Investing In People: The Church's Role

Church investment is a way to maximise returns while adhering to religious values. Church investors want to generate returns by choosing investments that align with their beliefs and values. Church investments are not insured by the FDIC and are not endorsed by state securities agencies. However, they can be a way to build new sanctuaries, classrooms, and fellowship halls, as well as renovate current facilities. Church investments can also be used to support gospel proclamation, church planting, and community services such as providing clothes, food, and rent assistance.

Building churches and classrooms, and renovating facilities

Building churches and classrooms and renovating facilities is a crucial aspect of church investment in people. It involves the construction, expansion, or remodelling of physical spaces to meet the needs of growing congregations and facilitate their spiritual journey. Here are some key considerations and benefits of investing in these projects:

Renovating Existing Buildings:

Renovating an existing building into a new church facility can be a more feasible option than constructing a new one. It allows for the expansion of space to accommodate a growing congregation and provides additional rooms for groups to meet. There are often vacant commercial properties available that can be transformed into churches, eliminating the need for purchasing land and reducing overall costs. Renovating an existing building is generally more affordable, faster, and less complex than new construction, allowing the church to occupy the new space sooner.

Community Presence and Engagement:

Renovating a large, visible building in the community can spark interest from neighbours and create a sense of community presence. It also provides flexibility to host outreach events and programmes on different days, enhancing the church's engagement with the local community.

Funding and Fundraising:

Funding a new church construction can be challenging. Renovating an existing building may simplify the fundraising process as donors can more easily conceptualize the vision for the new church. Renovations are generally less expensive than building from scratch, which can help maintain the congregation's motivation to contribute to the project.

Zoning and Legal Considerations:

Purchasing land for new construction may come with zoning restrictions and challenges. Buying an existing property may work to the advantage of the church, especially if it is located in an area zoned for churches. Working with an experienced design-build contractor can ensure compliance with zoning and legal requirements.

Resale Value:

Investing in renovating and upgrading an existing property can increase its resale value. Adding valuable features such as a church foyer, multipurpose facility, or new technology can make the property more appealing to potential buyers if the congregation ever outgrows the facility.

Long-Term Planning:

When investing in building projects, it is essential to consider the long-term goals of the church. This includes planning for future capital improvements, scholarship funds, mission programs, or simply saving for a rainy day. Diversifying the investment portfolio and seeking guidance from financial professionals can help ensure that the congregation's generous donations are utilized prudently and aligned with their values.

Supporting missionaries and spreading the gospel

• Prayer: Regularly pray for missionaries and their specific prayer requests. Let them know that you are praying for them and be specific about your prayers. Organising a prayer group for missionaries and keeping them updated can be encouraging.
• Financial Support: Commit to regular financial support rather than one-time donations. This provides missionaries with a consistent income and shows your long-term commitment to their ministry.
• Combat Homesickness: Send care packages with items they might miss from home, such as books, music, food, or games. If receiving mail is not possible, offer online alternatives like downloadable music credit or magazine subscriptions.
• Assist During Furloughs: Recognise that furloughs or "home assignments" can be challenging for missionaries due to cultural transitions and logistical hassles. Offer practical help, such as greeting them at the airport, providing housing or transportation assistance, or helping them acclimate to cultural differences.
• Mindful Visits: If you plan to visit missionaries overseas, be mindful of their perspective and avoid imposing your ideas. Dialogue with them beforehand and ask for their honest opinion about what would be most helpful. Go with a mindset of serving and learning rather than advising.
• Medium-Term Missions: Consider committing to medium-term missions (1-2 years) to build meaningful relationships with locals and support long-term missionaries. This can include teaching, evangelism, or using professional skills to contribute to the ministry.

Understanding Culture and Contextualising the Gospel

When spreading the gospel, it is essential to understand your own culture and the culture you are entering. Learn about cultural norms, behaviours, and taboos. Ask good questions to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying influences and values. Seek to learn and grow from the cultural exchange.

