Bus Business

When is a van not a van? When it’s a bus. A few months ago your session voted to form a sub-committee to examine the possibility of getting a replacement vehicle for our aging and nigh-onto over-the-hill 15-passenger van. And lo, it was decided that it would be a mini-bus, of the sort you see at other churches or carrying seniors around town. Fifteen-passenger vans are top-heavy and becoming expensive to insure, and they are hard to get in and out of—to access the back seats you have to crawl around and over the middle seats. By contrast, the steps into and out of a mini-bus are much easier to navigate, and the seats are much easier to get in-to and out-of.

But why do we need a van in the first place? Well, the one we’ve got is used—or was used before it got to be in such bad shape—at least three times a week, by the various ministries of our church. These, of course, include our youth ministry, our Arts n’ Autism ministry and our Chance to Dance ministry. Because it is so difficult to get in and out of, it has seen limited use by our older members. The mini-bus will change that . . . in fact, one of the prime uses we are considering is one that will pick up shut-ins and bring them to church on Sunday mornings. We also envision the bus being used for “field trips” for some of our small groups. I think what will happen is that the schedule for our new vehicle will quickly fill up.

Our existing van is on its last legs. Actually, you might say it’s past it’s last gasp . . . in just the 15 months I’ve been here, we’ve spent over a thousand dollars on repairs. And now it clearly needs another couple of thousand, and it’s just not worth it. So the session voted to buy a mini-bus which will better suit our needs—it will be accessible to all the congregation, it will enable us to carry all the youth and their luggage at once (before we had to take another vehicle just for luggage), it will be safer from a rollover standpoint, and it will be reliable.

We will be selling all three of our vehicles to defray costs for the mini-bus, but the main financing will be done—with congregational approval—by converting our old mortgage, upon which we presently owe about $110,000 for eight more years, to a new one of $160,000 over fifteen years. Our old mortgage was a variable rate, which has risen steadily over the past year so that it’s presently at over eight percent. The new loan will have a fixed rate of 6.99%. The payment will increase by approximately $400 a month, some of which will be offset by lowered insurance costs. We have called a congregational meeting for this Sunday (the 27^th) right after church; at that time Rush Watson and John Sikes will present the “hard” numbers. I ask that all of us be in prayer to discern the will of God in this matter.