We Are within a month of the opening CELEBRATION

for our renovated Emmaus Church property and want to provide a brief financial update for your consideration and prayer. COVID has made things difficult on many fronts, but we are hopeful for the future God has planned for us in our new home.

In 2020 we experienced numerous delays closing on our property, but in January 2021 we signed a renovation contract with Swinerton for $755,965 and finalized a loan from North State Bank for $750,000 to pay for the work. Renovating an old historic building is satisfying but brought with it a lot of “unknowns” that we had to navigate to arrive at a workable and affordable solution. Adapting to COVID business conditions as well as those construction unknowns caused us to overrun our contract budget with Swinerton by $57,000 (~7.5%).

In addition to the Swinerton-contracted work we also had to pay for all the items required to prepare for and support that work. Those included expected things like architect fees ($115,000), surveys ($10,500) and closing costs ($10,000), but we also had some big surprises like abating asbestos ($29,000) and replacing an old flat roof that leaked like a sieve ($25,000). We also had numerous smaller items related to setting up our audio-visual equipment, classrooms, lobby, and fellowship hall. To date all these non-contract expenses totaled $230,000, we have paid $204,000, and now have a current outstanding balance of $26,000.

How have we paid for these things? Thankfully we were good savers pre-pandemic and had a bank balance of $170,000 at the end of 2019. We also received $58,650 in designated gifts for the Blount St Building Fund in 2020 and 2021 and took advantage of lower overall church operating costs since we did not need to rent any meeting space (Cary Arts Center was $4500/mo). We also proactively executed a plan to transition most of our part-time staff back to a non-paid status beginning in July, and Jacob Troupe took a full-time sales job in May. Those two changes will save us $5000/mo in payroll costs going forward, which will be critical to offset lower giving levels and the new burden of a monthly mortgage. We took these steps reluctantly and hope to revisit our staffing options in the future as our finances improve.

So where do we stand financially as we anticipate the completion of the renovations and turn our attention to “re- planting” Emmaus in our new home? To be honest, there is cause for concern, but not panic. As we look forward, our known outstanding renovation and start-up expenses exceed our current bank balance of $82,500, and we expect to encounter some additional as-yet-unknown expenses before we are done. We also know that wisdom dictates that we maintain a minimum financial buffer equal to two months of future operating expenses, which we estimate as $38,000 until sometime in mid-2022 when we must begin paying our full mortgage costs.

We have been grateful for all those who have continued to faithfully give to the work of Emmaus, but as the chart shows our normal giving level in 2021 is roughly $16,000/mo (aside from a special $20,000 gift in May). That $3000/mo deficit will not be sustainable for very long, and we can expect operating costs to go up, not down, as we discover all the things we forgot to include in our estimates.

In conclusion - we know this is a transitional period for Emmaus. The renovations will get done, Emmaus will officially open its doors on Blount St. in September, and some day COVID will finally come to an end. New members will join us, our finances will improve, and we will recall this as a faith-building time for all.

Please pray. Please give. Please serve God’s Kingdom with gladness. God bless you all.

Micah, Ken and Erik.