Contextualise the gospel message by helping people understand it through the lens of their own worldview. Focus on communicating the foundational message of the gospel clearly, stripping it of cultural trappings that might create barriers to understanding.

Church Investment and Community Impact

Church investments are not limited to financial markets but also extend to investing in people and ministries. For example, AGFinancial offers investment options for churches, where funds are used to provide loans and support the expansion of other churches, ultimately reaching more communities.

Faith-Based Investing

Faith-based investing aims to maximise investor returns while aligning investment choices with religious values and principles. It involves choosing investment professionals and vehicles that reflect these values. For instance, Christian investors might use Christian investment companies that avoid investing in industries like tobacco, adult entertainment, and gambling.

Different denominations have varying guidelines and interpretations, but the basic premise is to deploy cash in support of favoured causes while avoiding those that contradict their values. For instance, Catholic investors often avoid firms that engage in gender or racial discrimination, support abortion or contraceptives, or produce weapons of mass destruction.

Faith-based investing faces the same economic and geopolitical risks as traditional investing and does not guarantee returns. However, it allows investors to make selections through the lens of their religious values.

Providing community services: food, clothes, rent assistance, etc

Providing community services such as food, clothing, and rent assistance is a crucial aspect of church investment in people. It involves churches allocating resources to meet the basic needs of individuals and families within their congregation and the wider community. This type of investment is particularly important in disadvantaged communities, where economic instability and lack of access to financial knowledge can create significant challenges.

Food assistance is a fundamental component of community services provided by churches. This may take the form of food banks, where individuals and families can access free groceries and meals. Churches often rely on donations and volunteers from their congregation and community to stock and operate these food banks. In doing so, they not only provide essential nourishment but also help alleviate financial burdens, allowing individuals to allocate their limited resources to other areas, such as rent or utilities.

Clothing drives and donations are another way churches invest in their communities. They may collect and distribute gently used clothing items to those in need, ensuring that people have access to appropriate attire for all seasons. This can be especially important for job seekers, as it can help them present themselves professionally during interviews and employment.

Rent assistance is a more direct form of financial support provided by churches. Recognizing that housing stability is essential for individuals and families to thrive, churches may offer temporary financial assistance to those struggling to make rent payments. This support can help prevent evictions and provide a sense of security during difficult times.

In addition to these basic needs, churches often provide a range of other community services. For example, they may offer counselling and mental health services, youth groups, and support groups for those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. By investing in these services, churches not only provide practical support but also contribute to the overall well-being and resilience of their congregation and community.

The impact of these community services extends beyond the immediate beneficiaries. Volunteers who participate in these initiatives gain a sense of purpose and experience improved well-being. Furthermore, the presence of active and engaged churches within a community can foster social connections and enhance social capital, benefiting the wider community.

Investing in line with religious values

Faith-based investing is an investment philosophy that aims to maximise investor returns. It is similar to traditional, secular investment plans in that it seeks to generate a good return. However, it differs in how individuals choose their investment professionals and vehicles. Those who invest using faith-based principles tend to choose managers, companies, and investments that align with their religious values. This strategy is also called values-based investing.

Faith-based investors want to generate returns by choosing investments that align with their religious beliefs and values. Many faith-based investment strategies focus on ethically and socially responsible investments. For example, the majority of faith-based styles exclude investment in companies that are deemed immoral, such as alcohol, tobacco, and weaponry companies.

Faith-based investing, like conventional investing, doesn’t guarantee returns and is subject to the same risks as any other investment style, such as economic, interest rate, and geopolitical risks.

The investment principles followed by religious groups are often publicly available and easy to find. While churches or other places of worship do not sell securities directly to investors, investors can put their money into vehicles that align with their principles, taking into account an environmental, ethical, and social focus. For instance, a Christian investor may enlist the professional assistance of a Christian investment company, which only offers investments that align with the principles of the faith.

