Joel Frederick said his church’s members are much like the man mentioned in Matthew 13:44 — when they found that a nearby field contained hidden treasure, they did everything they could to buy it.
As far as Frederick knows, there’s no actual buried treasure on the 62 acres of land purchased Oct. 14 by Loveless Park Baptist Church, McCalla, in Bessemer Baptist Association, where he serves as pastor evangelist.
But for him and his congregation, the treasure lies in what they see when they look down the grassy hill across the 20-acre lake, through the woods and — at the edge of the property — to the intersection of interstates 20/59 and 459. And the icing on the cake, he added, is that through the Church Finance Ministry of the North American Mission Board (NAMB) a portion of the money spent to buy the land will go back toward missions, too.
The church’s newfound treasure — it’s not what you might think, Frederick said.
“McCalla really doesn’t have parks or anywhere central as a community to take the kids to ride their bikes or fish or for senior adults to just walk. It would be great if we as a church could eventually provide that for the community,” Frederick said. “I saw that this property was for sale, and I was entranced by it. The first time I came and walked around it, I began to think and dream.” That was September 2004.
Loveless Park Baptist has met for years in a sanctuary that seats 288 people, in a facility so tucked away on the outskirts of McCalla that if those in the community don’t already know it’s there, then they don’t easily stumble across it, he said.
A former youth minister of Loveless Park, Frederick came on board as pastor evangelist a little more than a year ago in a mentoring-type relationship with Frank Sims — 40 years Frederick’s senior — who simultaneously became the church’s part-time senior pastor.
Church members credit God’s movement through the excitement of these two — coupled with the church’s friendliness and fierce devotion to loving the community — for the diversity of ages present in the past year, as well as the need to move to bigger facilities.
And when the church’s gym — now renovated into a new sanctuary — opened its doors to the more than 350 present Oct. 9, it was already a great start to one day filling its approximately 500-seating capacity.
Many are already dreaming of one day needing and building a larger church visible to the hundreds of thousands who drive those two interstates daily. But even so, that’s not the immediate plan for the new property.
“The Lord led us to this land so we could minister to our community — that’s the reason Loveless Park was formed in the first place. Sixty-two years ago, to reach the community, you would build a church. Now to build a church, you must reach the community,” Frederick said.
The first few activities might be picnics and family days, he said. Next year, that could branch out to community days such as father-son fishing, tent revivals and pumpkin patches. In 2007, the tentative plan is to start work on recreational facilities and a walking track around the lake.
“There are endless things that could be done with this property,” said Sharon Holland, church secretary and 13-year member of Loveless Park. “I believe the church felt that this was meant for us in such a way that we would have bought it even if we never need to build out here. Young members can see the future possibilities, and older ones can still see a purpose for it in their lifetimes, too.”
The vision had been there for months, but purchasing primo property with interstate frontage was a big undertaking for the church, especially while in the middle of a major building project.
Sims said the yearlong process was clearly the work of God — from the unanimous vote of the church to the financial resources God sent their way. “God has been in everything that has been done. You can’t question that,” he said.
One of the biggest blessings Sims noted was a loan from NAMB that not only enabled them to buy the land but also arranged for some 80 percent of the interest on their payments to go into a missions fund.
“Our rates are competitive with banks, but all of the interest after expenses goes to missions. Last year, that figure was 80 percent,” said Tommy Heaton, the Southeast’s consultant for NAMB’s Church Finance Ministry. “Many churches who come to us could get a loan anywhere but enjoy the fact that their interest dollars are going to fund missions — mainly church planting and evangelism.”
Though Heaton’s ministry consults with some 600 churches a year, it has been little known on the Alabama scene, he said.
“We exist for churches who are cooperating Southern Baptist churches to assist them in making financial decisions,” Heaton said. “Whether we do the loan or not is immaterial as long as we have added something of value to their process.”
In addition to Loveless Park, one other Alabama church is currently going through the consulting process.
Heaton said he hopes more churches in Alabama will take advantage of the ministry’s consulting, if not its loans as well.
Building purchases, land purchases and construction loans all qualify. This year, so far, the ministry has financed around $18 million for churches across the country.
The advice proved valuable to Loveless Park, but the most valuable part to the church members was the knowledge that their interest money was becoming a virtual missions offering, Frederick said.
“We’re going to be able to know our money is reaching people through that and also through the new property,” he said. “We’re re-dreaming the dream — reaching our community — and the morale of the church is incredible. They are believing in what God’s doing.”
For more information about NAMB church loans, visit www.churchfinanceministry.com.
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