Tag Archive for: church extension fund

WELS Church Extension Fund offering limited-time special rates

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To benefit WELS home missions and mission-minded congregations, WELS Church Extension Fund (WELS CEF) is offering special higher interest rates to new and existing investors for a limited time.

With $30 million in construction loans to churches currently in progress, WELS CEF is excited to offer these new interest rates to support those churches with their building projects and mission goals. With the ongoing need for funds, WELS CEF seeks to raise approximately $10 million in new money investments.

The interest rate bonus is available for both existing maturing and new investment certificates with two-year and longer maturities at the $25,000 mark. Doubling an existing investment to $25,000 and greater or simply making a new investment of $25,000 will provide the interest rate bonus. The opportunity to invest under these bonus terms ends as soon as WELS CEF reaches its new investment goal.

WELS CEF makes loans below or at market rates for new WELS mission churches that are building for the first time or established congregations with a new mission-focused initiative. WELS CEF funds these loans through WELS congregations’ and members’ investments in WELS CEF products.

Mr. Scott Page, executive director of WELS CEF, says, “WELS Church Extension Fund would like to thank all of our investors and provide an incentive to help us do more. These investments help WELS mission and self-supporting congregations build and expand their ministries. We are pleased to assist you in being good stewards of your gifts while also providing funding to help spread the gospel throughout the United States.”

Because of the uncertainty due to COVID-19, WELS CEF will be suspending new loan originations through July 31, 2020. The CEF Loan Committee will be monitoring this monthly, and the CEF Board of Directors reserves the right to extend or shorten the suspension of lending activities. This suspension in lending activity applies to new loan applications only and does not impact existing loans, loan commitments, or construction loans in process.

View rates online at wels.net/cef. New IRA investors should contact WELS CEF at 866-511-7793 for investment materials. Investors can also manage their accounts and investments online.

 

 

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WELS CEF offering limited-time special rates

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Increasing requests for loans from WELS Home Mission churches and mission-minded congregations is prompting WELS Church Extension Fund (WELS CEF) to offer special rates for new investors. WELS CEF makes loans below or at market rates for WELS churches that are either new and building for the first time or established congregations with a new mission-focused initiative.

WELS CEF funds these loans through WELS congregations’ and members’ investments in WELS CEF products. With the need for funds increasing, WELS CEF, through this special offer, is seeking to raise approximately $12 million in investments. “If you are not an investor in WELS CEF, this is a great opportunity to support ministry. If you are already an investor, this is a great opportunity to increase your support of ministry by increasing your investments,” says Mr. Scott Page, director of WELS CEF.

For a limited time, WELS CEF is offering a four percent interest rate on a minimum investment of $5,000 in either a 56-month-term loan certificate or a 60-month-term IRA certificate. WELS CEF’s investment certificates pay and compound interest quarterly. The four percent interest rate applies only to new money investments.

“We’re offering a great interest rate for new investments,” says Page. “Congregations are eager to grow, and now’s the time to fund that need.”

Investing in WELS CEF is not only a smart way to manage personal finances, but it also supports the mission of the church. Rev. Keith Free, administrator for WELS Home Missions, says, “The continued investments of more WELS members and congregation gives WELS CEF additional funds to support missions and mission-minded congregations.”

View rates online at wels.net/cef. New IRA investors should contact WELS CEF at 866-511-7793 for investment materials. Investors can also manage their accounts and investments online.

 

New Director for WELS CEF

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New executive director for WELS CEF

Scott Page has been named president and executive director of WELS Church Extension Fund (CEF). Page joined CEF a year and a half ago to assist temporarily with policy and procedure writing. He then took a full-time position in loan servicing and in October 2015 was named president and executive director.

Prior to joining CEF, Page worked for JPMorgan Chase in loan servicing quality assurance management as a retail mortgage risk director as well as a host of other credit and loan management positions.

Page says he was drawn to this position because of the purpose behind the work. “You know the purpose; you know the reason why. It’s not just for making money and bringing wealth to shareholders, but to actually see God’s Word spread and for those brick and mortar facilities going up for congregations all across the country and the Caribbean and Canada—to have their worship homes—it’s really fulfilling,” he says.

“The reason WELS CEF exists is to help mission congregations with loans for facilities, land purchases—and to get those congregations off the ground, out of rented space, and into permanent worship facilities—that’s kind of cool work if you ask me,” says Page. “And a lot of times, these are loans that no other financial institution would make

Page, a member of St. Matthew’s, Oconomowoc, Wis., has been married for 35 years and has two adult daughters.

To learn more about WELS CEF, visit wels.net/cef.

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Volume 103, Number 01
Issue: January 2016

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6 new home missions authorized

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At its April 17 meeting, the Board for Home Missions authorized the establishment of six new home missions throughout the United States totaling $563,000 in funding. The new mission openings being funded are located in Blair, Neb.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Fenton, Mich.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Liberty Hill, Tex.; and Tyler, Texas.

“As a church body, it is a huge blessing when Home Missions through district mission boards can partner with active congregations looking to have a hand in starting the next mission,” says Rev. Keith Free, administrator of the Board for Home Missions. Many of these new Home Mission starts have a core group of WELS members from our established churches in their area. “Some of these Home Mission starts already have 50 committed members willing to offer their time, talents, and offerings to help support the new congregation. In most of these locations initial outreach has already started by active core groups supported by the existing congregations near these six communities.”

One of the new places is in Blair, Neb., a city 20 miles north of Omaha. Rev. Stephen Helwig, pastor at Gethsemane, Omaha, was excited to learn that this mission had received funding to help start a new church in Blair.

For years Gethsemane has asked its vicars to serve a core group of 15-20 members in the Blair community. “It’s been a great thing to see the vicars come in with their enthusiasm to canvass a new area and lead Bible classes for our core group,” says Helwig. “It’s about sharing our Savior with a new community outside the Gethsemane church neighborhood.”

It is a huge opportunity for an established congregation like Gethsemane to assist in the start of a mission, but it will also require the prayers and support of the synod. “It isn’t everyday a Home Mission congregation gets started, so it is very important for the community to understand that we are establishing a church that is in it for the long haul and wants to become part of their community,” adds Helwig.

A vital partner to Home Missions, the WELS Church Extension Fund (CEF), recently adopted an unrestricted net assets policy that provides annual special grants to Home Missions over and above CEF’s matching grant programs. “The new CEF policy is allowing us to open two new Home Mission starts in Fiscal Year 2016,” says Free.

“We continue to be blessed by people investing with CEF and by remembering us with bequests and gifts,” says Mr. Ron Hillmann, CEF president. “Our first responsibility is to ensure the security of our investors’ money, which we do. Once that is secure, then the extra dollars are used to do mission work.”

Home Missions has been provided increased synod support, which was made possible by Congregation Mission Offerings and the WELS Church Extension Fund grant. That, coupled with direct gifts to Home Missions from WELS members, provided enough funding for the six new mission starts. “One of the neat things is the cooperation of each district mission board in determining the feasibility of these six sites. We had many excellent proposals presented and if we had the extra funds, we had at least three more missions we would have been willing to authorize,” says Free.

Learn more about the work of Home Missions at www.wels.net/missions.