday morning worship time to allow another group a prime Sunday worship time?

You will also be hearing more about stewardship in the Grace Notes and during worship. During its five or so years of existence Pointe of Grace has not run a stewardship campaign. Having people make tangible financial commitments to support our congregation and its ministries consistently throughout the year, though, is important for our financial stability.

When I talked with the loan officer at Thrivent, I asked what options they offer if a congregation has trouble paying its mortgage. Because we recently used our Mortgage Reduction Fund to make a large payment toward the mortgage principal, Thrivent’s first move would be to re-amortize the loan. Unlike a refinancing, the re-amortization would keep the same interest rate and payoff date, but recalculate the payments based on the reduced principal balance. Re-amortization could save us around $500 per month.

To buy us some additional time, we will be moving the $18,731 in our operational reserve designated fund to the general fund.

Harbour Pointe Christian Preschool is one of Pointe of Grace’s most important ministries. It is self-sustaining. The congregation has not previously asked the preschool to contribute financially to help pay the mortgage or cover other facility expenses, though the preschool has in the past given the congregation generous annual gifts. Without Pointe of Grace and our building, though, the preschool couldn’t remain open. Pastor Pam has spoken with the preschool director about giving monthly to the church, and the director is reviewing the preschool’s financials and budget.

Payroll is Pointe of Grace’s biggest expense, accounting for about 53% of our annual budget. As unpleasant as it may be to consider, to cut expenses we must look at staff hours and positions. Our personnel committee has put together several options and made their recommendations. Council will be reviewing those options and deciding which, if any, to present to the congregation.

At the September 29 financial update, Pastor Pam called for a special congregational meeting on October 27 so that the congregation can vote on several of these proposals, especially the sale of property and the cell tower lease. Until then, the council will keep the congregation informed of any new developments. Please consider carefully and with prayer the choices we face. These decisions are hard, won’t please everybody. I believe, though, that God is not done with Pointe of Grace, and I pray that the Holy Spirit will open our minds and hearts to new possibilities of an abundant future grounded in God’s grace, growing in faith and love, and giving generously in service to our neighbors.

Jeff Mach

Council President