Six Lessons from a 40-Year Indebted Church

I’d never been to a mortgage burning, and I was on stage representing Orchard Alliance. The piece of paper signifying the mortgage was sitting on a serving tray, and a bucket of water was at the ready for any mishaps. The longest-attending member of the church was handed the lighter. She lit the paper, and the church’s 40+-year borrowing history with Orchard Alliance ended. The congregation cheered. It was a pivotal moment for the church. 

The church’s path to being debt-free offers some valuable lessons for anyone pursuing long-term financial goals. Like many of us, the church had experienced a series of ups and downs. It had grown, planted churches, shrunk, and refinanced its debt multiple times. Twelve years ago, it refinanced again. On paper, it looked like another financial adjustment for a struggling church. But something had changed. The church was on the path to paying off its loan. Whether you are trying to pay off debt, save for retirement, or pursue a nonfinancial goal, this church has something to teach us.

Here are six lessons we can glean from the church’s financial history:

1. Perseverance.

The church made its required monthly payments for the next ten years, never paying additional principal. With each payment, the mortgage shrunk a little more than the previous month. A steady advance over a long period of time makes a difference. While the progress is often slow, perseverance erodes deficits and builds character. As Galatians 6:9 encourages, “Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

2. Contentedness/Reprioritization.

The church started earning the “contentment dividend,” a return available to everyone who doesn’t need more. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” The church was content with its physical situation, which allowed it to prioritize financial health. The pastor and elders envisioned a financially healthier future and shared that vision with the congregation. Financial health can move higher on the priority list when you can be content with your current situation. The money not spent filling a gap is available to reduce debt.

3. Leaps of Progress.

The funds made available by careful and intentional spending—coupled with additional gifts from within the congregation—allowed the church to make larger payments over an eighteen-month period. It had moved past the financial perseverance phase and begun gaining some serious momentum toward the goal. If your finances aren’t healthy, use bonuses, gifts, and other one-time inflows to leap forward.

4. Don’t Stop.

Most people who struggle financially have had periods of meaningful progress. Then, the combination of life and some poor decisions puts them back in trouble. This church didn’t stop. They made extra principal payments nearly every month. Those payments shrunk the loan balance to the point where paying it off was within striking distance. One final push could get them across the finish line. Whether by making extra payments or higher payment amounts, use your raises to keep pushing towards your financial goals.

5. Pay Off.

Once the church got close to the goal, motivating the congregation for one last push allowed the church to reduce the balance to zero. Reducing emergency reserves by 20% can help in this stage. By running your reserves lower than normal, eliminating the debt will allow you to replenish those reserves quickly.

6. Celebrate!

Devise a celebration to reinforce the success. It doesn’t have to be costly or require extensive planning. You can borrow a friend’s lighter or a match to burn something representing the debt. Celebrations matter because they make the progress real. Just as the prophet Samuel raised the Ebenezer to commemorate the toppling of the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:12), we can commemorate the toppling of debt as a significant, God-honoring milestone.

Like many people who have achieved a significant goal, this church is now at a new crossroads. What’s next? I challenged the congregation to keep being generous and pay it forward by using their growing reserves to support the church’s next ministry priority or to make an investment to help the next church that needs a loan. Galatians 6:9 promises we will reap a harvest if we don’t grow weary of doing good. Conquering the debt goal is a big deal. The growth you experienced through the process is an even bigger deal. Don’t lose the momentum!