History Highlights

December 11, 1957 - EFCA Board of Trustees received a proposal from the Great Lakes District for the formation of a national church lending agency

March 3, 1958 - EFCA Board of Trustees began the formal process of organizing an agency to fund loans to EFCA churches and ministries

June 20, 1958 - Investment Foundation was named Christian Investors Foundation and Mr. Paul Carlson was interviewed and offered the position of Manager of the Foundation to be effective when the foundation was organized.

April 30, 1959 - Christian Investors Foundation is incorporated in the state of Minnesota.

Initial investment in CIF was for $10,000 by Christian Homes Inc. of Holdrege, Nebraska, the nursing home owned and operated by the EFCA Midwest District.

1959 -1972  Paul Carlson served as Secretary/Treasurer, Total assets equaled $300,000 on December 31, 1960 and $1,867,081 on December 31, 1967

1972 - 1979  Herbert Nordin served as Secretary/Treasurer.  Mr. Nordin ran CIF from his kitchen table.  Investors and church borrowers alike recall fondly meetings over coffee with files spread across the table.  On December 31, 1977, total assets equaled $2,768,535.

1979 - 1992  Stanley Olson served as Secretary/Treasurer.  Mr. Olson comments "I saw [Christian Investors] grow from where the job was very, very part time to where it wasn't part time at all."  On December 31, 1987, total assets equaled $18,887,264.

1992 - 2003  Harland Anderson joined CIF as Secretary/Treasurer.  The role soon became renamed President as the organization had grown and the role carried much more responsibility.  Mr. Anderson speaks fondly of his earlier years with CIF.  "About '95, the organization really went through a culture of change and we began to stand on our own," shares Mr. Anderson.  He goes on to describe the staff members that God provided with the skills, heart and experience that was needed to adapt to the growth, challenges and opportunities ahead.  Those years were also the years when CIF converted to traditional banking computer systems from non-profit accounting systems, which enabled CIF to serve more churches with greater efficiency.  On December 31, 1997, total assets equaled $79,808,762.

2003 - present  Paul Anderson serves as President.  Paul is fond of reminding everyone that "we stand on the shoulders of all the great work that was done before us," giving credit to the godly men and women that have served CIF throughout its history.  On December 31, 2006, total assets equaled $128,790,479.

January 1, 2005 - CIF acquired Ministry Campaign Services (MCS) from the Ministry Advancement Department of the EFCA National Office.  This acquisition positions both MCS and CIF to better serve the churches and ministries of the EFCA.