Turner echoes his sentiments . Especially given the volatility of the current market , she says she appreciates not having to worry about future interest rate hikes and balloon maturities inherent to traditional financing . “ To not have to go through that is amazing ,” Turner points out . “ It gives us confidence in our foundation for strategic planning .”
No prepayment penalties . As she mentioned , Turner and her team always planned to aggressively pay down the debt . So , the absence of prepayment penalties was important . “ Not only could the church prepay at any time , [ Stifel ] could reset their payment lower ,” Schlosser says . “ That ’ s something a traditional lender can ’ t provide .”
No ongoing financial performance covenants . Many commercial loan structures have yearly or quarterly performance ratios that must be met . In contrast , Stifel has no ongoing financial performance covenants which a church must meet . “ I think the takeaway , there — and with bond financing generally — is that as long as you make your scheduled mortgage payments , you ’ re never going to lose the loan ,” Schlosser says . “ It can never be taken away from you .” Turner agrees that this is an attractive component ; for CCNN , it means not having to go back and ask for permission to pursue new growth initiatives that God might be laying on the ministry ’ s heart . “ It ’ s important that — as we exercise our fiduciary duty through excellent financial stewardship — outside constraints don ’ t obscure or hinder the vision that God has given Pastor Tony for the church ’ s ministry ,” she explains . “ Stifel ’ s approach doesn ’ t put limitations on or interfere with our ability to be flexible , agile , and sensitive to how God is leading in our ministry initiatives .”
An open-ended mortgage and no restrictions on asset additions . The open-ended mortgage element allows CCNN to come back to Stifel and issue a new set of financing for whatever project the church is considering . Schlosser explains : “ If interest rates have increased from the original financing , we don ’ t touch that initial series of financing ; it remains outstanding . We come back and we issue the new bonds at whatever the current interest rate market is .” This is in contrast with most traditional loan structures , he says , that require a church to refinance its initial loan at a higher rate because the interest rate markets have changed . Indeed , as Schlosser reiterates , the open-ended mortgage is a great fit for a phased approach to developing a campus . “ And with our knowledge of the church organization as an existing client , it makes the process much easier ,” he adds . Having no restrictions on asset additions means there are no approvals necessary for any projects the church might want to do moving forward , or on buying major assets . “ That ’ s significant because with many traditional loan structures , the church might need lender approval for other projects or capital expenditures ,” Schlosser explains . He expounds that with no restrictions on asset additions , “ our program is very ministry-friendly in that churches don ’ t have to come back to us for any ‘ approvals ’ in the future .” These elements will be essential as CCNN continues to develop and expand its junior high and high school spaces in a similar fashion to the children ’ s ministry , in accordance with Pastor Clark ’ s heart for youth . The intent with these spaces is to rival a fully immersive and fun environment ( Dave & Buster ’ s or Busch Gardens , for example ) where the youth are engaged on all levels and excited to come and learn about God . “ If needed , the open-ended mortgage provides an option for such future ministry growth initiatives ,” Turner explains . “ And as the Director of Business Operations , I ’ m the one who would compile all the financial information — the profiles , the loan statements and so on — if we wanted or needed to pursue financing someplace else . There ’ s no sense of , Oh , we ’ re going to have to put together some type of package or some type of profile to justify what we ’ re trying to do ,” she points out . “ To know that Stifel won ’ t be as onerous in that regard , that ’ s exciting . That just gives us a lot more flexibility as a ministry to be agile and pursue what God has for us .”
No deposit relationship required . In choosing to go with a bond financing initiative with Stifel , CCNN wasn ’ t forced to give up its relationship with its existing financial partners for depository purposes . As Turner recalls , this was especially important during the pandemic , when a relationship with a local banking institution could facilitate expedited access to COVID relief funds . Beyond this , she says she enjoys the peace of mind that comes with being able to maintain the church ’ s great relationships with local and national banks . “ The fact that I didn ’ t have to change accounts and restructure things , that was definitely encouraging ,” she says . “ I just didn ’ t even have to think about it .”
Supporting other Christians . In using bond financing with Stifel , Turner says she knows that CCNN is supporting other Christian organizations and Christians themselves who are investing and thinking about their long-term futures .
“ Such an investment opportunity is really exciting , and it ’ s unique ,” she says . “ It ’ s a very different approach than when you ’ re working with traditional banks .” Clearly , there were plenty of practical reasons for CCNN to use bond financing to fund its amazing new children ’ s wing . For Turner ’ s part , these practicalities mesh well with the church ’ s mindset of money as a tool for ministry , not the driver of ministry . But what she has experienced working with the entire religious finance team at Stifel goes well beyond the transactional . “ They ’ ve recognized their role in helping be a partner in kingdom work ,” she says . “ The tools are flexible enough that they don ’ t impinge upon , hinder or cause constraints for our senior pastor and the leadership to move as God has moved them .” And when it comes to ministry , this kind of freedom is priceless .
4 CHURCH EXECUTIVE