A: In September 2019, we were given the opportunity to re-finance our building debt. Refinancing would save HMUMC hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest over the coming years. The Finance Committee voted unanimously to move forward with refinancing the existing building debt. Particularly noteworthy is that we reduced our principal by $1 million dollars from 2018-2019.

Six years later, we have reduced the principal by another $1 million which brings us down to $5 million. The congregation has done a great job! It is amazing that we have reduced the principal by $2 million, but we have also paid $2 million in interest.

Very wise decisions have been made, which puts us in a strong position to eliminate this debt.

Here is the timeline:

March 14, 2017 - Initial mortgage to fund the new sanctuary. The back required two notes instead of one to mitigate their risk by requiring $1.2 million to be paid down in three years.

Total $7.1 Million in Debt

Note 1 - $5.9 Million @ 3.65% interest rate on a 6-year term

Note 2 - $1.2 Million @ 3.75% interest rate on a 3-year term

March 1, 2019 - $500k required principal payment made.

September 2019 - Updated building fund balance = $379,965. The additional required principal payment due by March 2020 was $650,000.

November 2019 - Refinance $6.15 Million @ 3.77% on a fixed 10-year term - This was beneficial to the church as we were at historically low interest rates and preserving cash flow that proved essential to carry us through the pandemic. If we had not refinance, the interest rate in 2023 at renewal would have been 6.77%, and we would be paying an extra $100,000 per year in payments.

Total mortgage payment per year = $408,000 (roughly half principal and half interest)

A: The intent of the Mortgage Principal Reduction Fund is the same as the original intent of the Building Fund. The building campaign began with the goal of raising funds to be used for additional principal payments to reduce mortgage debt.

During the early stages of the campaign, the church was presented with an opportunity to refinance the mortgage at a significantly lower rate (3.7%). Given the financial challenges at the time, the finance team made the decision to take advantage of the refinance opportunity (which saved the church lots of money in interest) and place the financial gifts in the Building Fund into a restricted fund to help make the monthly mortgage payments.

While financial gifts given to the Building Fund were ultimately used to make mortgage payments, ALL gifts given to the (3-Year) Mortgage Principal Reduction Fund will be used to make additional payments to reduce the mortgage principal. The Leadership Board has decided that additional principal payments will be made monthly using all Mortgage Principal Fund gifts received the previous month and we are committed to openly communicating our progress to you monthly.

A: Our church mortgage will mature in 2029 and the current interest rate of 3.77% is not likely to continue, and will place additional pressure on the church budget. None of the Pastors, Staff, or Congregation members had experience with implementing a Mortgage Principal Reduction campaign; therefore, a search for a qualified consultant was initiated and after reviewing several options, The James Company (jamescompany.com) was identified. The references were checked and very positive comments about The James Company were found. The James Company is a well-established consulting firm that specializes in church stewardship and capital campaigns. Since 1986, they’ve worked with more than 1,500 congregations and faith-based organizations across the U.S. The contract between HMUMC and The James Company is for three years, is not performance-based, and the total compensation is $49,500.

 If you have any questions about this action or need additional information, please contact a member of the Leadership Board (leadership@hmumc.org) or our Senior Pastor (wendy.jones@hmumc.org)

A: As you may know, apportionments are paid annually to the North Georgia United Methodist Conference to support its work and ministries. Apportionments are no longer based on church membership, but rather on the General Budget of each church. In 2025, our apportionments decreased by $18,345. 2026 apportionments will be determined as a percentage of our 2025 General Budget.

A: HMUMC provides several avenues for you to give. Contributions can be made online via the church website (click here), through the Church Center App, via cash or check during all Sunday church services, or by mail (HMUMC - Finance Office PO Box 1229 Dacula, GA 30019). As all stewardship contributions are totally individual, there isn’t any “best way” other than whichever of the ways listed above works best for you.

The church also accepts Bank Drafts, RMDs, Stock Donations, and Legacy Giving. Information on these types of contributions can be found here: Other Ways to Give at HMUMC. If you need more information on these alternative ways of giving to the church please reach out to the Senior Finance Administrator (finance@hmumc.org). Please note that HMUMC prefers all gifts be made without restrictions as this allows church leadership to respond to needs as they arise.

We look forward to sharing more information with the congregation as the 2026 Stewardship Campaign kicks off this fall.

A: Yes, the finance team is working with donors of large restricted gifts on reallocating the money to align the donor desires with current needs of the ministries of HMUMC.

A: The North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church is unable to provide any assistance with funding either the Mortgage Principal Reduction or General Budget Stewardship Campaigns. Corporations might sponsor a specific church event, but rarely (if ever) have they been known to sponsor or contribute to a mortgage reduction or general budget (stewardship) campaign. While rare, it is possible for a corporation to make a donation to the church. If you or someone you know is interested in making a donation on behalf of a corporation, please reach out to the finance office at finance@hmumc.org.

A: Our current financial contributions are only sufficient to cover the mission and ministry areas of the General Budget. There are no excess funds available for additional principal payments. This is why we are asking our members to make a three year commitment to the Mortgage Principal Reduction fund above and beyond financial pledges to the General Budget.

A: The goal of the MPR campaign is to receive pledged gifts of $2,000,000 - $3,000,000 before our loan is refinanced in 2029.

A: In 2029 the remaining term of the refinanced loan will be 10 years, and the amount will be $4.2M. However, we don’t know what the interest rate will be. Discussions with our current lender by the HMUMC Financial Team indicate the interest rate will likely be between 5.5% and 7%.

Assuming a 10-year term and 6.5% interest rate (recommended by our current lender) when refinancing in 2029, $1.2M will be needed to keep our current monthly mortgage payment ($34,000).

• If we raise $2M and apply that toward principal, the mortgage payments will decrease approximately $9K per month. Over the term of the loan, HMUMC would have $1.1M MORE for missions and ministries.

• If we raise $3M and apply that toward the principal, the mortgage payments will decrease approximately $20K per month. Thus over the term of the loan, HMUMC would have $2.4M MORE for missions and ministries.

A: Yes. Several members of the HMUMC Finance Team have been in contact with the bank holding our current loan. They’ve learned that there will not be any prepayment penalties for early payments. Any payments, above the monthly mortgage payments, to lower the principal amount at refinance will be applied in full directly to our loan. They have also learned that at refinance we will continue to have a commercial loan with the best interest rate available and a 10 year term.

A: Yes! Pray, often! And feel free to give to either the Mortgage Principal Reduction or Stewardship funds at any time - even if you choose not to pledge. If you receive unexpected financial blessing, you can give to, or pledge, at anytime throughout 2026 or during the three year Mortgage Principal Reduction campaign.

A: The goal of the 2026 Stewardship Campaign is $2.2M - $2.4M. This Preliminary General Budge3t is necessary to accommodate anticipated inflationary costs of the projected expenses in 2026. When finalized at HMUMC, the Budget will require approval at the North Georgia Charge Conference. The Charge Conference, held in October, will discuss several key items to guide the mission, leadership, and administration of the Conference churches.

The HMUMC Leadership Board and church staff have worked diligently over the past 2-3 years to assure expenses did not significantly, if at all, exceed congregational giving. The Leadership Board and Pastors have forecasted a lean, yet realistic, 2026 General Budget and feel confident that commitments received during the Stewardship Campaign will allow the church to once again operate within a balanced budget.

A: We don’t have the data to answer this question. However the HMUMC Pastors feel strongly that giving to our church should not add stress to any household, but rather it be a spiritual response to God’s generosity to us.