When Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, CA, accumulated $500,000 in debt – in addition to falling behind on their mortgage payments – financial ruin and foreclosure seemed imminent.
“Our loan was delinquent and the pastor at the time was avoiding communication with our credit union,” says current Senior Pastor Chuck Booher. “We were weeks away from forcing Evangelical Christian Credit Union to take action.”
The church hit a new low when funds designated for an orphanage in India were instead used to bring the checking account back into the black. They were behind in every payment and utility companies were threatening to shut off water and electricity.
Three steps to rescue
Booher explains how the new leadership at Crossroads closely followed three critical steps to guide the church through the process of getting out of debt:
“First, we got the key leaders together and explained everything in writing and verbally. We were ready to answer any questions and instituted a spirit of transparency.
“Second, we created a higher level of accountability. Our executive pastor now meets monthly with three elders and goes through all of our expenses. An outside CPA also comes in monthly and goes over financials with the elder board. And I meet with the head of the accounting department monthly to see if they are concerned about anything questionable.
“Third, we told our church family, ‘don’t give to the problem, give to the Lord.’ Out of love for God, our congregation brought in $600,000 over their regular tithes in a 40 day period. We paid off our debt and instituted a strict budget,” Booher says.
Today Crossroads ministers to more than 6,000 people every week, an increase of 2,000 people from a year and a half ago. They hold six different services, including three in the Worship Center, a chapel service, a satellite service in Lake Elsinore, and a service in Spanish.
Booher attributes the growth of the church to a spirit of truth embodied by the leadership. “God is honored by truth. That means having transparency within the body of believers. Great leaders communicate, and people will trust you enough to give,” he says.
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