Article published November 15, 2008
Calvary to celebrate 'miracle' of debt freedom
$3.5M mortgage once threatened church's future
By JC REINDL
BLADE STAFF WRITER
On a breezy morning earlier this week in South Toledo, two pastors and a business official from Calvary Assembly of God gathered around a table stacked with manila folders containing old bills and yellow mortgage notes.
As they pored over the stapled papers, the Rev. Chad Gilligan squinted at the big numbers in small type and the Rev. Bill McGinnis actually shivered while marveling at the intimidating size of the balances.
Mary Jo Fox, Calvary's longtime business administrator, asked the unlikely question on everyone's mind: "Which one do we burn?"
The trio were planning a document burning, all right, although one of celebration to mark a moment that all 900 members of their church community can take pride in.
After 24 years, two refinancings, and several close brushes with foreclosure, Calvary Assembly of God, 5025 Glendale Ave., has paid off its building mortgage early and is rejoicing in being debt free.
Mr. Gilligan, senior pastor, said it's an accomplishment made possible by the diligent efforts and steady donations of Calvary's congregation. He will lead the ceremonial burning of the mortgage papers at the 10 a.m. service tomorrow at the church, 5025 Glendale Ave."It's going to be a celebration of God's faithfulness in the church, and his long-term work through the people of Calvary," the pastor said.
Calvary is calling the event its "Dream Again Celebration Service" because the $5,000 a week it has collected for mortgage payments can now go to other causes. With this financial burden lifted, the church may finally "dream again."
"Once that money is freed up, it will give us more opportunities to serve and minister," Mr. Gilligan said. "That mortgage has so much emotional attachment to it … people had to fight to keep the doors open."
Affiliated with the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination with 60 million members worldwide, Calvary was founded in Toledo 1951. The congregation moved in in 1984 from an older church building on Glendale near South Byrne Road to its present location, once an empty field in the shadow of the now-shuttered Southwyck Shopping Center.
The church bought the land in 1976, and went on to sell parcels that became The Glendale assisted-living facility and a Kroger shopping center. And with grand ambitions, Calvary broke ground for a $4 million complex with a large sanctuary, a chapel, a school building, and a gymnasium.
But according to today's leaders, the church's visions were bigger than its bank account.
While there was enough money for the school and gym, funds ran out before work could be finished on the sanctuary. So the church held its services in the gym, with worshippers sitting on folding chairs.
Yet seating was soon the lesser of discomforts. The terms for Calvary's original $3.5 million mortgage in 1984 with First Federal Savings and Loan Association called for $41,000 monthly payment - a tall order for a church with only about 300 members at the time.
What's more, Calvary owed tens of thousands of dollars to building contractors. The church inevitably fell behind on payments.
"On Sunday morning, creditors would show saying, 'We want our money and if we don't have it, we're going to shut it down,'•" said Mr. McGinnis, executive pastor. "And board members were pleading, 'Give us another day or another week.'•"
Churchgoers with long memories recall how skeptical banking officials tossed around plans for turning the complex into a dinner theater, if and when Calvary defaulted.
Eventually with the help of more than $150,000 in interest-free loans from church members, as well as negotiation of more lenient terms with creditors, Calvary got its head above water, Mr. Gilligan said.
And after raising an additional $500,000, the church finished its 1,200-seat sanctuary in 1991 and moved the services out of the gym.
This week Calvary paid off its mortgage three years early due to the success of its Dream Again Initiative, which kicked off last year and has raised $717,000, Mr. Gilligan said.
"It's nothing short of a miracle," Ms. Fox said.
Calvary is not the only Toledo church burning mortgage documents this weekend.
Christian Temple Baptist Church, 1201 Blum St. in central city, is celebrating after paying off a $500,000 mortgage for its Huff-Jones Center that opened in 1998, said the Rev. Charles E. Jones. The congregation's generous donations cut a 15-year payment scheduled down to just 10 years.
Thanks to copy machines, the mortgage papers will experience two days of joyous burnings, starting yesterday and finishing today, Mr. Jones said.
Another Toledo church, Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church, has paid off its mortgage and will celebrate the shredding of its loan documents with a sauerkraut dinner set for noon Nov. 23 at the church, 1853 South Ave. Reservations are suggested by calling 419-385-5339.
Contact JC Reindl at:
jreindl@theblade.com
or 419-724-6065.
Permanent Link
|
|
 |
|
READ: 
Search
advertisement
