Our lender has frozen our line of credit and has reminded us that they can call our loan anytime. Let me explain. As a church we have been dealing with Kindred Credit Union (formerly Mennonite Credit Union) for many years. Our relationship has been very friendly. When we took out our loan, we agreed to abide by the law of the land as part of our lending agreement. We are a church, and we are a church in what claims to be a free country. We did not foresee the day when the consequences of inviting the community to church in Canada would be illegal.
We invited the community to church in January, and what ensued landed us in legal trouble (see here and here). Trinity Bible Chapel, along with her elders and pastors, has been charged with multiple violations of the Reopening Ontario Act. We have also been charged with and convicted of contempt of court for opening the church in defiance of a court order at the end of January (see here).
Kindred Credit Union is within its contractual rights to freeze our line of credit and even call our loan. They have not called our loan. But they have reminded us that they can call our loan, and they have frozen our line of credit.
On August 30, 2019, after using rented space for many years and praying that God would grant us a facility, we were given our current facility (see here) as long as we assumed the small mortgage of $370,000. We immediately paid down a large portion of the loan to make the balance $150,000. Since then, we have invested $810,000 worth of renovations into the facility. Prior to the renovations, our facility was appraised at $2,760,0000. We currently owe our lender $425,000. Before this unfortunate situation, we had a line of credit with a limit of $916,000. So we have borrowed significantly below our means, and we have a proven track record of paying back what we owe.
We have two projects that we desire to complete as soon as possible. First, we need to install a new septic system. Second, we plan to build additional parking spaces and a laneway to Three Bridges Road to the west of our property. Our current septic system and parking situation are not large enough to accommodate the capacity of our facility, and our congregation is growing in size quickly. The goal of this project is to match the capacity of the septic system and the parking lot with the capacity of our facility. Originally, we had planned to do those projects in part on credit. Given our present political climate and the freezing of our line of credit, we believe we are most prudent to first pay our mortgage in total and then raise the cash to pay the balance of the projects. With the province threatening further lockdowns, we do not want to carry any debt. 
Presently, our parking lot can hold 122 vehicles, and we plan to expand it to hold 208 vehicles. We have submitted our site plan to Woolwich Township, and we anticipate hearing back from them within about four weeks.
Pending approval from the township, we would like to commence and complete these projects as soon as possible. To complete these projects we have some priorities. We want to pay off the balance of our mortgage ($425,000) immediately. And we desire to raise the cash necessary to complete the septic system and parking lot (approximately $400,000). Beyond that we do have plans for additional office space, but that is a third priority we will discuss upon raising the $825,000 to pay our mortgage, install the septic system, and build the new parking lot.
After many years of prayer (see here), God graciously furnished us with this property almost immediately before we entered into lockdowns. Had we still been renting, I wonder how well the church would have fared through this precarious season. In God’s providence, we have been able to use the facility to be a light on a hill in a dark time. As we attempt to position ourselves to let our light shine brighter to even more people, we desire to raise the full $825,000 by August 31 so we can hopefully complete everything by early 2022. We are calling this campaign “Finish the Job.” God provided our Rehoboth, and now it’s time to finish this task. Rehoboth must be cultivated, and that is the job we want to finish.
To finish the job, we need approximately $825,000. To give to our ongoing site development and building projects (which includes paying the loan, installing the septic system, and expanding the parking lot), please click here and give to “Finish the Job.” Alternatively, you can designate cheques as “Finish the Job” to Trinity Bible Chapel.
Please note that we accept donations of various types of securities and stocks, which for some may provide additional tax advantages. If you would like more information please contact treasurer@trinitybiblechapel.ca.
