Bright, airy, distinctive new building stands for God

“The ability to negotiate with CIF, this would not have happened with a commercial lender. “
Bob Jensen, former Elder Board chair and retired banking executive
Covenant Church

A striking new church building financed by Christian Investors Financial (CIF) and designed with the cross in mind is garnering attention near Florida’s east coast.

“It is an unmistakable statement that this is a church,” said Bob Jensen, a former elder chair at Covenant Church in Palm Bay. “We have had so many new people come in … three-quarters of them are within two miles of the building. This is our Jerusalem … our local Palm Bay area is where we want to start.”

Attendance drove need, continues to grow

Highlighting a cross shape from above and flush with windows and natural light, the new sanctuary seating 500 is nearly full each Sunday. Plans for a second service are right around the corner. Jensen said the church tracks space usage by empty parking spots, which have been averaging just 10.

Covenant Church previously owned and met in a school and took on what became an $11.7 million project on nearby land. The sale of the school property covered more than half the cost, with a capital campaign and CIF loan filling the remainder.

Church leaders prayed for the school property to sell, and God answered with a buyer who paid the market rate, Jensen explained.

Midway between Jacksonville and Miami, the growing Palm Bay, Melbourne and Titusville metro area is home to nearly 650,000 people with about 136,000 in the city of Palm Bay.

The church’s mission is to bring “gospel restoration to people’s deepest needs in our broken world,” Jensen said they have been able, in part because of the architecture, to make a statement that says, “this is a place where you can find answers to your problems in life, through Jesus Christ,” he said.

Jensen brought banking experience, helped guide process

After retiring from a 30-year career in banking and commercial lending, Jensen was called upon to help guide financial decisions the church needed to make.

Several things led the church to believe that God was behind their decision to move toward CIF for financing, he explained. Additionally, the parking situation was unsafe. People were crossing a two-lane highway on foot, sometimes at night.

One was CIF’s willingness to reset the loan payment based on plans to pay it down to a certain level. Starting with $2.1 million in financing, the church planned to reduce that number to $1.25 million in six months.

This was calculated based on the church’s interim rental expenses before the new building, which included renting the school from the new owner, offsite offices and storage. “We worked backwards, took the interest rate, the amortization and said, ‘OK, this will buy us a loan of $1.25 million,’” Jensen explained.

Adjusting for COVID, inflation

During and post-COVID, construction inflation hit the church hard. The church reduced the building size by 4,000 square feet to save $1 million, and over two months, costs increased by the same amount. “All of that effort was made, and we were still right back where we started from,” Jensen said.

Church leaders came to him asking if the project was still possible. “I said, ‘Well, only if God is in it, because on paper, it doesn’t work.’” It would take additional cost cutting and more capital campaign dollars.

Jensen said the “30,000-foot conclusion” was that they needed to depend more on God. “We serve a God who enjoys doing the impossible.”

Droning up support

That elevation was not reachable by drones, but excellent video updates were still provided from above. Not coincidentally, they were provided by a small company that Jensen, pictured at right, is involved with.

Shown each Sunday during construction, they helped keep people motivated, Jensen said, and gave assurance that funding commitments would come through.

When the three-year capital campaign period ended, Jensen was pleased to report that the church had received 99% of the dollars committed.

Beauty and purpose meet with design

The structure employs tilt-wall construction for its distinctive form on the nearly 8.5-acre site. Stones with Bible verses were added to the concrete and a 360-ton crane lifted the tilt walls into place.

The church building is in the shape of a cross, something called cruciform design and construction. New sidewalks were added, as well as paved parking and landscaping.

On the inside, the foyer is larger than the sanctuary. Wood panels made by a member beautify the front of the sanctuary, which is in the center of the building. Two wings then comprise the children’s ministry and office areas.

CIF understood ministry

There were other elements that would have made financing a challenge outside of CIF, Jensen explained. One involved a Covenant Church plant.

“We had a daughter church, and we sent 50 of our people as a core group … and they took their tithes and offerings with them,” he said. This showed a decline in attendance and revenue, something that a secular financing person would not understand.

“It all made sense if you understood how churches operate,” said Jensen. “If you understood the calling of God to do something.”

Different from other lenders

Jensen said commercial lending changed over his time in that industry. Lenders became finders, looking for opportunities, and would turn over the information to others working in credit. “The credit people made the decision … and never talked to the borrower,” he said. “They didn’t really understand the project because they never really had any direct contact, face-to-face conversation.”

The ability to negotiate with CIF – this would not have happened with a commercial lender, he said.

Covenant Church emphasizes six values and a pathway to accomplishing its mission. It is a member of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) and has been serving the community for nearly 47 years.

“It’s a beautiful building that speaks to the fact that this is a church. It’s unmistakable,” Jensen said. “We did not want a big box that did not have windows.” He said people at Covenant Church were so excited to see the project completed in 2024, and that it was done on time.

More information about Church Loans offered by CIF is available. To get started, click “work with a specialist.”