Unrealistic Projection of Income or Inadequate Cash on Hand:
This fifth mistake can easily outweigh all the others up to this point. You can have great planning, great drawings, a beautiful and environmentally friendly site, and room for all the cars made in a year. Yet without proper financing, all your plans will lie in a drawer gathering dust. Most churches start by talking about their needs. They should start by talking about their financial health and capabilities. Based on the size of the church, how much money can they realistically raise and borrow?
The church financing game has changed. A church can no longer afford to keep financing as a final afterthought. It must be done very early in the process. Church financing has become so difficult and so specialized. If your church isn't in some sort of formal capital campaign, lending institutions view this as the congregation not being committed to the project. Congregations must remember that financial institutions are no longer looking for reasons to say “Yes”, they are looking for reasons to say “No.”