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Generation
to Generation
Frequently
Asked Questions
(and
Their Answers)
This FAQ sheet is intended to supplement two
documents previously distributed: the Fact Sheet which was mailed to
every home in late September and the Living Legacy informational pamphlet
mailed in late October. If
you would like an additional copy of either or both of these documents,
please contact the church office at 301.475.7200.
Question 1: How did we get to this point
where we are now in the midst of a Capital Stewardship Campaign? Have all options regarding our
space problems been explored before setting out to buy land and build a
new facility? Why did the
Church Council take so many significant steps on this issue without
telling the congregation what was going on?
Answer: Although it is difficult to
identify a specific point in time when the decision was made to launch
into a Capital Stewardship Program (CSP), it certainly began well over
two years ago as we experienced significant growth in almost every ministry
area. Our sanctuary and
parking lots were filled every week and we did not have enough room to
hold all the children in Sunday School or support our weekday and
evening ministry activities. Our pre-school and Mother’s Day Out Program
had huge waiting lists and there was no place where we could all gather
in fellowship. We
conducted facility usage studies and we modified many of our rooms to
accommodate multiple ministries (for example, placing desks for staff
personnel in classrooms and using our fellowship hall as a clothes
closet). The Church
Council, as your leadership body, spent many hours in consultation with
one another and in meditation and prayer attempting to discern God’s
will for this church. About
18 months ago we employed the services of a consultant, Dr. Paul Nixon. Dr. Nixon confirmed what we
believed to be true about our situation and we published and
distributed the results of that consultative process throughout the
congregation. At every
step, your Church Council attempted to keep the information flowing to
all in the congregation by means of newsletter articles and even
updates from the pulpit during worship services. All steps taken along the way
have been taken judiciously and prayerfully and with a definite intent
to keep all informed and every decision made has been in consonance
with the United Methodist Book of
Discipline. As each
new development evolved, we believe we took steps that went beyond all
reasonable expectations to try to ensure everyone in our church family
understood our predicament and where we were headed.
Question 2: Can the Church Council tell us
more about RSI, our consultant for this G2G Capital Stewardship Program?
Answer: After spending time in prayer
and discernment, conducting facility/space usage studies, and dialoging
with Dr. Nixon, our long range planning consultant, and as our need for
a Capital Stewardship Program continued to become ever more clear, it
also became apparent to the Church Council that the wisest course of
action would be to hire a firm with experience in organizing and
conducting long-term, large-scale capital stewardship programs. The Church Council, as your
leadership body within this church, elected to hire RSI to work with us
after soliciting information from both RSI and Injoy Stewardship
Services, Inc. Both
companies have excellent reputations and are well-respected within the
area of church stewardship and, quite frankly, the decision to hire RSI
was not an easy one. For
both companies, we listened to their presentations, raised many issues
and questions, addressed the aspects and attitudes that make our church
unique, and checked references.
It was only after we checked references of past clients for each
company that we decided to contract with RSI. Our perception was that RSI was more focused on
stewardship as a program of
spiritual growth with giving simply being fruit borne out of that
spiritual growth. The
total cost of this contract is $35,000 which equates to less than 3% of
our goal of $1.2M.
Interestingly, both RSI and Injoy Stewardship Services quoted us
the same flat fee for this three-year campaign.
RSI has 33 years of experience in church stewardship
and has helped churches raise over $8 billion. More importantly our
consultant, Mr. Robb Shultz, is an ordained Presbyterian pastor with
over 15 years experience and many successful campaigns at RSI. Robb guides us through the many
details we need to address as a part of this endeavor; his experience
and expertise has been invaluable. We cannot imagine accomplishing all that needs to be
done without RSI’s vast experience and Robb’s personal guidance.
Question 3: Is the monetary goal of $1.2M
realistic?
Answer: We believe God has led us to
this point and that His desire is for us to pay off our existing debt and
purchase land to secure our future. With a balance on our current mortgage of $486,000
and a projected land acquisition cost of something around $700,000 to
$800,000, we believe $1.2M is the right goal. If this is the right goal then it is also a realistic
goal but, the fact of the matter is, whatever monetary gains are made
will move us that much closer to God’s vision for St. Paul’s. We will also invite new people
joining our church family over the next three years to connect with us
in our Capital Stewardship Program so we really won’t know if we will
have met our goal of $1.2M until the end of the three-year giving
period.
Question 4: Will we still buy new property
if we don’t meet our monetary goal?
Answer: As noted in the answer to Question
3 above, we will not know if we have met our goal until three years
from now; but the decision to buy property resides with the
congregation through the process of Charge and Church Conference
proceedings and is not determined solely by how much money is committed
during this campaign.
