October 2016
A VisionWest project in west Auckland.
VisionWest Turns to Christian Savings to Finance Future VisionWest is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s best community ministry success stories. It’s been offering community-based services to West Auckland since the 1980’s when it was a drop-in centre at the Glen Eden Railway Station. Today it’s grown to offer affordable housing, counselling, kindergarten care and home help— with a staff and volunteer base of over 350 people. VisionWest has audacious dreams for the future and turned to Christian Savings to help bring that vision to reality, starting with the purchase of the
Salvation Army’s home care business, and will result in completely refinancing its existing bank loans with Christian Savings. “Going forward, as our housing grows, we’re going to need more and more finance for these projects, because they’re capital-hungry projects,” says VisionWest Head of Finance, Philip Ayers. “We need a good strong partner and Christian Savings says it’s committed to providing that finance and that gives us confidence going forward.” Mr Ayers says working with Christian Savings
FROM THE CEO’S DESK
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elcome to the latest edition of The Good Investor. I know it’s been a while since one of these was sent out, but we’ve been working on some major developments in recent months.I’m excited to announce Baptist Savings has changed its name to Christian Savings on October 20, 2016. There’s so much involved in making this change, but it’s one that will benefit the Kingdom as a whole across Aotearoa New Zealand for generations to come. As well as changing our name we’re offering a range of new services, including charitable deposits, funeral deposits,
equipment finance for churches and car loans for pastors, which you can read more about on our website. I hope you’ll enjoy this edition of The Good Investor. We’ve included a selection of the amazing things we’ve been able to help churches and charities accomplish with your investments—these are the fruits of what you’re sowing into. Please take time to read through and ponder these incredible things, they are the very reason Christian Savings exists. I trust you’ll find the celebration stories inspiring and encouraging—I certainly do! In Christ, James Palmer
VisionWest . . . continued
has proven much easier than working with large banks because of the mutual understanding. “The big issue with the large banks is their biggest concern is not our financial position, it’s their reputation. If anything was to happen to VisionWest and they foreclosed on us, it’s a terrible look for them, so they make us jump through a lot of hoops. “Christian Savings is much more of a partnership.
James Palmer [Chief Executive] said if there was ever an issue we’d be sitting around a table asking ‘how can we make this work?’ That’s what we want. There’s a really good synergy between us and Christian Savings; we both want to do good for the community.” For a complete overview of what VisionWest does visit visionwest.org.nz.
Tuvalu Church Gets Worship Centre 25 Years In The Making When migrants from the small island nation of Tuvalu arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1992, having a church building of their own was a top priority. But finances were tight, and land expensive, so the dream stayed put for nearly 25 years. “Rather than building a church we built a community hall where we could do worship and gatherings, until we had enough funds to service a proper loan,” says Pastor Tomasi Iopu. “After some time we bought a property next door and leased it out to service the mortgage, and we paid that off in 2014. Now’s the time for the church building.” The church now has plans to build a worship centre that will sit alongside its current community hall in Henderson. Pastor Tomasi says many congregants have waited decades for this time to come, as having a worship centre of their own is very important for Tuvaluan people. “It’s going to mean a lot,” he says. “Our people are very passionate, very religious, and just like at home in Tuvalu, going to church means a lot. A church building gives them peace of mind.” Pastor Tomasi says the development has only been made possible because of Christian Savings. “We tried a bank but its criteria was too high and way over our budget.
Christian Savings Gives Carey Centre for Lifelong Learning Big Boost Ongoing learning is important for church pastors—that’s a belief at the heart of Carey Baptist College’s new Centre for Lifelong Learning. Launched in November 2015, the goal is to help sustain church and mission leaders with depth for longevity, says director Mike Crudge. Mike Crudge, “It’s about supporting and resourcing Director of the ongoing development of church Carey Centre for Lifelong Learning leaders; the people at the coalface of churches, ministries and community work,” he says. “What we’re trying to avoid is pastors experiencing burnout. Pastoral leadership is an emotionally engaging job to be in, but there are also so many
Then I heard about Christian Savings on Rhema and gave John Smeaton a call. John said we could have a 20-year term loan, which is good for us.” He also says Christian Savings’ vision is something his church wants to support. “The profit Christian Savings will make will be used to help other churches and trusts; that’s what we should all be working towards rather than spending the money on other things. We are very impressed with that. We should’ve done this with Christian Savings many years ago.” The new Tuvalu church will begin construction early 2017 and be completed later next year.
