Vision, faith, projects work together for His Kingdom

“We can praise God as we dream together, walk by faith and look at the physical realities on paper. We want ministry to win, and pledge to offer a top-notch experience along the way! “

Vision is essential in life – yes, seeing with the eyes, but I am referring to a different kind of vision – the ability to look ahead, to see what could be and then formulating a plan to attain it.

If you tend to be a visionary, this process can be stimulating, exhilarating, even electrifying. The energy builds after seeing the possibilities long before so much as a finger is lifted in pursuit of an end goal.

Vision for Kingdom expansion

Proverbs 29 says where there is no vision, the people perish. We might say that the same principle applies to church building projects and purchases. To succeed, a congregation needs an engaging and realistic vision that is effectively caught and taught.

Then CIF enters the picture, and I love how this works. A church capital campaign may kick off, information starts flowing in for a possible loan and consultations with us crank the engine of Kingdom expansion. The motor starts and warms. More information flows. There is a well-planned launch and construction begins.

But before all of this, before the vision, there are values that are bedrock to what any organization does.

In the church, the elders, or overseers watch out for the flock of sheep, believers, as stewards of God’s people. They also have a heart for others who are seeking, people who are not yet in God’s family, but are open to hearing the gospel. These leaders are the caretakers who strengthen and support the faith of others.

Stewards of another kind

We are also stewards, watching out for the interests of churches and related ministries so they can focus on the service God intends for them to do. It’s so much more than the typical “financial transaction,” where one party tries to get as much out of the other as possible. At CIF, mission comes first.

When we vet and verify a church’s finances, our goal is not to lend the maximum amount for our own benefit. We want to make doubly sure that a loan will not harm the ministries of the church. That would be a Kingdom contraction, not Kingdom expansion.

We are not a church, but we lean on more than 65 years of organizational experience serving churches. We give honest advice on project costs, tradeoffs and decisions. There are dozens of metrics to consider, such as – Can the church handle the monthly payments over the course of time? What must happen before the time will be right?

Partners look to the long term

These can be once in a generation decisions that will also benefit people who are not yet born, and who have not yet come to Christ. The creators of a healthy vision will consider such things and prayerfully look forward.

Similar to the churches we serve, we we lead with our ministry hat. CIF truly understands churches and ministries. We incorporate that with our business hat to create a win-win-win for each church or ministry, CIF and most importantly, the Kingdom.

Our Mission in Action explains how churches, ministries, and individuals can choose to make impactful investments with us. When you invest with CIF, ministry happens.

We can praise God as we dream together, walk by faith and look at the physical realities on paper. We want ministry to win, and pledge to offer a top-notch experience along the way!