Letter from the Elders:

Dear Magnify Evangelical Church members and attenders,

Our prayer is that this letter finds you refreshed in the Lord. As most of you know, Magnify Evangelical Free Church is a merged church formed by Incline Church and Northview Church. Both were set-up churches—Incline for 7 years and Northview for 24 years. We remain a set-up church and are content with where God has us. Yet, there is still a desire to have a building of our own, where we can plant permanent roots that go deep into the community where God has placed us.

That is the purpose of this letter. A member of our church recently sent us a listing for a house and property that could be a great location for a future church building (4130 Old Ranch Road). Here is the listing.

This property has enough land for future construction, and it also includes a house that we could potentially use as a parsonage for our future associate pastor. This would help us provide affordable housing for the associate and offer Magnify a long-term opportunity to establish a place of permanence.

As you can see from the listing, the property is more expensive than we currently have in our future expansion fund (the fund currently has $205,000). We also know that our budget is being stretched with the potential hire of an associate pastor. Our hope is that we can buy this property, and the mortgage does not raise our budget because of the potential for using the house as a parsonage.

This is where you come in. We are asking you to prayerfully consider giving above and beyond your regular offering to help us afford this property. Our hope is to raise an additional $200,000 to put toward the down payment, which would allow us to reduce the monthly payment (see details at the bottom of this letter) and potentially use the house as a parsonage for the associate pastor. In the future, we will organize a capital campaign for building a facility and parking lot on the property, Lord willing.

On average, we have 42 monthly givers in our church. If each person gave an extra $5,000 to the future expansion fund, we would surpass our goal of raising $200,000. Of course, we recognize that $5,000 is a significant amount for many. Some may not be able to give that much, and we are not asking anyone to give what they do not have. We also recognize that some may be able to give more. We are simply asking you to prayerfully consider what you can give to help us pursue this opportunity. If you are willing to give by November 20, please let us know by pledging the amount you are willing to give here.

Please understand that the elders are exploring this idea. Before we could move forward and make an offer, we want to know if we can raise enough funds to purchase the property. The second step would be for us to have a congregational vote to purchase the property. The congregational meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 16 at 9:00 AM. If you have any questions, please reach out to one of the elders. We are seeking the Lord in this. If He provides this property—praise God. If He leads us elsewhere—praise God. We trust Him to guide Magnify EFC forward.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

In God,
Magnify Elder Team

Loan details: The loan note would be carried by the EFCA Rocky Mountain District, through their Capital Fund (a fund allocated for church purchases or building structures). We can borrow up to $300,000 at approximately 5%. If we borrow $250,000, the payment would be $1475/month and if we borrow $300,000, the payment would be $1760/month.

FAQ

Important Links:

- Property listing
- Pledge form (if you would like to pledge, please do so by Sunday, November 9)

How do we know if this is God’s will and God’s answer to our prayers?

We, as your elders, believe this property is worth pursuing. We believe it is an amazing opportunity. We believe God brought it to us and that it is His will for us to pursue it. However, as Pastor Brian communicated on Sunday, we are not able to declare to you, definitively, that this is God’s will for Magnify Evangelical Free Church. We recognize that this is a huge decision. We, as Magnify’s elders, want to partner with you in making this decision, as it impacts all of us. Please continue to pray with us that God would make His will abundantly clear to all of us.

Why now? Is now the right time to do this?

We need to move on this now because, if we don’t, the property will be acquired by someone else. A 5+ acre property in north Colorado Springs would typically be at least a million dollars. Magnify has been searching and praying for over two decades for property to purchase. To find property like this, at this price, is a tremendous opportunity. It is surrounded by residential neighborhoods. The nearest church on that side of Powers is Life.Church, which is a very different type of church from Magnify. There is a very limited amount of available land left in and around the Briargate area of Colorado Springs. All of the other available property we have ever found has been prohibitively expensive.

Is the property zoned correctly to allow for a church to be located there?

We contacted the appropriate El Paso County official and, yes, zoned RR5, building a church on this property is allowable. We will, of course, have to clear all the typical red tape that goes along with constructing a building. But, the zoning of the property itself won’t be an issue.

Is this a wise financial move considering we aren’t currently making budget and are trying to hire an associate pastor?

If things work out according to plan, i.e., we are able to raise enough money to only need a $300,000 loan, we would very likely be able to rent the home on the property for approximately the same amount as the mortgage payment. Who would the renter be? Potentially the associate pastor we hire. If he and his family do not want to live there, we could find a different renter. With a little tender-loving-care, we do not imagine finding a renter being difficult. All that to say, we do not think purchasing this property will be a significant increase to our budget. Plus, should the associate pastor want to live there, he would have a lower rent payment than he likely would elsewhere.

Is a church taking on debt a biblically allowable decision to make?

The Bible warns against going into debt (Proverbs 22:7). At the same, the type of debt we are considering is very different from the type of debt the Bible speaks against. What we are wanting to do is very similar to a mortgage on a home. Yes, there is debt, but the debt is backed by the value of a property. At any time, the property can be sold and the debt paid off. Plus, we won’t be getting a loan from a bank or a mortgage company. We will be getting a loan from the Rocky Mountain District of the Evangelical Free Church. We could not possibly find a “friendlier” loan option.

In a sense, just as much as we would be obligated to the lender, we are currently obligated to the YMCA. We have to pay them $3,000 per month or we get kicked out. They can raise the rent at any time, to whatever amount they want, and we would have no recourse other than to look for another location to rent and experience the same issues that go along with being a renter.

Is this too much of a risk?

There is always risk. It can’t be avoided. However, we are confident that the risk with this is both minimal and manageable. Should we purchase this property but not be able to afford to build on it, we could simply sell the property and likely walk away from it with a profit. If nothing else, it is a good investment, a much better investment than cash sitting in the bank and earning minimal interest. Potentially, purchasing the property could start the process of us eventually being in a building of our own at a great location, something that we’ve been praying about for 20 years. We believe that is a risk worth taking.

By when do the pledges need to be made?

While we do not need the pledges to be paid out until November 20, we need to know the pledge amounts by Sunday, November 9 so we can know whether we have enough to make an offer to the current property owners. We are tremendously excited to announce that Magnify has already received $27,000 in pledges. Praise the Lord!

What could a church look like on the property?

That's a difficult question to answer, but here is an AI rendering of a church building on the property. The design and location for where the structure would go have not been determined.