Maranatha Haitian Baptist Church
A Congregation Built on Resilience
Pastor Presny Ferdinand didn’t originally intend to call Orlando, Fla., home. The Maranatha Haitian Baptist Church was formed in New Orleans, La., in 1995, where it served the Caribbean community and was growing steadily in the early 2000s. It was the tragic displacement and despair caused by Hurricane Katrina that forced Pastor Presny and members of the Maranatha congregation to find a new home in 2005.
The Maranatha Haitian Baptist Church has been serving as the spiritual hub for the Caribbean community in the West Colonial, Pine Hills, and Kirkman areas in Florida since locating here nearly two decades ago. The congregation is growing with over 200 active members currently.
Beyond its active membership, Maranatha has established a notable presence in the region. Members of the congregation are regularly active in providing food and prescription medicine assistance, family counseling, translation services, and connecting residents with job opportunities.
The Calling
In February 2015, the church purchased its current building and had a monthly payment of over $2,000. Since that loan didn’t mature until 2035, it was in the interest of the church to consolidate the existing debt with its construction loan, which it took on for building renovations.
The necessary renovations include new electrical, painting, and concrete work on the property.
God Math
Maranatha Haitian Baptist Church launched a Capital Campaign in 2021, which has raised a good portion of the renovation costs. With a significant amount of funding still needed to make the renovations and favorable refinancing possible, the church knew it needed to turn elsewhere for financial solutions.
This is what led the church to apply for a Cornerstone loan to refinance its existing mortgage and to fund the proposed property renovations. The loan includes a flexible structure and favorable interest rate, empowering Maranatha to proceed with its construction needs in order to best serve the Orlando community.
Cornerstone Fund’s financial solutions set Maranatha on a clear path to fulfilling its mission. Furthermore, Cornerstone’s commitment to walking the whole journey with the church enabled them to deal with the bumps in the road they hit during the construction process and were able to guide them back on track.
Faith UCC New Braunfels
Meeting the needs of a growing congregation
Situated north of San Antonio, Texas, with a growing population of over 90,000, New Braunfels has been the home of Faith United Church of Christ since the congregation’s founding in 1966. The congregation has been a community staple in the region since its founding through its community outreach, potlucks and celebrations, youth programming, and a commitment to social justice at home and abroad.
As the years go on and the population that Faith UCC serves continues to grow, significant facility improvements and remodels have become essential. Faith UCC’s facility improvement needs include:
- New metal roof installation
- Siding repairs
- Interior painting
- Gutter replacements
- New sanctuary flooring and accessible seating
The Calling
Faith UCC is a church rooted in community service dating back to its founding. From backing the local Spirit of Sharing food bank to distributing nearly $70,000 project loans through Family Promise in 85 countries across the globe, the congregation’s outreach knows no boundaries. To maintain the services provided and the strong community fostered by the church, Faith UCC had an urgency to ensure its facilities are on-par with modern infrastructure and accessibility standards.
Faith UCC is facing total project costs of $220,000 for the needed improvements. Financing a project of this cost is no simple task, but relatively new pastor Rev. Dr. Carla Cheatham was up to the task and put a sound finance plan in place.
The congregation is committed its own funds towards the upgrades raised through a Capital and General Fund Campaign, which left a need for borrowing the remainder to make this project a reality.
God Math
“Walking alongside this congregation in ministry, I have witnessed firsthand their commitment to our values and how they live out those values in a way that is engaging their community and growing their congregation. The improvements they seek will fortify their efforts by ensuring a facility that is both warm and secure for years to come.”
– Rev. Philip T. Hodson, former South Central Conference Minister
This is where Cornerstone Fund’s transformative financial solutions come into play, with the ability to close the gap through utilizing its Creating Care financing option that offers Faith UCC an affordable three-year construction loan term with a reduced interest rate.
Aging and inaccessible facilities impedes Faith UCC’s core mission of being an all-welcoming congregation committed to social action. Fortunately, Faith UCC is moving forward with plans to physically revamp itself to be a congregation that can continue to thrive and serve the community well into the 21st century.
