Case Studies

Greater welcome, greater ministry

Rural community Wisconsin Evangelical Free Church builds for greater hospitality after capital campaign and church loan from CIF

“CIF gave us very good advice upfront with how best to communicate the need, and in a way that prayerfully prompts a commitment of giving.”

Senior Pastor Brian young

Small town hospitality in Christ’s name received a significant boost at Faith Evangelical Free Church (EFC), which is on the outskirts of the city of Sparta, Wis. A capital campaign and church loan from Christian Investors Financial (CIF) made the church’s first contracted building expansion possible.

“CIF gave us very good advice upfront with how best to communicate the need and in a way that prayerfully prompts a commitment of giving,” said Senior Pastor Brian Young, who explained that past improvements were all volunteer-based, and over longer time frames.

Floor to ceiling build out

An inviting new fellowship area with tall windows, a decorative ceiling, commercial kitchen and new restrooms are a few of the improvements. Faith EFC also added a lift-style elevator to make access easier to classrooms and a library downstairs.

“We wanted to expand and have a more inviting fellowship space with natural sunlight and a new kitchen,” he said. Pastor Brian called it a values-driven expansion centered on hospitality, the gospel of Christ and welcoming people in love through meals and fellowship. The changes enhance outreach to their community.

Faith EFC has blue- and white-collar individuals and many who work in agriculture. He said it’s an eclectic blend of different types of people.

Strong church support and funding tools

Through a three-year CIF capital campaign, the church raised almost half of the $1.6 million project cost. Pastor Brian preached a sermon series on stewardship, and an appreciation dinner was held to cast the church’s vision. A ribbon cutting event unveiled the six-month long project.

“People have been exceedingly generous and also very faithful in their giving,” he said.

In a personal tour of the new space, the pastor explained what was here before. People would enter the building and go down a narrow hallway past the staff offices into the old fellowship hall. “We always felt it was so confining and restricting, very much a bottleneck.”

The expansion added almost 1,900 square feet, opening to new space at the rear of the building. This “hospitality hub” replaces the old fellowship hall, now called the multi-purpose room and used for ministry meetings and teachings.

The new lift is located in that room and makes the lower-level classrooms handicap accessible. Additionally, the main level restrooms are now twice as large and in a more private area of the building.

Rural community not far from other cities

With a population of about 10,000, Sparta is a half-hour north and east of the larger city of La Crosse, which sits on the Mississippi River, just across from the Minnesota border. Travel another 30 minutes east and you’ll enter Tomah, which is a midpoint on the interstate highway between Minneapolis and Milwaukee.

Sparta’s Faith EFC serves about 220 attendees on any given Sunday and has had two services for a long time. The church traces its roots to 1981, when it first met in a Masonic Lodge. It moved to its current site in 1985, after a farmer donated land to the church.

The ministry expansion here looks to the future, as it completes the “Blessed to be a Blessing” capital campaign, which is grounded on 2 Corinthians 9:11.

CIF emphasizes wide participation of the church for campaign giving, which happens over a three-year period of time, rather than relying on major gifts alone to fund a project.

“Though it takes longer and more prayerful investment, it’s worth it to have the congregation give of themselves so much,” said Pastor Brian.

CIF partners with churches of all sizes to craft effective capital campaigns, and borrow responsibly to meet each ministry’s building needs. Stewardship is a CIF Core Value and important focus in all of our work. Learn more about CIF campaigns through our Consulting service, and be sure to check out our Church Loans information as well.

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