Servants to God Alone

By Craig Bane,
Capital Campaign Steering Committee Member

One of three primary objectives of Shepherd of the Valley’s capital campaign, Together We Can Do More, is the elimination of our existing mortgage. Most of us have used a mortgage to purchase a home or other property because we didn’t have sufficient resources to pay in cash. The same was true for SOTV, dating back to 1985 (the original construction) through the 1998 construction of our current sanctuary and additional infrastructure up to that point in time. Our last endeavor to raise capital, the Imagine Campaign, completely paid for the construction of the chapel, narthex expansion, and additional classroom space.

The current building fund is used solely to pay down our old accumulated mortgage debt, and to complete necessary building repairs. As it stands, most of the building fund goes towards servicing interest on our debt. The church’s tax - exempt status prevents writing - off mortgage interest like a homeowner is able to do. Therefore this means the church mortgage is a 100% expense to the church budget.

No one can serve two masters.
-Matthew 6:24a

When we borrow, the lender puts conditions on the loan and this makes us a servant to the lender. We are to be servants to God and to God alone. As Matthew 6:24 reminds us,

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 

The Bible does not prohibit the use of debt, but everywhere debt is mentioned, there is a call to action to resolve the indebtedness. The main reason for this is because it makes us a servant to someone other than God.

Every pledge made to the capital campaign is significant. The campaign is not about equal giving, it’s about equal sacrifice. Please accept a visit from a campaign visitor to learn more about the campaign. I hope you will prayerfully consider making a pledge once you have the facts. Because, together we can do more!