(Please also see the answer to Question 10.)
Question 5: Will the Church Council explain
what will happen to congregational G2G contributions if the Council
reprioritizes/changes the G2G goals after the contributions are received?
Answer: Absolutely! As has been widely published
and discussed, the purpose for any funds gathered as a result of the
G2G Capital Stewardship Program is to address three primary items. Those items are (1) retirement
of the outstanding debt on our current facility (approximately $486,000),
(2) purchase of a sizable plot of land (up to about 30 acres) in order
to alleviate our current landlocked situation and secure our future,
and (3) design and build the facilities needed to support both existing
and new ministries on this acquired land. Although we cannot imagine a situation that would
alter these three primary areas, the Church Council would seek
congregational approval prior to redirecting any funds received.
Question 6: If we continue our current rate
of debt retirement, when will we retire our existing mortgage?
Answer: Our current monthly mortgage
payment (principal and interest) is $4,295.56. We also budget for and pay an
additional monthly principal payment of $949.44. Over the past three years we
have also made lump sum payments against the principal as we have had
funds to do so. Each lump
sum has typically been about $20,000. If we can continue to make annual lump sum payments
against the principal and given no other variables, we would expect to
retire the current mortgage in about eight years.
Question 7: Can the Church Council make a clearer,
more detailed statement of the third goal – second campus development –
and lay out a clearer plan of actions and milestones for the next three
years?
Answer: Yes and no; we can explain to
you the steps that will be taken but we cannot describe for you what
the end result will be. The
actual design and building of additional facilities is currently the
third item on our priority list.
For this reason, a clear definition of what type of facilities
will first be erected has not yet been determined. Based upon two separate Council
Retreats and the ministries that are currently flourishing within our
church, a multi-purpose facility, often referred to as a Family Life
Center, continues to emerge as our first and foremost need. We also know for certain that
our first new facility will have to focus on alleviating overcrowding
at our existing church building, especially for children and youth
ministry activities and office/administrative spaces and on providing a
venue in which our entire church family can gather at a single time for
special activities and events. What we don’t know is what else may be incorporated
within this vision or what the building may finally look like but the
answers to those questions also will be generated by our entire church
family. We should also
note that it is quite likely that we will not be prepared to move
forward with any new facilities within the next few years.
Question 8: So what will the process for
designing any new facilities be?
Answer: Defining what any new
facilities will look like, what ministries they will support, and how
they may be designed will be an iterative process involving virtually
everyone in our church family.
The process will initially use ministry-area focus groups where
each ministry area within our church will have an opportunity to
express their needs for continued and/or expanded ministry. We will have a building
committee and, most likely, a church architect working with us at that
point to help guide our discussions and consolidate the desires of each
ministry into some sort of workable and affordable design. Concept designs will then
proceed through the Trustees to the Church Council and, ultimately, to
the congregation as a whole through means of a Church Conference where
all church members will be able to vote on the concept designs. The final design of any new
facility will be in accordance with a congregational consensus.
Question 9: What is a “multi-use” or
“multi-purpose” facility?
Answer: Such a facility may/could
include almost anything but typically would include a large open area
suitable for everything from recreation (basketball, volleyball) to
worship to drama and entertainment as well as meeting rooms, kitchen,
offices, and storage. More
importantly, what is contained within such a multi-use facility would
be determined by our ministries as envisioned by the focus groups
discussed in the answer to Question 8.
Question 10: What is the process that must
be followed before we can acquire additional land?
Answer: We will be following The Book of Discipline of the
United Methodist Church. The Book of Discipline provides
a very detailed process we need to follow; this process is not
optional. If you would
like to review the entire process, please stop by the church office and
our staff will gladly loan you a copy of The Book of Discipline but we will also briefly describe
the process here.
Once we identify a piece of land we want to purchase
and before any binding contracts are signed we must follow these steps:
1 - Notify and seek permission from our District
Superintendent that we wish to convene a Charge or Church Conference for
the purpose of deciding whether or not to enter into a contract to buy
land. (Please see the
answer to Question 11 for a discussion on Charge and Church
Conferences.)
2 - If the District Superintendent agrees with our
request, she will either convene the Charge or Church Conference herself
or will authorize an ordained elder (such as Pastor Ken Walker from
Lexington Park UMC) to chair such a conference.
3 - We will provide a minimum of 10 days advance notice of
the Charge or Church Conference and notification will be from the
pulpit and via as many other means as practical (e.g., newsletter,
e-mail, web site, in the bulletin, through posters, etc.).
