Garden of Eden , Daniel in the Lion ’ s Den , David & Goliath , Noah ’ s Ark and more ) come alive , almost as if they are transported to that time period . Through the use of theming , multimedia components , sounds , lighting and special effects , children are immersed and enveloped in a captivating environment that stimulates the senses as their hearts are being drawn toward God . As they learn about each story , various elements activate to engage and enthrall them in the experience . They hear the sounds of the jungle and the hiss of the snake in the Garden of Eden . The burning bush ignites as they learn about Moses . They sit inside the Big Fish as the floor takes on a water-like effect and they are surrounded by sounds of the storm and flashes of lightning as they learn about Jonah . Paw prints illuminate on the floor as the walk toward the Ark . These are just a few of the thoughtful , state-of-the-art elements that make this space one in a million . “ We want the experience to be so engaging for children that they either don ’ t want to leave or can ’ t wait to return ,” Turner explains . “ And they don ’ t want to leave ; they say they ’ re having too much fun . That gives the parents comfort and encouragement ; they ’ re excited to see their children growing in their walk with God . The enthusiasm of the children is also a great way to inspire parents to return who may not have an active or strong faith walk .”
Funding the dream : a less conventional path Of course , smartly funding this vision would be crucial . Fortunately , this wasn ’ t the church ’ s first foray into large-scale financing . In 2019 , it secured financing through St . Louis , Mo . -based Stifel , which has an industry-focused Religious Finance Practice , for renovation of 43,000 square feet of CCNN ’ s 93,000-square-foot facility to include a new , 1,200-seat sanctuary ; expanded lobby ; multiple café spaces ; and expansion of the children ’ s ministry and educational spaces in the Christian Academy . Stifel orchestrated a $ 6-million bond issue : $ 3.6 million for the renovation project and $ 1.9 million to retire existing debt from its original land-locked campus that they vacated in 2018 . In discussions about church lending , bond financing doesn ’ t come up as often as more traditional lending options . Many church leaders either aren ’ t familiar with what it entails , or they hold some misconceptions about the process . Stifel Managing Director Dave Schlosser knows this all too well . “ This is my 37th year in the church bond business ,” he says . “ Many times , I ’ ll get a call from a pastor or administrator , and I ’ ll explain our program . When the word ‘ bonds ’ comes up , often the first response is , ‘ Oh , do we have to sell bonds to our congregation ?’ My response is , ‘ not with our program .’” Schlosser acknowledges that many church leaders have secondhand knowledge of how some bond programs work , mostly where bonds are required to be sold to church members . In many of those cases , financing is frustratingly delayed until all of the bonds are sold . “ Our program is completely different and essentially relieves congregations from the burden of supporting the bond issue ,” he says . “ Once they understand the difference between needing to sell bonds internally from being able to tap into Stifel ’ s national retail investor network , their mindset completely changes .” For her own part , CCNN ’ s Sherrie Turner overcame any misconceptions about bond financing with the church ’ s 2019 funding package . “ Really , I think it was definitely a move of God to expose me to bond financing as an option , because I hadn ’ t been familiar with it ,” she says . “ And as I started to dig more into it , I was like , Wow , where have you been all of my life ?”
Senior Pastor Tony Clark
Turner and her team especially appreciated not having to sell bonds to members while a capital campaign was underway , simultaneously , to help fund the renovation project and service debt . Turner says the church would not have pursued Stifel ’ s offerings if this were a requirement . Fast-forward a few years , and interest rates are at historic lows . In 2021 , CCNN leaders and the religious finance team at Stifel met to recalibrate . The bonds issued in 2019 were issued at interest rates ranging from 3.15 % to 6.25 %. “ The way a bond issue works is that we provide a series of interest rates with different maturities ,” Schlosser explains . “ Our investors then buy the bonds with maturities and interest rates that best fit their personal investment strategies . In 2021 , in the midst of a historically low-rate environment , Stifel was able to refinance the church ’ s existing 2019 bonds and provide a series of interest rates between 1.15 % to 5.10 %. This significantly lowered CCNN ’ s payment . These freed-up funds were instrumental in maintaining stability at the church during COVID . They were also vital for increasing the church ’ s Benevolence outreach during the pandemic and continuing to expand the educational and ministry opportunities available to both the children ’ s ministry ( the development of a special needs program ) and the Christian Academy , which was expanded , at that time , to offer services for infants through 8th graders . “ We still continued to be aggressive about how we were paying down debt , but it just gave us financial deftness if we needed it ,” Turner points out . “ And at the time , even though the school was closed for a bit , we opened up for essential workers during the pandemic .”
More than numbers Refinancing the bond package did more than make more ministry funds available ; it provided long-term peace of mind and flexibility for the church . Here ’ s how .
A 25-year fixed rate . Schlosser says he believes the 25-year fixed rate element of the bond financing package was “ the biggest advantage ” for Calvary Chapel — especially in a climate when , at the time , anything more than a five-year term was virtually unheard of . “ That would have meant that at the end of the five years , the church would have to go back into the market and either reset the interest rate or refinance the transaction in total if their existing lender wasn ’ t going to help them ,” he points out . “ So , to me , it was really that long-term fixed rate that turned them to Stifel versus a traditional lender .”
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