Cyrus, the King, had given the Jews permission to rebuild their temple after their time of captivity. But after a decade, little had been done. God raised up the prophet Haggai to urge them to "Bring wood and rebuild the temple that I may be pleased with it and be glorified, says the Lord" (Haggai 1:7). He was particularly displeased because they had chosen to "dwell in paneled houses" while "God’s house lay desolate" (verse 4). They needed their spirits to be courageously "stirred up" (Haggai 1:14; 2:4). Though we do not worship God in a temple today, He has chosen to use facilities. They are not to be scorned as "edifice complexes" or money pits which trade off financial resources which could be used in "real ministry." We are not building-centered but desire to glorify God in ministry. When the word "house" is used in the New Testament, it is the same root as the word "steward." God has called us to wisely use His property, because we are people under construction.

Out of our original $30 million Phase 2 construction which doubled our square footage, we still owe $12,550,000. This included extra parking, signage, roads, the Chapel, the Commons, the Discipleship Center, the Family Life Center, our kitchen, and our water cooling plant. This has enabled us to reach hundreds of new people and to equip more students in the Academy. Multiple ministries have been enhanced and also allowed us to have Spanish, Romanian, and Vietnamese missions here on our campus. However, we have an unpledged debt amount of $11,056,580 as of February 17, 2010.

We are facing a deadline of June 25, 2010 for the renewal of our note with SunTrust Bank. We originally committed to owe $9,500,000 on the principal by then. We need donations of $2,750,000 between now and then to meet our goal. Then the loan can be renewed at interest-only for a period of three more years. If that does not happen, it could revert to a fixed loan. The monthly payment could be $126,958 instead of our current general budget payment on the principal of $40,000 monthly. This is based on the current loan amount and present commercial lending rate of 8%.

The Temple was built as "Everyone who was willing brought to the Lord an offering" (Exodus 35:5). The Hebrew word "willing" meant to volunteer as a soldier or to give oneself spontaneously. This battle can only be won by God’s provision and His peoples’ obedience. Just as many rushed to defend our country after 9/11, this ongoing war against Satan and his forces will not be won if we stay in what we think is the security of our comfort zones. Pray about helping with a generous cash gift and a three-year pledge.