4 - By majority vote, the Charge or Church Conference will
either agree to move forward with a contract for land purchase or will
decide to not purchase that particular piece of land. (Please see the answer to
Question 11 for a discussion on Charge and Church Conferences.)
In addition to these requirements, we have also
added some additional items to strengthen the integrity of the process
and to protect the church:
1 - As our Ad Hoc Land Committee identifies promising
acreage, they are submitting all available information to the Trustees
and then to the Church Council.
Either of these bodies can reject the proposed land or recommend
the process move forward to the next step.
2 - If the Ad Hoc Land Committee, the Trustees, and the
Church Council all agree the acreage appears to be capable of meeting
our needs and is reasonably priced, we will have Mehaffey and
Associates, Inc., a local civil engineering firm, examine all available
documentation to validate that the land will be capable of supporting
our intended uses from the perspective of utilities or perc tests, soil
types, topography, zoning, etc.
(You may hear this study being referred to as a land use
analysis or a feasibility study.)
3 - As necessary, we incorporate contingencies into the
contract to protect the church.
For example, if we are looking at undeveloped land without
public utilities and knowing that ‘perc’ test season does not begin
until February, we will incorporate a clause stating the contract is
only valid if perc tests are successfully completed.
Question 11: What is the difference between
a Charge Conference and a Church Conference?
Answer: It is very similar to whether
Congress enacts a new law or whether all voters get to register a vote
for that law.
The Church Council, the leadership body of this church,
also serves as the Charge Conference. For issues to be decided via Charge
Conference, only members of the Church Council are permitted to
vote. Please remember that
all Church Council meetings are open to all members of our church! Church members attending Charge Conferences are permitted
to express their opinions but are not permitted to vote.
At a Church Conference,
all persons in attendance who are also members of the church are
permitted to express opinions and vote. Usually, the District Superintendent makes the
decision as to whether a conference is a Charge Conference or a
Church Conference. In
this case, however, your Church Council has already decided that only a
Church Conference is
acceptable. Every member of St. Paul’s will
be permitted to vote on the acquisition of additional land!
Question 12: It has been stated many times that
we are looking for 30 acres, yet, in the recent past, I have heard we
are exploring plots that are significantly less than that (18
acres). Are we selling
ourselves short and rushing into this?
Answer: We don’t think so. The 30 acres we talk about is a
nominal goal. There are
obviously a lot of trade-offs to consider when examining land. How much of the land is
usable? What is the
cost? Where is it
located? This is an
important issue and needs to be scrutinized closely, but if we can
identify 18 acres of land of which 90% can be developed and it is
available at a reasonable price in a good location, should we move on
it? These are tough issues
and, again, will be answered by the entire membership of this church.
Question 13: Is there a final objective date
to find land?
Answer: No. We hope to be prepared to move forward on a land
purchase when the right piece of land with the right number of usable
acres in the right location at the right price becomes available. That time may come this week or
next year.
Question 14: Are there any instances of two-campus
congregation successes that can be presented to our congregation?
Answer: Such churches are typically
referred to as multi-site churches and there are many examples of
successful multi-site churches.
In a survey completed in 2004, Warren Bird of the Leadership
Network, an organization dedicated to helping develop leadership within
large churches, discovered over 1,500 multi-site churches in the United
States. Such churches
range from the mega-churches such as Willow Creek in Chicago which has
four campuses with over 15,000 in worship each week to much smaller
multi-site churches such as Journey Community Church in New York City
which doubled attendance from 400 to 800 when moving to multiple
sites. One good article on
multi-site churches that also explores the “why” of doing multi-site
ministry can be found at:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/global/printer.html?/bcl/areas/vision-strategy/articles/102605.html
Question 15: How does the Church Council
envision this congregation staffing the two locations and coordinating
activities between the two campuses (e.g., could there be services at
both places with family and youth separated)?
Answer: Good question and again one
that we cannot begin to answer.
Obviously, how we staff each site will be entirely dependent on
what ministries are located at each site. What we do know to be true is that a
multi-site church can be staffed more efficiently than two separate
churches because they are able to share staffing resources as well as
administrative resources such as computers. To the second part of the question, we will
certainly strive to avoid separating families. Through effective coordination
and by offering the right ministries at the right times in the right
locations, we should be able to eliminate virtually all family
separations. For example,
we would surely not have all our Sunday morning children’s ministries
at campus #1 while offering adult worship only at campus #2.
Question 16: But won’t multiple sites
fragment us even more as a church?
Answer: We need to address this
question from two perspectives: first, will multiple sites really
separate us and, second, why do we want multiple sites?
