Guidelines

REQUIREMENTS

To qualify for a grant from the BBC, a church must meet the following requirements:

Must be in active fellowship with the national body of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches;
Must demonstrate spiritual health and vitality as a congregation;
Must show evidence of spiritual impact upon its community;
Must request aid only for genuine needs the church cannot otherwise meet;
Must display sense of purpose and direction, and current evidence of reaching toward specific goals under the leadership of a godly pastor;
Must provide tangible evidence of financial responsibility;
Must certify agreement without mental reservation to the doctrinal statement and separatist position of the GARBC, and demonstrate this affinity by active participation in the Fellowship.

RESTRICTIONS

No grant shall be given for the purchase or erection of a parsonage; for assistance in the liquidation of a debt, or any part thereof, contracted previous to building construction; or to subsidize the salary of the pastor.
Each grant to any church shall not exceed $15,000. A portion of the grant may be designated as a loan at the discretion of the administrators. The loan portion is to be repaid in five (5) years with no interest. There will be a 6 percent per annum charged on the unpaid balance if paid in six to eight years. Though an ethical obligation exists, no legal action will be taken if the church fails to repay the loan amount.
The administrators of the Baptist Builders’ Club look with concern upon making a grant to a church whose building program appears to be excessive or whose missionary program is of such proportion that either or both of these prevent the church from assuming its Scriptural financial responsibility to the pastor. The full-time ministry of the pastor is essential to the progress and growth of the church, the maximum benefit in the use of its facilities and the ultimate development of a greatly enlarged missionary program.

The complete text of the BBC “Guidelines, Statement of Purpose, and Application” are available by clicking below:

Application Deadline – March 1, 2010 for the spring meeting or October 1, 2010 for the fall meeting