i just did a quick read up on the free will baptists, PHEW!! they sure are a keen lot LOL!
heres a quote from their website
I KNEW THAT GOING INTO CHICAGO was going to be
very expensive. The
cost of real estate in the inner city was a concern for our mission work. For the first two years of the work we met in my living room for worship services and Bible studies. We then met on the second floor of an office building for three months before finding a union hall that would rent to us. Northwest FWB Church met there for over seven years. We were a storefront church. Our growth was slow and limited. We were able to draw a crowd to an event,
but people did not consider us a credible church.Knowing we needed a building, we began
a property fund campaign in 1997. By 1999 we were able to begin looking. In early 2000, we found one listed for
$675,000.00. We expressed an interest and by the time we made a serious offer, the amount had been
reduced to $575,000.00. I met with the Illinois Mission Board and we agreed to make
a serious effort to purchase this property. Eighty percent of the inquiries on this parcel of land were from religious groups. However, we were the only group the owners were willing to meet.
They viewed us as a credible entity because the Home Missions Department and the Illinois State Association backed us. With
financing through the Church Extension Loan Fund (CELF), the seller knew we had the means to buy.
We negotiated from March until August. Professional costs relating to the zoning and special use permits ran
close to $30,000.00.
We negotiated the owners down to $445,000. This seemed high, and it was, but there was no way around it if we were to have a permanent location in the city. After receiving zoning approval, things moved fast, and
we closed on the property on September 15, 2000.
We kept some cash for remodeling and borrowed $269,000.00 from the CELF program.
We ended up spending well over $100,000 for remodeling, parking, landscaping, a sign, fencing, and various professional costs. Since moving into this building we have seen steady growth and we plan to be self-supporting by the end of 2006.
Beginning in 2001 we began the first of two debt-reduction campaigns.
Free Will Baptists responded. Boy, did they respond! Our first campaign was called, “Chicago - My Kind of Town.� We were able to meet every mortgage payment, and by May of 2005,
we had the balance down to $91,000! This was becoming a miracle.
Our final debt-reduction push was called “Crossing the Finish Line.� I decided to run in the Chicago Marathon on October 9, 2005, as a fundraiser. By the date of the marathon our principal balance was
down to $52,000 with
over $20,000 pledged. When I finished the marathon (19,575 out of 40,000 runners) we realized we were
$30,000 from paying off our mortgage. After sharing this story with the
Bethany FWB Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, God used them to complete the miracle. In November, they presented a
check for $30,000. We made our
final payment of $46,000 and became DEBT-FREE! Through all of this push for freedom from debt, Free Will Baptists continued to support my mission account as well.
PHEW!! i'm exhausted and i only read it LOL!
well good to see all that free will paying off
(just kidding, just kidding)
f
PS: be careful not to stand still too long out on the ridge Mark, these boys might just build a building around you while you're standing there