The Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma

We’ve recently received news that a Georgia trust company has taken control of the assets of the church loan fund operated by the California Baptist Foundation. The church loan fund has not met obligations to investors and the trust company will now manage the fund, liquidate assets and make distributions to investors.

We are saddened to hear that any investor has lost money and it hurts to hear that the health of our sister Foundation’s church loan fund is troubled.

Because the trust and confidence of our Oklahoma Baptist clients is paramount, I’d like to take this time to let you check the pulse of The Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma’s Church Building Loan program.

The Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma makes traditional loans to Southern Baptist churches and associations that are predominately in Oklahoma. Loans made outside of Oklahoma are to Southern Baptist churches that are like-minded with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

We operate with a conservative loan-to-value ratio, which means that the loan amount cannot exceed 50 percent of the fair-market value of the property. Also, no church can borrow an amount where annual payments exceed 25 percent of the annual budget receipts. We recognize that there is risk in making loans, but through our conservative credit qualification procedures, we are able to lessen that risk.

It’s important to know that each loan is approved by the Foundation’s loan committee, which is made up of a subset of our board of directors. The loan is made based on policies that have been approved by the Foundation’s board of directors. Our board and staff take very seriously the safety and soundness of every loan we make.

We currently have 204 loans valued at $76 million. Contrary to what other church building loan programs are experiencing, the Foundation’s 20-year amortized loans pay off in an average of seven years. We have one loan that is 60 days past due and that is because the church’s budget was impacted in January and February when the church’s services were cancelled due to inclement weather. In the history of the program, we have not had a foreclosure.

The Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma’s Church Building Loan program has been in operation since 1953 and each year the interest on the loans goes back into Southern Baptist ministries. In fact, last year the interest on loans provided $4.02 million to Baptist ministries in our state, across the nation and around the world.

Our program is healthy and it remains a vital service that we provide for Oklahoma Baptist churches and associations and ultimately Baptist ministries.