We really believe a second site, with a facility
large enough for all of us to gather at one time, will actually serve
to pull us together. Right
now there is no place where we can gather indoors unless we rent a
facility such as Leonardtown High School or the Southern Maryland
Higher Education Center.
The lack of such a facility is actually keeping us apart. Brubacher Hall can seat less
than half of our current church family; we are simply unable to gather
as a family in one place for fellowship.
We also want multiple sites because we are called to
“Reach Out for Jesus Christ.”
This church has been blessed by God for over 175 years and,
particularly, in the recent past and we have seen our numbers
grow. Now, we are now
reaching folks in our community who have never had a connection with
Christ. We have always
been successful in connecting with believers who recently moved to our
community, but, by adding a second site with our St. Paul’s DNA we can broaden
our reach into new areas within St. Mary’s County and bring the gospel
to so many who are lost and drifting aimlessly. As tough as some of our
decisions may be, we can never lose sight of why we exist as a church –
to make disciples of all nations.
As Pastor Stan highlighted in our G2G video, what we are really
talking about here is seeking unity in our purpose of reaching out for
Jesus Christ. (If you
haven’t had an opportunity to see this video and would like to do so,
please contact our office staff at 301.475.7200.)
Question 17: Would the Church Council
consider purchasing multiple plots of land in close proximity to the
existing church, such as buying the cornfield on Moakley Street or the
two houses directly in front of our current property?
Answer: The Church Council has been
open to all options and, on several occasions, we explored purchasing
several plots of land in close proximity to our church. There are several reasons why
this is not feasible including: (1) there is insufficient land
available in close proximity to our current location; (2) much of the
land immediately adjacent to us is wetlands and, therefore, is not
developable or is only developable at an extraordinary cost; and (3)
the cost of such land per acre is exorbitant. More importantly, purchasing land in close proximity
to our current location defeats our mission to “reach out for Jesus
Christ.” We need to
constantly remind ourselves that the primary reason for going to a multi-site operation
is to extend our reach
into more than one area of our community. For this reason, we always have one eye on
demographic data to determine where county growth is occurring and
where the unchurched live, while exploring possible sites so that any
new facilities we build will be where the people who need those ministries
and facilities live.
Question 18: Have we considered reacquiring
our old church which is now the Leonardtown Church of the Nazarene?
Answer: That facility does not meet our
current needs for ministry and the amount of land available there is
insufficient to support the development of any facility we need at this
point to support our ministries.
Question 19: Can we “build-up” on our
current building?
Answer: No, at least not without
exorbitant costs. Our
current building is not constructed in such a way that we can “raise
the roof” and add a second floor.
Further, any expansion to our current facility would have to be
accompanied by increased parking and we simply do not have any more
land at our current location that is usable for additional permanent
parking.
Question 20: Would the hospital be
interested in buying our current land and building so that we could be
a larger facility somewhere else?
Answer: The hospital may be very
interested in purchasing this land and building but, that does not
allow us to fulfill our vision to extend our reach into new areas of
the community while maintaining our ministries here.
Question 21: Can we expand in our current
location?
Answer: No. Part of our remaining land is wetlands and cannot be
developed. Further, with
issues such as zoning setbacks and watersheds, we are restricted from
creating any more impermeable surfaces in our current location.
Question 22: Will we ultimately abandon our
current facility and location to move to a larger facility/location?
Answer: We are very intent on
maintaining our current location and facility in perpetuity for three
primary reasons. First, we
believe St. Paul’s belongs here.
Our heritage and our history are here and date back to 1828 when
the very first Methodist Episcopal congregation was established here in
Leonardtown. Our cemetery
is here with many of the people who made St. Paul’s what it is today. Our roots are here and we
simply can’t desert them.
Second, leaving this site for a single larger site
defeats are vision of extending our reach into new locations. Our goal is to touch the
unchurched in this county in more than one place, so leaving one site
for another gains us nothing.
Multi-site ministry enables our church to reach more people
without continuing to build bigger and bigger buildings. It is good stewardship.
Third, most of our social justice ministries (Loaves
and Fishes, Leonard’s Freehold, Marcey House, etc.) are in close
proximity to our current location. We recognize that if we abandon this location, we
will also be abandoning the people who have come to see St. Paul’s as a
beacon of light in their neighborhood.
Question 23: Would we demolish the current
facility and rebuild a larger worship space?
Answer: There are no plans at this time
to make any significant changes to our existing facility. Any such plans would have to
gain congregational consensus before moving forward. Additionally, any expansion
must address our parking capability which is now saturated.
Question 24: How are we going to pay for
this second campus facility?
Specifically, is the intent that we would use equity loans on
the land we purchase? What
are the specifics?
