BRANSON – Friendly Baptist Church here, a congregation with about 110 average Sunday attendance, had a debt problem – to the tune of $1.8 million.
When Monty Dunn became pastor in 2014, the debt had been reduced to $1.35 million, but through practical and some unique circumstances, the church paid off the full debt 96 months later, in August 2022. By Dunn’s pastor anniversary month, the church was debt free.
“We’re going to get used to a new normal, and we’re not exactly sure what that means,” Dunn said.
During the debt crisis, the church resorted to people bringing their own plates for church dinners.
Here are things the church did to pay down the debt:
• They replaced a half-dozen thermostats with a computer program. “It saved thousands of dollars,” Dunn said.
• “It was my idea to cut my salary in half, with the understanding it was a promissary for the principal of the note only. That got the church’s attention that showed I was serious.”
• “We did some staffing cuts. Volunteers covered administrator’s assistant.”
• “We maintained conservative outflow.”
Dunn did not let missions be cut. “I recalculated the cash flow that included mission projects. We needed a missions revival,” he said.
“Some pastoral candidates said, ‘Close (the church).’ Jesus said pray and move mountains, and the mountain moved.”
While the church was paying down the debt, Dunn continued a secular job with the Missouri Department of Social Services.
“I have now retired from the Social Services, Nov. 1. I’m full-time pastor,” Dunn said.
Dunn said there were several strange aspects to the debt removal.
“A man from Texas brought several shoe boxes of pearls, rings. I said, ‘We’re not selling anything. You give what you want,” he said, adding that he doesn’t know what the church got from the pearls giveaway.
Also, there was some unexplained church growth, and attendance is now about 150, and Dunn said it wasn’t because of him. This growth also grew the budget.
“It’s a huge miracle. We don’t just believe in miracles. We depend on them. The moment feels like Exodus 36:5, when Moses was told, ‘The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the Lord has commanded them to do (for the tabernacle construction).’”
For churches in a financial difficulty, Dunn suggests they consider using Missouri Builders and other states Baptist building programs for construction, as half of costs are often labor. Also, he said, churches should figure how to pay as much on the principal only as they can.
“We’re just trying to be faithful to the Lord Jesus. It’s all about him and nothing about us,” Dunn said.