Key points:
- As part of its new Jubilee Initiative, the Louisiana Conference is helping local churches to pay off debt, fund ministries, expand staffing and more.
- The multiyear initiative is being funded through strategic reserves and the interest earned from investments.
- Conference officials hope other United Methodist conferences might take notice and follow suit.
Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana, boasts a beautiful facility that members have enjoyed since 2005.
Not so pretty or rewarding is the million dollars or so of debt the church still carries about 20 years after the building was constructed.
“It is a beautiful sanctuary,” said the Rev. Kelly Berne, pastor at…