Anonymous gift pays off church loan

Last Sunday the congregation of Spokane Valley United Methodist Church, 115 N. Raymond Road, found out it had more than $60,000 in extra reasons to give thanks.

During the service, the Rev. David Johnson announced than an anonymous donor wrote a check on April 4 for $62,236 to cover the balance on an outstanding bank loan.

“The reaction was very good with a number of ‘Wows’ and ‘Praise Gods,” Johnson said. “There was an overall sense of joy.”

Although ahead of schedule on payments, Wey Simpson, the church’s financial resource team leader, estimated at least two more years before the balance was completely paid off.

“It’s a real blessing,” said Kay Fischer, church lay leader. “It was totally unexpected.”

The couple that gave Johnson the check delivered it with a note stating their intention of giving it as an anonymous gift.

“I can tell you they are longtime residents of this community,” said Johnson, who respected their wishes to remain anonymous. “They have a heart of compassion for this community and for our church. They have served in a variety of ways.”

The donation allows the church to focus on its strategic vision ahead of schedule.

“We wanted to first get the mortgage paid off before we fully got into the visioning process,” Johnson said. “It was like God said, ‘You’re ready’, and provided the resources to conclude this portion of the project.”

Basing decisions on its vision statement, “to make disciples of Jesus by reaching out and serving others one life at a time,” the church hopes to use the planning process to assess current goals and develop new ones to reach their vision.

“God will give us the direction,” Johnson said. “A major part of this process is simply dwelling in God’s directive, through the scriptures.”

A vision team of five people plans to meet in May. Out of this meeting they hope to provide direction for the congregation’s process to analyze the church as a whole, looking at all programs, building and staff, then begin strategic planning is August.

“The goal is to engage as many people as possible in as many ways as possible,” said Johnson.

Once the planning stage is complete, Easum Bandy, a church consultant firm based in Texas, will evaluate the data and give feedback on how the church can impact the community.

“I’m anticipating we’ll receive their recommendation late next year,” Johnson said.

The donation retires a bank loan of $251,000 in 2002 used to renovate the original church, built in 1939. The renovation was a result of Vision 2000. One of issues to come out of Vision 2000 was confusion about accessibility to the building. The church had many exterior doors with no clearly defined main entrance.

“With lack of accessibility, the question then was do we stay in our current location or do we relocate,” said Johnson. “We decided to stay, which led us to the remodel.”

Other concerns expressed during Vision 2000 included the need to relocate the office, upgrading disability access and inadequate energy efficiency.

Originally planned as a two-phase remodel, the completed first phase encompassed remodeling the original church. The second phase, renovating the gymnasium and reconfiguring the larger sanctuary, is still pending.

Funding the required $845,000 for Phase I included an estate gift of $400,000 given to the church prior to Vision 2000. Two capital fund drives held over six years raised an additional $500,000.

Completed in February 2002, the remodel provides focused entrance with a ramp for handicap access, information desk, staff offices, and a new elevator. It also includes the installation of new heating and cooling systems as well as updating all the electrical and plumbing.

“It made our building more attractive and accessible,” said Fischer. “It took care of some issues people saw as barriers.”