The Vision: Costs

For the last couple weeks we've talked about the new vision of converting the church parsonage into a center for youth, Sunday School, small group, and counseling ministries.  We've discussed the needs, the benefits, why and how this makes sense.  Now it's time to talk about the financial applications.

One of the reasons this vision makes so much sense is that the actual cost of converting and operating the building is incredibly low, especially when compared to the potential benefits.

The parsonage would need some minor renovations:  carpets in the basement, some work in the restrooms.  But otherwise it's ready to go.  Furniture and technology would be the biggest overall expense.  Just making the building effective isn't enough to fulfill the vision or give the people using it a sense of wonder and ownership.  We need to put the right tools in the right places.

I'd guesstimate that the total renovations and equipment would come in under $20,000, perhaps under $15,000.  That's paying for all labor and equipment.  Donated labor or material would cut the cost.  Also this is the kind of project we can get people in the community to rally behind.  It's unlikely that all of that budget would have to come out of our pockets.  I have a hunch that if we let it be known what we're doing and tell people that we're that close to having the project done, we'd get so much help we wouldn't know what to do.

The only hitch in the renovation and equipping plan would be if safety required us to add a second exit from the basement or at least convert the basement windows into escape routes.  But even then we're not talking an exorbitant amount.  I wouldn't hazard an exact guess as to the cost but it'd be in the four figure range, not five..

Compare this to the cost of building a structure or adopting someone else's and $20,000 is a huge bargain.

The news gets even better when you talk about operating costs.  Two main concerns in any project like this are how much it's going to cost to heat and how much to insure.

The church already has insurance covering the property, including the parsonage.  Any increase from the conversion would be modest.

The parsonage is heated by a combination of radiant heating and wall units...all electric.  Each room is heated separately.   Without central heating you have pre-heat if you plan to use a room.   This is less than convenient for a family dwelling where you expect to move from room to room with ease.  It's exactly what you want for a ministry center though.  You only heat the rooms you're using and only for the duration you use them...a few hours a week  It'll actually cost less to heat the building under the new mission than it does now when it serves as our full-time family home.

In short, the two biggest potential cost headaches are a breeze for us under this plan...costing no more, and maybe even less, than we're paying now to operate the building.

One expense will go up, however.  With the parsonage now a ministry center it's no longer our home and thus no longer a part of the compensation package the church offers us.  The church would need to make up that difference.  When Susan ran the latest numbers, based on where my salary should be, it amounted to an $1100-$1200 a month increase.

Let's address something that some folks might be tempted to think in the back of their mind:  Is this just a way for Pastor Dave to gain a salary increase or advantage of some sort?  After all, there is an increase in salary involved.

I can think of two possible advantages to us in this move.  First, in a couple years Ali is going to outgrow the relatively small room we have her in right now.  It was designed to be more of an office than a bedroom.  Second, with our own home we'd be able to start building equity.

However, truth be told I'm not looking forward to the move that much.  It's a bunch of stress and bother that it'd be easier not to deal with.  Also if you take a hard look at the financial implications it's unlikely we'll be making any more money even with the salary increase.  Along with the parsonage the church is currently responsible for all utilities, garbage, repairs (although we've been paying those the last few years), and everything else having to do with the property.  There's no property tax on the parsonage either, as it's on church property.

Now...look at $1100 per month.  Balance that against a mortgage payment, electricity, water, heating, garbage, repairs and upkeep, and property tax.  Anybody think we're going to be walking away with a profit in our pockets after the move?  Other than getting the long-term benefit of building equity we're going to be sacrificing financially for this vision  even if all we do is move out.  Then again, it's worth it.

Coming up with that extra money per month is, hands down, the biggest challenge in all of this.  Which is why next time we're going to talk about the steps we need to go through to make this vision a reality.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)