Examples of faith-based investing

Catholic investment

Catholic investors follow principles outlined by the Catholic Framework for Economic Life. These 10 faith-based guidelines demonstrate how people should take part in the economy and finance—that is, by basing their decisions on “human dignity and the moral law”. Catholic investors often avoid investing in firms that engage in gender and/or racial discrimination, support abortion and contraceptives, promote and/or fund embryonic stem cell research, produce weapons of mass destruction, or take part in the adult entertainment industry. Instead, they favour firms that support human rights, environmental responsibility, and fair employment practices.

Protestant investment

Protestant denominations include a range of beliefs, from liberal to conservative. However, they all share the principle that followers should make investments based on broad Christian values, such as social consciousness. The Church of England, for example, has an Ethical Investment Advisory Group, which provides support in investment choices, policies, and relationships between investment managers and investors. The board seeks investment in vehicles that promote the social and ethical concerns of the church and its teachings while excluding companies that engage in activities such as tobacco, gambling, and high-interest lending.

Islamic investment

Islamic law, or Shariah, teaches followers to live by a set of guidelines while seeking returns on their investments. Investors follow halal, or permitted, principles, which provide a disciplined, conservative, and socially responsible approach to investing. These principles prohibit investment in short-term speculation, investments that pay interest, companies that engage in and profit from alcohol, pornography, and gambling, companies with heavy debt, and pork-related businesses.

Jewish investment

Jewish values help guide investors who want to align their faith with their investment strategies. Philanthropy and diversification are key principles dictated in the Talmud. Socially responsible investing is often closely associated with Jewish-oriented investment strategies, which include investments that address local or global issues and the engagement of shareholders.

Faith-based investing allows individuals to combine their religious values with their investment portfolios. By engaging in impact investing, individuals can seek to place their capital in businesses, projects, or funds that focus on providing solutions to social or environmental problems that are also in line with their beliefs.

Saving for a rainy day

Open a Dedicated Rainy Day Savings Account:

Consider opening a specific rainy day fund account as a reminder of your financial preparedness. Most online savings accounts are free to open and don't require an initial deposit. This dedicated account will help you keep your funds organized and easily accessible when needed.

Include Rainy Day Savings in Your Budget:

Examine your monthly budget to determine where you can allocate funds for your rainy day savings. Decide how quickly you want to build this fund, and set a realistic savings goal. For example, if you want to save $500 in three months, you would need to save about $41.67 per week. Treat your rainy day savings as a priority in your budget, just like a bill.

Start with What You Have:

Even a small amount of savings can make a difference when an unexpected expense arises. Decide on the level of preparedness you want to achieve. If a few hundred dollars would be sufficient for minor repairs or replacements, set that as your initial goal. You can always increase your savings rate as you get closer to your goal or if you anticipate larger expenses.

Focus on Building a Consistent Savings Habit:

Saving consistently is more important than the amount you save, especially when starting out. Get used to setting aside a small amount regularly, and you'll be surprised at how quickly it adds up. For example, instead of dining out, save that money in your rainy day fund. Automating your savings by setting up direct deposits or automatic transfers is a great way to build this habit.

Increase Savings When Your Financial Situation Improves:

Periodically evaluate your financial situation and adjust your savings rate accordingly. If you receive a raise or start a better-paying job, allocate a portion of the additional income to your rainy day fund. Similarly, if your income decreases, you can temporarily reduce the amount you save to match your new financial reality.

Try a Money-Saving Challenge:

Make saving fun by participating in a money-saving challenge. For example, the $5 savings challenge involves saving every $5 bill you receive. Or, try the Weather Wednesday savings challenge, where you save based on the hottest temperature in your state that day. These challenges will help you save for a rainy day faster and keep you motivated.

By implementing these strategies, churches can build a solid rainy day fund that will provide financial stability and peace of mind when unexpected expenses arise. Remember, every dollar saved is a step towards being prepared for life's financial curveballs.

Frequently asked questions