A Note From Pastor Craig
April 19th, 2022
Easter was such a time of joy. The great music, the laughter, the forgiveness of sins. Over 1,700 people worshipped God and celebrated that Jesus is alive. It’s not quite where WE were before COVID, but 170% bigger than last year. If you add in our online worshippers—about 2,500 participated in our Easter worship and that is similar to pre-COVID numbers.
Another cool thing was our Easter Egg hunt. Nearly 1,000 people were here and 12,000 Easter eggs disappeared in less than 60 seconds.
Our west driveway is being built this week. In a few weeks WE will have a new entrance / exit to relieve congestion and improve safety. It will also connect us better to our neighborhood. Our volleyball courts should be done in the next couple weeks as well. I’m excited to tell you the story behind this project.
None of us know if the pandemic is over or not, but I wanted to thank you for being the church during these uncertain times. You have supported many families with compassion during their time of loss, you have blessed so many people in Omaha and beyond with your generosity, and you took a huge step of faith by financially resourcing debt reduction, the west driveway, and our building expansion. You made a significant investment in the future of our church and the Kingdom of God.
WE are having a church conference this Sunday, April 24th, immediately following the 10:30 worship service. The one item on the agenda is the resolution below. We need to approve this resolution to obtain our construction loan from the Texas Methodist Foundation. I encourage you to look over the drawings, review the financial plan, and read the frequently asked questions. E-mail Ron Christensen (ron@weomaha.com) or me (craig@weomaha.com) if you have any additional questions.
I hope to see you Sunday.
In Christ,
CHURCH CONFERENCE RESOLUTION
The Church Conference of The Water’s Edge United Methodist Church does hereby approve the architectural plans, cost estimates, and the financial plan for the proposed church building addition on the property located at 195th and Harrison Street.
The Church Conference also authorizes The Water’s Edge United Methodist Church to borrow from the Texas Methodist Foundation (TMF) up to the sum of $2,950,000, secured by a lien against the real property, together with related equipment, located at 19600 Harrison Street, Gretna NE.
The Church Conference hereby authorizes The Leadership Team to proceed with construction of the building addition, negotiate the terms and conditions of the loan and obtaining construction bids, and any other action that maybe required. The designated officers of The Leadership Team are authorized to execute all required instruments and documents that they deem necessary on behalf of The Water’s Edge Church in order to obtain the loan.
Date: April 24, 2022
By: ____________________________________
Jennie Clements – Secretary Church Conference
ALLOCATION OF “WELCOME HOME” CAMPAIGN COMMITMENTS
- Total Commitments: $2,829,500
- Paid on loan: $ 200,000
- West Drive estimate: $ 104,000
Funds Available for Building Addition: $2,525,500
ESTIMATED COST OF THE BUILDING ADDITION
- Building Construction, Equipment, Site work, & Permits: $2,543,000
- Architect, Engineering, Survey, etc.: $243,000
- Contingency: $107,000
TOTAL ESTIMATED PROJECT COST $2,893,000
FUNDING PLAN
“Welcome Home” Capital Campaign: $2,525,500
Additional Funds: $ 367,500
- Additional commitments from donors (They have indicated they will make additional contributions)
- General Fund (Designated by Generosity & Leader teams)
Financing -Texas Methodist Construction Loan $2,950,000
- Purpose is to assure adequate cash flow during the construction to pay contractors and suppliers
- Capital campaign funds received will be used first to reduce interest cost.
- The goal is for this loan to be paid off by the end of the capital campaign period (12/31/2024)
Loan Terms:
Interest Rate: 3 year fixed (3.95% as of 3/31/2022)
Interest Only Payments for 3 years
23-year loan term
Loan can be prepaid or paid off at any time
Other Funding Plans:
We will conduct a fund drive separate from the capital campaign to provide opportunities for individuals and families to purchase furnishings for the building addition.
When will the addition be built?
We plan to break ground during the late summer or early fall. Our goal is for the addition to be completed and ready for ministry by August 2023.
Why is the estimated cost of the addition higher than communicated during the capital campaign?
There are three factors that increased the cost estimate.
- The cost of the steel package increased significantly from late summer/fall to January.
- The leadership team approved adding a 5,500 SF mezzanine to the plans. This adds 4 more classrooms at a much lower cost per square foot than the rest of the building. This reduces the total cost/square foot for the entire addition. The additional classrooms will provide more flexibility and position us for future growth.
- General inflation for all building costs.
Since the campaign funds do not fund 100% of the cost, how will the remaining cost be funded?
We have donors who will commit additional funds in addition to their commitments to the Welcome Home Campaign.
General Fund (Designated by the Generosity and Leadership Teams)
Why are we obtaining a construction loan for $2,950,000?
There are several reasons for obtaining a construction loan. The primary reason is to assure we have adequate funds to pay expenses during the construction process. This is because we cannot predict exactly when we will receive campaign commitments over the 3-year period. Also, the construction loan can be viewed as a type of insurance if we have an unexpected expense, or an event causes us not to receive all the campaign funds. This is consistent with what we did with the construction of our building.
Related points:
- We will minimize construction interest expense by using our funds first before using loan funds.
- We only pay interest on that loan funds that are advanced.
- We do not anticipate using 100% of this loan commitment. (During the construction of our building in 2017-18 the peak usage of our $4.75M TMF loan commitment was $3.6M)
Is Church Leadership still committed to not adding to long term debt?
Yes! Your Leadership Team and Generosity Team are committed to the goal of the church being debt free in 5-7 years. Examples of this commitment:
- Our TMF loan balance as of March 31, 2022, was $743,384 (Down from $1,039,040 as of December 31, 2021.)
- Our ministry operating budget includes $170,000 for debt service. $145,000+ of this debt service is being applied to the TMF loan balance