wfn.org | Development fund makes loan money available to churches

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 16, 2001  News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-71B{477}

By Lesley Crosson*

NEW YORK (UMNS) -- The United Methodist Development Fund (UMDF) is making
available $30 million for loans to United Methodist churches and
church-related institutions seeking financing to construct new buildings or
improve existing ones.

The 40-year-old fund is a ministry of the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries.

During the past six months, UMDF has received large infusions of money for
investments from individuals and church agencies, including the General
Council on Finance and Administration, according to Bishop Jonathan Keaton,
fund president. This enabled the fund's board of directors to end a
six-month moratorium on loans.

"We have a reservoir of United Methodists who continue to be concerned about
church growth -not just in their own neighborhoods but throughout the
denomination. These same people are also attracted to the fund by the great
interest rates," Keaton said.

The investments, which pay interest every six months, form the pool of money
used to finance loans for renovation, construction and property purchase.
The interest rate for new loans is 8.5 percent for a 15-year term.

During the past two years, UMDF has financed more that $81 million in loans,
the highest number in its history. The unprecedented number of loans granted
is an indication of its "vigorous health and ongoing commitment to assisting
churches and institutions" that need space to grow, said the Rev. Sam Dixon,
staff executive for the fund.

Dixon explained that community-based mission institutions, which provide
vital services like day care and after-school programs, sometimes are not
attractive applicants to conventional lenders because of the nature of their
ministry and financial undergirding. They, along with churches housed in
older structures or buildings with inadequate space, are ideal candidates
for construction financing through UMDF, he said.

One recent loan recipient is the Rev. Craig A. Parrish, pastor of Fairwood
Church in Washington. His congregation added a multipurpose room with space
for an intergenerational vacation church school and expanded youth ministry.
"Without the resources of UMDF," Parrish wrote, "we would not have been able
to secure the necessary funding for our dreams."

For loan information or applications, contact the Board of Global
Ministries' Office of Loan Administration at (212) 870-3865. 

The fund's Web site, http://gbgm?umc.org/units/evgrowth/umdf.html, also
contains information, interest rates and stories from churches that have
improved their facilities with the help of UMDF loans. 

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*Crosson is director of public relations for the Board of Global Ministries.

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United Methodist News Service
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