Answer: We expect to have several
options available to us by the time we are ready to move forward with
building new facilities.
Certainly an equity loan or a mortgage is a viable option but,
ultimately, this would be an issue for a future Charge or Church Conference
to decide.
Question 25: How will this campaign impact
our current ministries?
Answer: Our intent is that there will
be no impact from this campaign on our current ministries. Any giving to this campaign
should be above and beyond
that which is being given to current ministries. This Capital Stewardship Program
is about our growing spiritually and being willing to extend beyond
ourselves to impact the community. As such, we are being called to sacrifice our time,
talents, and resources to achieve the vision we believe God has laid
out for us.
Question 26: Are we going to continue our
monthly Mercy Offerings?
Answer: Absolutely!
Question 27: If we have about 500 members
here at St. Paul’s, how much will each family be expected to give
towards the G2G Capital Stewardship Program?
Answer: This is a decision that is
personal to each family and that each family must make in communion
with God. This Capital
Stewardship Program is a call to sacrificial giving but each family must
decide what their commitment (in time, talents, and resources) should
be by searching for God’s leading in their lives. This campaign is not about equal giving; it is about equal
sacrifice… equal generosity.
Some members of our church family are in a position that allows
them to commit numerically large financial resources to this while
others are in a far different position. The significance of the gift is not in its size but
in its sacrifice. A Commitment
Guide will be distributed shortly; this guide may help you wend your
way through the process of discerning what God is calling you to give.
Question 28: Will there be special giving
envelopes for our G2G giving?
Answer: Our standard offering envelopes
are being modified to include a space for G2G giving. These new envelopes will be
distributed prior to the end of the calendar year to those who normally
use offering envelopes. If
you would like to have envelopes but do not receive them, please
contact our Financial Secretary, Emy Schukraft, prior to January 1, 2006.
Question 29: Is my commitment confidential?
Answer: Absolutely. Individual commitment
information is held in confidence and is limited to those who maintain
our giving records.
Question 30: May I change my commitment once
I make it?
Answer: Of course! Should changing circumstances
require a change to your commitment, either an increase or a decrease,
you simply need to contact our Financial Secretary, Emy Schukraft.
Question 31: When do I begin giving and how
often and how long do I give?
Answer: The three-year giving phase
begins on January 1, 2006.
Beyond that, you determine your personal giving schedule. You can give weekly, monthly,
quarterly or you can even make a one-time contribution. Your commitment card will allow
you to select which giving method you prefer.
Question 32: Can I give electronically?
Answer: Yes. It is easy to begin this method of giving, and it is
easy to make changes if and when you choose to do so. Simply check the box on your
commitment card to express your interest in electronic giving and you
will be contacted by Joe Bulvin to assist you in setting this up. (You can do all your giving
electronically including your contributions to our current operating budget
if you choose to do so.)
Question 33: Can I give a non-cash gift?
Answer: If you wish to consider a
gift-in-kind such as stocks or mutual funds, please mark that box on
your commitment card and you will be contacted by Joe Bulvin.
Question 34: What is our conference’s (the
Baltimore-Washington Conference) position on this? Are they concerned about us
going this alone or pulling members from other churches?
Answer: Both the Washington East
District and the Baltimore-Washington Conference are part of our
process to move this forward.
As we identify land to purchase, the District Board of Church
Location and Buildings will coordinate with us and will examine the
land to ensure we do not impinge on another United Methodist Church’s
area of influence.
Further, churches with an outward focus are encouraged to grow
and reach the unchurched in their surrounding communities. Right now, members of our
church family travel from as far away as St. Mary’s City and Golden
Beach and we will undoubtedly attract some folks from neighboring
churches just as some of our members have migrated to other churches
over the years. However,
our purpose remains focused on reaching those who are not connected to
any church community. As
long as we remain true to our purpose, we believe God will honor our
intentions.
Question 35: Will the Baltimore-Washington
Conference help us by contributing funds toward this endeavor?
Answer: With virtual certainty we can
answer “No” to this question.
As a vibrant, growing, stable church, it is within our charter as
a church and our duty as disciples of this church to continue to grow
into what God is calling us to.
However, it is important to note the assistance given to us by
the Baltimore-Washington Conference in the recent past. Specifically, the
Baltimore-Washington Conference provided us with a three-year grant of
$45,000 to help us kick-start our discipleship ministries and Saturday
night worship and redesignated us as a “missional church” during 2003
and 2004. This missional designation
reduced our apportionments to the Baltimore-Washington Conference by
about $48,000 during those two years and was in addition to the $45,000
grant.
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