It takes a village to raise a child and there should be no better village than the local church. Yet, a young family with a 5-year-old autistic son underwent a heart-wrenching experience as the church they attended asked them to leave because of the behavior of their young son. This left them broken, hurting and abandoned. One day as they were driving by Bethany Baptist Church, they decided to stop in. The welcoming and family atmosphere brought healing and restoration to the family. The mother joined the ladies’ Bible study and shared many times how thankful she was that God led them to Bethany Baptist Church. They felt at home. Bethany was an important step in their healing journey after such pain.
The church truly serves all members of their community. In addition to their Sunday services, their midweek programs serve children from birth to high school age, offer bible study and house groups, host weekly Alpha course meetings, and offer space for a Chinese ministry group.
Their facilities are also open to the community weekly for Parents & Tots drop-in playtime program, drop-in soccer, floor hockey, pickleball and badminton nights. These programs draw in many kids from the community. The summer week-long VBS program brings in many kids every year of whom many do not attend church regularly.
All these programs and ministries are made possible by the facilities that Bethany Baptist Church owns.
Church Investors Fund recently partnered with Bethany Baptist to finance a $1.6 million dollar roof renovation. How does a roof and ministry go hand in hand? Unfortunately, Bethany started experiencing major leaks in May of 2024. A roof evaluation report discovered many issues with the roof, forcing the closure of the gym. They were unable to provide all the wonderful programs through which they served their community. With CIF’s partnership, Bethany Baptist was able to not only fix the current leak but get ahead of the curve and repair weakened areas of the roof that would result in leaks in the future.
The repaired facility helps Bethany Baptist accomplish its mission and serve its community. The roof leak made it very apparent how dependent the church’s ministry is on a facility that is usable and safe for everyone. The limitations from not being able to use the gym impaired their ministry’s impact. They are very thankful for their new roof, and they plan to continue, without missing a beat, reaching out to the community with programming and events for everyone!
This is not the first time the two organizations have worked together as Bethany Baptist partnered with Church Investors Fund in 1997 to help them build their current facility. When Bethany Baptist went through tough times financially, Church Investors Fund renegotiated loan terms to extend flexible repayment options. Christine Pfortmueller, the church’s executive director, notes that they appreciate that Church Investors Fund is “not just ‘in it for the money’ but helping us achieve our mission of reaching others for Jesus… we are working on mission together.”
She also says, “partnering with CEIF means that the interest we pay on our loan is used to help other churches – it doesn’t just go to the bottom line of a bank. It is used to further God’s kingdom in other ways!”
Here at Church Investors Fund, we have been blessed to partner with Bethany Baptist Church for many years and look forward to partnering in ministry for many more!
