CGS has given EFC a Yellow light for the campaign. There is strong enthusiasm, but the projected finances needed to be stronger to make our goal more certain. We believe the next step, called the Advance Challenge stage, will greatly improve this picture. As mentioned in the quarterly meeting, leadership did meet and discussed the next steps for our church. Below is a Q&A to help everyone understand where we’re at and what going forward looks like
1. What is the “Advance Challenge” phase?
This is an early stage of the campaign where a first wave of commitments are made before the whole church is asked to make commitments. The goal is to create momentum for when the campaign reaches the whole church phase in January.
2. When does the Advance Challenge phase happen?
EFC’s Advance Challenge phase is about 5 weeks and ends December 6th.
3. How does the Advance Challenge phase relate to the Yellow Light?
According to CGS, if this phase raises $400K in commitments (55-60% of our goal) then our chances of reaching our goal of $700K becomes almost certain. This would change the cautionary yellow to a green light.
According to their report we are expected to generate approximately $250K in commitments from the Advance Challenge phase. However, question #5 has encouraging news.
4. What if we do not reach $400K in commitments during the Advance Challenge Phase?
Some of the options included 1) increasing EFC’s current contribution from savings above the current $300K, or, 2) looking at ways to downsize the project. Leadership felt that even if the goal was not reached that a smaller project was still important for our ministry needs. Long-term financing was also discussed but opposed (see #6)
5. How likely is it we will reach the $400K from the Advance Challenge phase?
Very likely. Since the yellow light report several weeks ago there have been encouraging developments. Those developments have greatly increased our confidence that the Lord will help us reach the $400K and our ultimate goal of $700K.
6. Will we borrow money?
No. Long-term financing is not under consideration. God has given clear indications He is in this project, and we will trust Him to provide the full amount. We worked hard to become debt-free years ago and remain committed to staying debt-free.
7. What is a construction loan and isn’t that “borrowing” money?
Yes and no. A construction loan is a short-term loan (typically up to 3 years) that pays for building costs while campaign commitments are still being fulfilled. This allows us to lock in today’s prices instead of risking higher costs later. CGS says that clients fulfill about 95% of commitments, which gives us confidence the loan will be repaid on schedule.
8. In what ways does the church show support for the project?
The Pre-Campaign Assessment from CGS shows a lot of support:
• Congregational survey (99 responses): 73.8% agree we should conduct a campaign, 75.8% believe it is the right time, and 73.8% are willing to financially support the project. These are all well above CGS’s 60% success benchmarks.
• 86.9% have a clear understanding of the project, 80.6% find the reasons for investment acceptable, and 83.7% agree the plan meets current ministry needs.
• Leadership (interviews + poll): Even stronger support – 79–83% affirmative on the same readiness questions, with average enthusiasm rated 3.9 out of 5. 79% say the case has been made and that the project meets ministry needs.
• Most leaders and interviewees describe the project as needed for continued growth and mission.
These results indicate the congregation and leadership are ready and willing to be challenged.
9. Should we give actual donations right now?
At this time we are focusing on generating commitments, not actual donations. However, in a few weeks we should have a better understanding of how well the Advance Challenge phase is going. At that time we can inform people regarding donating this year to the campaign.