Inspiring a New Generation of Worshipers
April 5, 2018
In 2010, the clergy and lay leadership at St. Stephen United Methodist Church in Amarillo recognized that they needed a new Children’s Center to truly serve the needs of their community. They understood that if they wanted to keep their congregation thriving, it was important to provide the community’s young families with the programs and facilities that a strong local church could provide.
Beyond constructing the new Children’s Center, St. Stephen also needed to make important renovations to other campus buildings. While the congregation was able to cover almost 50% of the costs through a capital campaign and other donations, they would still need a loan to fully fund the projects.
That’s when St. Stephen contacted David McCaskill at TMF. “From the day we first met with David and his team at TMF in 2012, they were extremely knowledgeable and helpful in assisting us to find a loan that provided a financially smart and accountable solution for funding the rest of this vital project,” explained Senior Pastor Stan Cosby.
The new Children’s Center opened in March of 2014, and the results have been transformative for St. Stephen UMC. “The Children’s Center has been a tremendous point of entry for young families looking for a church to call home,” said Executive Pastor Scott Smith.
“Since the center opened, our congregation has grown by 378 members, the majority of whom discovered us through our children’s programs.”
The median age of their congregation has also dropped dramatically in the last two years.
“The most incredible and inspiring part of this entire project is that it was conceived, led and sustained by some of the most senior members of our congregation,” added Cosby. “They were the true force in bringing new members and younger families to our church.”
Many of the people promoting the change have been part of this congregation since the 1960s and 1970s, when they joined St. Stephen with their own young families. They shared a profound gratitude for what St. Stephen had meant to their families through the years and wanted to pass on that gratitude by offering that same sense of inclusion and spiritual kinship with a new generation of families in Amarillo.
St. Stephen and TMF have enjoyed a long and trusting relationship for decades. It’s why the church not only looks to TMF for help with loans, it's also why St. Stephen invests with TMF.
“TMF has always been competitive financially,” explained Smith. “But the real reason we trust TMF with some of our investments is that we know that the interest TMF earns through the Methodist Loan Fund is used for a range of projects that support other churches and organizations in working to achieve their ministerial goals. We feel that investing with TMF is not just a great way to manage our investments, but also for working to grow the Kingdom of God beyond our church.” Inspiring a New Generation of Worshipers.
Inspire more churches to grow in service to Christ through an investment in TMF's Methodist Loan Fund. Investments are open to both individuals and churches and provide seed money for competitive loans to churches while earning competitive returns for investors. Contact Sara Beltran to learn more: 800-933-5502 or 512-331-9971 | sbeltran@tmf-fdn.org