To be faithful to our mission to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God” we have embarked on the next leg of our journey as a faith community. We have celebrated our “arrival” as an independent, unaffiliated HopeGateWay Church. Now it is time for us to move faithfully forward in our pilgrimage by attending to all that it means to be responsible for this church now and into the future.
As you may know, our disaffiliation from the United Methodist denomination required us to pay the New England Annual Conference $282,000. We used $82,000 from invested and current operating funds, and we have taken out a $200,000 mortgage on our parsonage.
How will we pay this back? We are able to incorporate a monthly mortgage payment into our annual financial operations and remain within our budget. However, at the end of ten years (2031) we will have a balloon payment due of $120,000. The earlier we pay down that amount, the less it will be.
Faithfully Forward is our financial campaign to raise $90,000 over two years to pay off this balloon payment by October 2023. If we meet this goal, we will save $30,000 in interest payments! Any amount raised over $90,000 will reduce our principle and further shrink our 10-year loan commitment.
Throughout our years as a congregation, we have been a vibrant force for justice and inclusivity within the Greater Portland area. All who encounter HopeGateWay cannot help but be reminded that they are worthy, loved and welcome. We are eager to remain a progressive force as we continue to stretch ourselves to be a witness for the inclusive love of Jesus within our church community, our city and state, and our world.
With your faithful stewardship, HopeGateWay Church will continue to be a vital catalyst for justice, inclusivity and sharing the unconditional love of God with all. Will you join together in meeting this goal by making a special commitment over the next two years, beyond your normal giving to HopeGateWay?
By meeting this goal of financial freedom for our church, we will be positioning ourselves to respond faithfully and without hesitation to new ministry opportunities God puts before us. We look forward to working together toward many inspiring ministry opportunities now and long into the future.
Thank you for your prayerful consideration of this opportunity to move faithfully forward together. We hope you’ll join in prayer for the ministries of HopeGateWay and for this effort to clear the path forward for future ministry together.