different dimensions to the job that if someone tries to do it on their own without external supervision or mentoring, and help from beyond themselves, it’s easy to get bogged down and overworked.” The Centre for Lifelong Learning offers yearlong learning options, lectures, retreats, conferences, seminars, sabbatical planning and support, and online resources for pastors to access as they desire. The Centre is also taking over the management of Baptist Leaders’ Registration. For over 12 months Carey had wanted to get the Centre up and running, and Dr Crudge says it simply wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for Christian Savings, which gave Carey $100,000 to get the project moving. Church leaders all over the country are already appreciating the incredible resource provided by the Centre for Lifelong Learning. “We’re doing something to help pastoral leaders,” Dr Crudge says. “Each of them has a local church involved in a local community; if we can help these leaders, if we can resource and enhance them in their work—what a great thing that is.”
October 2016
CAP Shines Brighter in Lighthouse Hub In 2014 Christians Against Poverty (CAP) was rapidly running out of room and needed to find new premises for its growing staff. So began an 18-month process of looking around Auckland to find a suitable space to call home. “It was a huge challenge to find an office space that fit our needs and culture, all for the right price. Nothing seemed quite right, but even as the office became more crowded, we had to believe the right building was out there for us,” CAP Finance Director Aaron Minnee says. “So we were pretty excited when James Palmer presented us with a creative idea: the possibility of purchasing the 55 Hugo Johnstone Drive building in partnership with other investors to create the Lighthouse Hub.” The Lighthouse Hub, adjacent to World Vision in Penrose, is an inspiring, modern workplace for Christian community charities and non-profits. The vision is to serve those who serve others by providing a space for Christian charities to work alongside each other and connect with like-minded organisations. The open-plan space has shared meeting rooms and facilities, along with private settings for necessary meetings. It essentially streamlines business costs by sharing resources. It’s an ideal solution for anchor-tenant CAP—an organisation committed to helping people break free from debt, poverty and its causes—as it continues its incredibly influential work around the country.
“As we worked with Christian Savings, we always knew the partnership was about more than just securing financing— they played a big part in that, but the team also cared about CAP and what we needed every step of the way. And for that, we’re so grateful.” “Throughout the 18-month process, Christian Savings has been such a key partner in the search, providing creative solutions to help us get into a building that perfectly fits CAP and works within our budget,” Minnee says. “As we worked with Christian Savings, we always knew the partnership was about more than just securing financing—they played a big part in that, but the team also cared about CAP and what we needed every step of the way. And for that, we’re so grateful.” The Lighthouse Hub is located at 55 Hugo Johnson Dr in Penrose. Organisations interested in sharing this space should contact Sharon Richardson: sharon@barak.co.nz
SEMINARS
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eed a financial health check? Our seminars, run by authorised financial advisor Colin Austin, can help you take stock of whether you are making the best decisions with your finances. Because financial literacy is an area many Kiwi families struggle with, Colin presents financial solutions in a easy-to-understand way, whether about home loans or life insurance—Colin’s got it covered. Contact us today to organise a seminar at your church or community group.
”Money gets attention! It did for us, and the two seminars offered to our people were enthusiastically received. The material was helpful and highly relevant, and the presentation engaging. One couple were asked how they found the seminars: ‘Fantastic, but we wish we’d had that information nine months ago! We would have made better decisions then.’ Many commented on realising their need to address some personal financial issues. Positive and helpful.” —ST COLUMBA PRESBYTERIAN KINGDOM
A LITTLE REMINDER...
Christian Savings offers a range of lending options for churches and Christian charities, which include the following: • Purchasing land • Purchasing buildings • Developing existing buildings
• Constructing new buildings • Purchasing new equipment (e.g. sound systems) • Purchasing a vehicle for church leadership
Along with servicing large requests we also finance much smaller projects, right down to renovations of single rooms in existing buildings such as putting in a commercial kitchen or an auditorium upgrade.
Contact us today to further discuss any of these options.
09 582 0037 0508 SAVING (0508 728 464) toll-free office@christiansavings.co.nz Level 1, 477 Great South Road Penrose, Auckland 1061 PO Box 12738 Penrose, Auckland 1642
www.christiansavings.co.nz
October 2016