DEAR CHURCH: SHRINK THE ELEPHANT

As a few folks returned to church, they discovered that an Elephant had taken up residence in the middle of the worship center.  It’s name is Facility Costs and Maintenance.  While we were quarantined, the Coronavirus led the once-small animal into the church and supplied it with plenty of food and water.  The Elephant has since grown to an enormous size.  Pastors and church leaders have tried to lure the animal outside, but the Elephant is much too large to fit through the doors.  It might appear hopeless, but it’s not.

Where do we begin?  Shrink the Elephant.  Rather than worry about the current size of the animal, let’s focus on “why” the animal grew so quickly.  Overhead and administrative costs, especially mortgage, rent, and maintenance, continued to accumulate during the quarantine while income declined.  It looks bad.  However, we can pursue solutions to the problem so that we can keep our focus on the important things, such as strengthening the congregation, rebuilding our community presence, and making disciples of Jesus Christ.

The first step in Shrinking the Elephant is to contact your church’s banker, lender, landlord, and maintenance contractors (to whom you owe money).  Keep in mind that all of these companies, suppliers, and the individuals who work for them are in the same boat as the church:  large expenses and limited income.  In fact, you can expect that whomever you contact regarding your situation will already understand your financial position because they are experiencing it, too.  They will welcome the call.

When you make contact with them (preferably the Senior Pastor), be honest and tell them about your current financial position.  Let them know you are committed to making them whole, but that in the mean-time, you must have immediate relief with no accrual of interest or fees.  Trust me on this one:  some money is better than none.  Why?  In the next few months, lenders, property owners, and contractors will be sobbing due to the amount of delinquencies on their books.  Most of their delinquent accounts will be dodging their phone calls and collection efforts.  However, since you are taking a proactive approach, your lender or landlord will be appreciative that you are committed to making them whole.  The LAST THING that they want is for your church to be evicted, forced into a sale, or, even worse, foreclosure.  The market will be flooded with vacant properties, and it will be the banks and landlords who are stuck with a sack full of empty buildings and no prospective buyers/renters. 

Churches are in more control of their “overhead” facility costs than they think.  Make contact with your appropriate money and facility-suppliers.  Be honest and ask them for as much relief as possible.  Six months of greatly-reduced payment rates would be optimal… potentially getting you to Christmas.  Even if your landlord or banker seems unreasonable, they will almost always be willing to allow you to stay for a reduced price than replace you with someone else who is willing (and able) to pay full rates.  I mean, really:  What organization or company will be willing to pay “normal” market rental rates in this business climate?  Think like a banker.  Pretend you are the landlord.  What would you be willing to do to allow your current debtor or lessee to succeed?  If you were them, you would be much more willing to put greed aside for a while and give them a solid chance, as the alternative is a much greater risk.  

If you’ve already made these contacts and had these discussions, good for you!  If not, you must make them.  If you’ve contacted them and you’ve had no luck, contact them again.  Your persistence is evidence of your commitment to approaching this the right way.  “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” is a good cliche to keep in mind.

Like us, the lender, lessor, and maintenance contractor are more worried about financial crisis and eviction than in achieving a high rate of return on their investment.  It’s a difficult series of phone calls to make, but it won’t take long to gain a solid place from which you can tackle the issues at hand.  

God will take care of us but that doesn’t remove our responsibility to seek out those places where God can help!  We want the church to be focused on making disciples and not worried about making payments. As good stewards of God’s Church, “Shrinking this Elephant” will help us get back to what we do best: Sharing the love of Jesus Christ for the world!

King Solomon said, “You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.  But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune.  So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’” (1 Kings 5:3-5, NRSV).

Are there other ways to shrink this problem?  Absolutely!  Community social-distancing and the need for large facilities will create opportunities for the church, so let’s tackle that next time!