Redemption Outreach Church International (Now Known as Manifest Church)
A congregation for West Africans expands its mission throughout Atlanta
Apostle Felix Owusu Adade founded the Redemption Outreach Church International/Manifest Church in 2010 with the mission of extending a restoring and transforming hand to distressed people across the greater Atlanta, Ga., region. A multicultural and multigenerational congregation of nearly 100 members, Manifest is primarily comprised of West African congregants.
Manifest has acted on its mission through various outreach and educational programs serving Atlanta’s West African community, including a weekly food distribution service, a health education program, youth engagement and recreational opportunities, and financial literacy classes.
The Calling
Atlanta’s population has seen rapid growth in recent years, and Manifest draws members from across the metroplex. To best serve its membership and keep up with the needs of the growing community, in 2021 Redemption Outreach/Manifest set its sights on a new church building in Jonesboro. The Jonesboro location that they identified, about 20 miles south to Atlanta, is central to most congregants and comes with easy access and good visibility off a main street.
After some careful negotiations with the previous property owner, a purchase price was agreed upon, and ROCI/Manifest was able to raise 25% of the purchase price, prompting the congregation to approach Cornerstone Fund to finance the remainder.
God Math
As the congregation aimed to expand its impact and create a more nurturing space for worship and community development, the church proved to be on strong financial footing and well positioned to partner with Cornerstone Fund. Much of this can be attributed to Pastor Adade’s background working in the finance and mortgage industry, which has proven to be an invaluable asset to ROCI’s financial well-being.
Cornerstone Fund saw the potential in their mission and a tailored financing solution was put in place to make the Jonesboro church building a reality, allowing ROCI/Manifest to move into its new home by the end of 2022.
Cornerstone Fund has gotten to know both Senior Pastor Apostle Adede and his wife Pastor Nana Mensah and appreciates their focus on restoration, transformation, and empowerment, guiding people to manifest their God-given potential. They encourage individuals to discover and develop their greatness. Manifest Church actively engages in outreach programs, providing spiritual support and distributing essentials to those in need.
West Concord Union Church
Keeping a Historic Church on Par with Modern Environmental Ideals
Nestled in the progressive community of Concord, Mass., West Concord Union Church was founded in 1891 to serve as a “Union” bringing together Protestants of every denomination. This Open & Affirming church is currently known for its focus on addressing homelessness, racism, and environmental challenges.
Today, WCUC has more than established a strong commitment to meaningful community service. Whether it’s hosting groups like Alcoholics Anonymous for no charge or supporting nonprofits like Communities 4 Restorative Justice, the congregation strongly supports a range of social justice causes – including committing itself to a carbon-neutral future.
This is where the historic nature of this church met the realities of present-day environmental ideals.
The Calling
At odds with WCUC’s environmental initiatives is an aging HVAC system that’s operated by an oil-fired steam boiler. During each of the past seven years, the church reported that the average maintenance costs of the current HVAC system has been more than $19,000 in addition to $15,000 in fuel oil costs. If that’s not costly enough, consider the environmental impact of over 70 tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions.
This is the environmental and financial challenge that prompted the church’s planning team to collaborate with a local engineering design firm and utility stakeholders about constructing new HVAC infrastructure throughout the church facilities.
While it was easy to get behind the idea of mitigating these financial and environmental costs, figuring out how to finance it was a different story. With a total project cost of $1.3 million for the HVAC construction, WCUC was prompted to look outside of the congregation for the necessary financial solutions.
God Math
“I am assured that this financial investment will assist them in their building upgrading project, enhancing their ability to have improved facilities to live into their mission as a relevant faith community in their area”
– Southern New England Conference Minster Rev. Darrell L. Goodwin said of WCUC’s partnership with the Cornerstone Fund
Cornerstone Fund’s Creation Care loan, which comes with a reduced interest rate for a portion of the loan for the first three years, is being put to work to finance the new HVAC project’s $1.3 million price tag.
Thanks to effective capital campaign funds, revenue from various church tenants, and notable property assets, WCUC is in a strong financial position to take on this transformative and cost-effective loan.
