GAC news briefs Loan program gets $1 million The Presbyterian Layman Friday, March 26, 1999 LOUISVILLE – “Let me make this clear. We are talking about a gift, not a loan” said John Rodgers, chairman of the General Assembly Council’s Mission Support Services Division, as he introduced a plan to bolster the assets of the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program (PILP) by $1 million. After lengthy discussion that included consideration of a three-year history of operating deficits, the council agreed to make the gift to PILP. Conceived as a program to provide low-cost loans to churches seeking construction funds, PILP invites Presbyterians to invest in certificates of deposits that provide an average rate of return. “An investor’s greatest return is the satisfaction of knowing that his investment is being used to start new churches,” says Kenneth Grant, program administrator. “Other lending institutions might pay a little more interest, but the satisfaction that our program offers is a return that they cannot provide. Presbyterians who invest with us are allowing their money to be used as part of the mission of the church.” Like traditional lending institutions, PILP’s program operates on the “spread” between what it pays investors for their deposits and the interest rate they receive from loans they make to churches. As a non-profit church agency, PILP narrows that spread, charging the churches a lower rate of interest than they can usually find in the commercial market. Three years into its operation, PILP needs more assets in order to keep going. Three states in which the program operates require that PILP maintain minimum capital that equals three percent of its net assets. Projections based on PILP’s business plan show that by mid-1999, PILP will fall below that three percent margin unless a capital infusion is found. That realization led PILP to ask the General Assembly Council for $3 million. While there was general agreement that the program is, in concept, worthy of support – particularly in light of the fact that church growth has been declared a top priority for the denomination – council members chose caution in responding to PILP’s request. They voted to give the program $1 million and to monitor its progress carefully in 1999. (PLC)

The Presbyterian Layman March/April 1999

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