tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253529165034405240.post4023489558352449008..comments2007-11-12T20:57:29.096-05:00Vince Antonucci:http://www.blogger.com/profile/01577695138497215119noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253529165034405240.post-72699370099624764152007-11-12T20:57:00.000-05:002007-11-12T20:57:00.000-05:00Yeah, with homes that makes sense. But with this ... (let me first say that I'm no financial expert) ... we pay about $4,000/month to rent the school we meet in. A mortgage would be about $32,000/month. That's a HUGE difference. We can do a lot of ministry and pay a lot of staff with that $28,000 we're saving! And ... with a home, buying makes sense in part because some day you'll probably move and can sell the house and make money. But with a church building, you'll probably have it forever. So until you have it paid off ...Vince Antonuccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01577695138497215119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253529165034405240.post-76855965501824689942007-11-12T17:02:00.000-05:002007-11-12T17:02:00.000-05:00I guess I'm stuck in homeowner world and thinking a mortgage is investing and leasing is....Definitely need to look into everything I guessAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253529165034405240.post-14754305220192068922007-11-12T07:51:00.000-05:002007-11-12T07:51:00.000-05:00Hey Anonymous,<BR/> I am no financial genius, but I'm pretty positive that being portable is basically always less expensive than the alternative. Yeah, there are a lot of costs with being portable, but compared to the amount of a mortgage (or even lease) payment each month? Being portable will win that contest everyday. That is part of the reason we assume we'll be portable forever (and have no plans of getting "our own" building).<BR/> To answer your questions: Pretty much all of our stuff stays in trailers all week, then gets driven to our sites. We have a little bit of stuff in our office space (and a few of us may have something in our garages, but not much). We had a brief stage where we paid for a storage place, but don't do that anymore. And we're paying around a thousand per location on Sunday mornings, free on Tuesday nights. So two to three thousand rent, again compared to a mortgage, it ain't bad.<BR/> Don't let the finances get you down. Remember where God guides He provides, and a bunch of dumb Christian cliches that are actually true (though they sound so stupid when you say them!).<BR/> Have you been able to sit down with some people who have done this, or at least look at some budgets, to get your questions answered? That may help....Vince Antonuccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01577695138497215119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253529165034405240.post-966793849183492532007-11-12T07:17:00.000-05:002007-11-12T07:17:00.000-05:00Ok Vince I'm in that dream stage, and also caught up in the financial confusion of it all too.Is there a point you have to say being portable is costing us too much?? I can see it as a great option for young plants, but is there a time when you have to make that decision? I'd imagine being portable you guys have to run things from your homes? And then there is storage for all the stuff. Is that all spread out across Joe and Harry's garages? Or do you pay for one of those storage places? Is overhead still low with three campuses?? I'm guessing the bar let's you use their space for free because it's good for business, but do you pay a kind of rent to the other places you meet in. When is enough enough in the spending department or do I leave that decision to God? Maybe I plant where the weather is nice and just forgo the building worries?????Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253529165034405240.post-47335138765735702552007-11-12T00:39:00.000-05:002007-11-12T00:39:00.000-05:00Vince - Thanks so much for sharing with us over lunch today after worship! Again, I really enjoyed your service! I appreciate what you guys are doing to reach folks that many others often overlook. Thats our goal for The Intersection here in Newport, North Carolina. Our team learned a lot from your church and from you and your gracious wife. Thanks again to you and your family for taking time out to help some rookie church planters!<BR/>God Bless you, brother!<BR/>-Charlie Miller<BR/>The Intersection<BR/>www.TheIntersectionOnline.orgCharlie Millerwww.theintersectiononline.orgnoreply@blogger.com