Q & A
Friday, February 8th, 2008If you haven’t already done so, be sure to read the FAQ page, to see answers to the Frequently Asked Questions about Immanuel’s One Life campaign. Or, if you have a question that you can’t find the answer to, you can submit your question to us online. We will respond to you directly and also post the answer here on the blog so everyone else can benefit from your question. Below are answers to questions that were submitted to us via the website:
Will the congregation see soon the details of the $20-million plan?
YES. We are announcing a ONE LIFE Town Hall Meeting for Sunday evening, February 17, following the Sunday Evening Prayer meeting. Various One Life Team Leaders from Immanuel will provide information to the congregation and answer any of their questions.
Will the congregation be offered opportunity to approve an actual budget?
I am making the assumption that when using the word “congregation,” you are refering to the membership of Immanuel Bible Church since, as you know, non-members do not play a role in the governance of the church. That said, the answer to the question is still No. As has been our practice for the various building projects for the past 44 year history of Immanuel Bible Church, the leadership of the church (the deacons and trustees from 1964-1983; and the elders from 1984 to the present) have been responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of construction budgets. Unless the elders decide otherwise, that will continue to be the practice; however it is their responsibility to periodically apprise the congregation about the various aspects of the project. It is worthy of note that the allowable debt for the building project was approved by the Congregation at the June 11, 2006 Congregational Business Meeting for a construction loan of up to $10 million dollars.
What debt will IBC incur during the 3-year, $20-million campaign, and what will remain after the 3 years?
If at the end of the commitment period of the campaign (April- June), we have $20 million dollars or greater in commitments, then there should be no long term debt incurred. However, the project manager will be required to use a portion of the approved $10 million dollar line-of-credit to off-set short-term deficits between One Life giving and the cash flow required to satisfy the monthly construction progress payments. Draws against Immanuel’s construction line-of-credit will be limited as much as possible. However, based upon our periodic “Cash Flow” projections, these draws may start as early as three or four months into the construction process. Assuming a constant and even flow of income from One Life and a national average income deficit of about 7% (pledged less actual income), we anticipate a probable loan amount to be about $5 million dollars at the finish of construction. This would be caused by the pledged income spanning a three period while the building project is projected to take about two years. The debt incurred should be fully paid off by the later part of the third year, thus minimizing the interest paid.
Who is the project manager?
Under the oversight of the Elders and the Building Committee, the project manager representing the interests of Immanuel Bible Church with respect to the actual building project portion of the One Life plan is Ron Urice. His knowledge, expertise, and efficiency has already been widely used in the development of the various construction projects at Immanuel since 1991.