We have just concluded our annual strategic planning for the year. It was with excitement and thanksgiving that we reviewed our goals for investments and it was reported we are $8 million overall ahead of our previous projections. It is your faith in us and our mission that makes this all possible. Thank you for trusting us with your investments.
As mentioned last quarter, the amount of new loans for the fiscal year 2017-2018 was projected at $6 million. From July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 alone, we approved a total of $7.5 million. Requests continue to pour in at a record pace. For example, we had nine new loan requests in just the first two weeks of March.
We share this information with you so you can truly understand the need of additional investments to handle the loan requests. We humbly ask you to share this amazing investment opportunity with some of your friends and family. We are enabling growing UPCI churches to reach more souls, and in addition to greater interest returns than other fixed income options, this provides an eternal reward in furthering the Kingdom of God.
We are also working on a new "Self-Funded Certificate" or support certificate that an investor can choose to open if they attend a church with a current UPCLF loan. The investor receives a lower return or no return of interest on their certificate and instead, this interest is directed towards reducing the balance of the church loan for the time period selected. This is a way an investor can retain ownership of their investment while helping their church reduce their loan interest. We hope to have all the legal logistics finalized in a few weeks.
We also continue to work on finalizing our new investment option called Demand Certificates. These certificates will offer minimum investment amounts and withdrawals that may be made with short notice without penalty.
We are excited about continuing to offer new investment products with the UPC Loan Fund. Please let us know if you have any questions.
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Invest in the Kingdom, and help us build and grow UPCI churches all across North America. Your investment will not only outperform most certificates at local banks, but it has the added bonus of enabling churches to better serve their communities and reach the lost.
>>Coming soon: Demand Deposits & Loan Support Certificates!
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Church Spotlight - Living Waters, UPC of Inverness, Florida
Submitted by Pastor Kevin & First Lady Laura McGee
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Living Waters was established in July of 2013. At that time, Pastor Kevin McGee purchased a piece of property which included an existing sanctuary and a small 1950s modular building. On September 1, 2013, with just 15 people in attendance, Living Waters held its first service. Since that first service, we have continued to be an expanding church, and have quickly out grown our two small classrooms and fellowship area.
When we turned to traditional financial institutions to fund a new building, it became apparent that our lack of financial history could hold us back from qualifying for a loan. For two years we continued to pursue traditional funding with three separate financial institutions — all of which, in the end, declined funding. Over the same time period, our Children’s and Youth departments grew to over 30 kids in attendance on Sunday mornings! So, we decided to take a stand in faith. We staked out an area for a Student Center and began to hold prayer meetings around it. Even though funding had not been secured, we continued with building plans and county requirements knowing God would make a way.
One day, a magazine from the United Pentecostal Church International came across my desk. On the back of the magazine was an advertisement for UPC Loan Fund. While I had heard of the UPC Loan Fund, I figured it was just like traditional banks. I considered calling, but after my three failed attempts, I hesitated. It took me six months to make the call. After calling and speaking with the Fund’s credit analyst, I immediately felt encouraged! I turned in the application and all the documents that were required for loan approval and we began the underwriting process. One week later, Bryan contacted me and told me we were all ready to move forward with financing. I was astonished! We had our funding within two months and we were ready to start construction on our Student Center.
With the funds in place, we could complete the building plans and order the metal building! On March 26th, 2018 our building will be delivered and we can begin construction! The new Student Center will be a 5600 square foot building. This will include a fellowship hall, three Sunday School classrooms, two offices and a 2nd floor dedicated specifically to our Youth Department.
In a situation that is already hard enough, the UPC Loan Fund made getting the funding quick and easy. From the day we turned in the application to the day of closing, they always made us feel like they wanted us to get the funding as much as we wanted it. When I need a draw for our project, I simply send in a request and the money is wired directly to the bank within a few days.
UPCLF has been an answer to our prayers. This ministry has made it possible for a young assembly to move forward in the Kingdom. Thank you to the wonderful staff of the UPC Loan Fund and all the investors! We are excited for what God has planned in Inverness, Florida!
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Church Spotlight - New Beginnings Family Fellowship, Winamac, Indiana
Submitted by Pastor Brent W. Smith
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New Beginnings Family Fellowship was started in 2013 as a daughter work of Walkerton United Pentecostal Church. My wife and I had a burden for the city of Winamac for nearly three years prior, and as a result we launched this work in a rented building on North Market Street. We had new guests at our first service and continued to see slow, steady growth with about ten that first year. We saw many backsliders pray back through, and within one year we raised the funds to buy a portable baptismal. We only had one extra room and one bathroom, but we tried to make everything look first class.
We became an autonomous church at the end of 2015, two years ahead of schedule. We broke 50 once last year and have hit 38 this year again already. Our Wednesday night bible study has doubled in size. We were able to lease the building next to us and complete some small remodeling projects to spruce it up. With the new lease in 2016, we doubled our seating capacity in the sanctuary to 50. The new lease also gave us a second bathroom and a kitchen with a fellowship hall to seat 100. We received amazing donations, including a sound board from a local business owner and new padded chairs donated by another church to seat 200 in a future building. We built a platform and added an overhead projector. We launched a Youth Department and a Sunday School. With the added space however, there also came added rent expense. And even though we were getting a fair deal, we started to feel like we were throwing these funds away.
Then God opened the door to buy our own building in a prime location. This property has a deeded access from the highway, the same square footage as we had in the old building, and a paved parking lot all the way around. The property happens to be located next to a property we had been trying to buy for three years. This could easily be transformed into the next phase of our campus as we grow. We have also already communicated with the owner of the other half of our new building and we have received his word we can have the first chance to buy when he is ready to sell. If we can acquire the other half in the future, we would have nearly 6,000 square feet with adequate space to grow to upwards of 220 people. The UPCI Loan Fund helped us to secure the financing quickly to move on this new building and without their help, I feel this move would have been very difficult for an infant church as ours.
In addition to our new building, the Indiana District North American Missions has helped us buy a church van and it traverses our streets, picking people up for church in our new space, and delivering food to the less fortunate of our community. All this has been done in four very short years, but the best news of all is the seven baptisms in Jesus Name and the twelve who have received the Holy Ghost or prayed back through! This is a direct result of the power of God, giving from North American Missions, and financing from the UPCI Loan Fund, all of which without we would not be where we are. I feel this move has launched us as a permanent pillar of our local community. It has moved us out of the storefront and into the future as the church for our community to look to for assistance.
I feel we have only begun! How many small communities are there around our nation that are waiting for someone to step out in faith and plant a lighthouse for the hurting, lonely and broken? I challenge you to take a drive and look through the eyes of God. You will see these towns and suburbs as they really are, fields that are waiting for harvest. To God be all the glory!
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Updates on our Office Team
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We are excited to share we have made some changes to our administrative team in our office. Due to the rapid growth of our department, we have added a new employee to our Loan Fund team. Please help us welcome Amanda Cummings, our new administrative assistant. Amanda comes to us from the agricultural finance world, where she has worked eight years. Amanda is married and has one daughter, a precious three month old named Elyse. She and her husband Tyler serve as Youth Pastors at New Life St. Louis in Bridgeton, Missouri.
Our former administrative assistant, Rebecca Rhoten-Batchelor, will be moving to a full time Marketing & Client Relations position for the Loan Fund. She will continue to work with investors and pastors and be focusing on increasing our social media/website/video marketing.
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United Pentecostal Church Loan Fund | 636.229.7978 | info@upciloanfund.org | upciloanfund.org
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