A Cautionary Tale of Debt

Operation Market Garden, the attempt to end World War 2 quickly via an airborne invasion of Holland, has been described as a “bad plan, poorly executed”.  Had Operation Market Garden worked it would have ended the war by Christmas of 1944, saving 1000’s of lives.  Only one thing was needed for Market Garden to succeed, everything had to go perfectly.  If any one thing were to go wrong the whole operation would fail.  Something, actually several things, went wrong and Market Garden was a disaster.

A church having a large debt is like operation Market Garden.  If everything goes perfect it will be okay.  The following story is meant as a cautionary tale from my own expensive lessons with church debt.  Names are changed but all the details are accurate.

A Dream come True

When I arrived at Butler Community Church it seemed like a dream come true.  BCC was 6 years old and had an average attendance in the low 60’s to upper 50’s. The church was in a booming suburb, owned 11 acres with a farm house converted to worship space and held about $100K in debt.  Within a one-mile radius of the church, 2500 homes would be constructed in the next 5 years.

With a full time preacher the church began to grow.  Soon 100 worshippers packed the little farmhouse every Sunday, and on special Sundays we had to meet outside.  The Lord was blessing and we were sure the time to build had come. Our offerings were more than covering our expenses.

What I didn’t know was that the church had begun with a very unhealthy start.  This unhealthy congregational DNA would manifest itself when debt arrived.

What had been described as a church plant was in reality a very ugly church split, and no one had ever addressed some root issues.

Time to Build?

It was decided to build a multipurpose building with a main meeting room (seating 375) that could also be used for fellowship, sports, and recreation, and 5 large classrooms.  The farmhouse would be updated with class, conference, and office space.  Construction cost would be about $400K and would give us a total of 11,000 square feet.  Total debt would be just under $500K furnished; the cost would be about $45 per sq. foot.  We were not being opulent.

Once in the building our growth took off again.  Attendance jumped from about 100 to over 140 in about 3 months.  We were seeing decisions for Christ and new families weekly.  It felt like we were going to be one of those church growth super stories.  At the same time, construction began on a subdivision of 800 homes next door to our church building.

New wine began to burst the old wine skins. 

The operational system of a church of 150 is very different from the operational system of a church of 60.  Stress began to develop between the founders and the new vision.

Where once a few good ‘ole boys and girls made decisions, the leadership had shifted to a board.  The result was a power struggle to get rid of the preacher.  The old guard began withholding their offerings until they were satisfied.

If this continued, we would not be able to make our new mortgage payments.  In a show down vote, the attempted coupe failed.  But a few weeks later, while I was out of town, the board was pressured to make three concessions.  The preacher would be asked to, “Preach sermons that made people feel good.   Not to change anything.   Not to try to get new people, but to take care of the ones we’ve got.”

Unable to accept these terms, I left the church.  I was heart broken.  Not only because I was leaving a ministry I loved and hoped to stay with for the rest of my life, but also because I was well aware of what was in store for this church.

In the months that followed my departure, attendance declined rapidly and a number of ministers came and left. Soon the attendance was back close to 60, there were no new families coming in, and the new minister was moved to a part time status.  It was only a matter of time before the death of the church.  Those who remained were faced with a terrible decision.  The property was put on the market for the debt and the end had come.

Debt was not the Problem

The ultimate problem with BCC was not debt, but debt became the one thing that kept the church from surviving its problems.  Had there not been a large loan, the old guard would have had little leverage by withholding their giving.

The Danger of Church Debt

The danger of debt is two fold.  First, it prevents us from taking advantages of opportunities that may present themselves.  Second, it allows for no margin of error.  While debt is not morally wrong, it is dangerous.  It is not a problem if everything goes just right, but, rarely, does everything go just right.