- Spending Guidelines
- Using the Agape Emergency Support Fund
1. GENERAL SPENDING PRINCIPLES
Any expenditure of $300 or more must be approved by the Church by vote. If less than $300, the Pastor and Church Deacon will decide on behalf of the whole church.
2. EVENTS
If a believer (official member of the Church) or the believer's family (father, mother, children, or siblings) has a wedding or funeral, the Church will give an amount of $100 on behalf of God's children for each event.
3. UNEXPECTED SITUATIONS
● In case a believer or a believer's family (father, mother, children, or siblings) has a very sick person and urgently needs money for treatment, the Church will support a maximum of $500 and will call for children of God to participate. The final decision must be approved by the Church's vote.
● In case a believer or a believer's family (father, mother, children, or siblings) is in very difficult circumstances and cannot manage in a short time, the Church will support a maximum of $500 and will call God's children to participate. The final decision must be approved by the Church's vote.
● In case there is any person in difficult circumstances (possibly a newly arrived Vietnamese person, community member, student, destitute person...) and is introduced by a member of the Church and presents their needs. the Church will support a maximum of $500. The final decision must be approved by the Church's vote.
Adopted by the Church
February 14, 2024
1. FUND AND PURPOSE
The "Agape Emergency Support" fund is contributed by God's children for a very specific purpose and is managed by the Church. This fund will have a separate bank savings account under the Church's name and will be completely independent of the Church's spending fund.
The main purpose of the "Emergency Loan" fund is to:
- Express love among brothers and sisters in Christ in a concrete way.
- Help believers in emergencies.
2. INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE FUND
This fund is only used for official believers in the Church to borrow without interest. If not a church member, they must be introduced by an official member.
A person can only apply for approval once a year.
In 2024, the maximum loan amount is $2,000 at a time.
The maximum loan period is 6 months.
There will be a maximum of 1 unsecured loan at any time for non-Church members. An unsecured loan means the introducing member does not commit to repay in case the borrower loses the ability to repay.
A secured loan is defined as a loan to a non-Church member where the introducing official member commits to repay on behalf of the official member in case the borrower loses the ability to repay. This loan is considered similar to a loan to an official member.
3. APPROVAL CONDITIONS
Official Church Members
Write a letter directly to the Pastor or Deacon of the Church. The letter should include the following:
- Details of the difficult situation.
- Purpose of using the borrowed money from the Church.
- Detailed plan to repay this amount to the Church.
Non-Church Members
Normally, the person in need of support will come directly to the Church and present their need.
- Details of the difficult situation.
- Purpose of using the borrowed money from the Church.
- Detailed plan to repay this amount to the Church.
If inconvenient, they need to send a video to the Church presenting their need including the above items. The video will be shown after the Worship meeting to Church members.
4. APPROVAL
The Pastor and Deacon will present the borrower's letter before the Church.
The Church will vote for the final decision according to the voting instructions presented in the Church's bylaws.
5. INSTRUCTIONS IN CASE OF LATE REPAYMENT AND LOSS OF ABILITY TO REPAY
5.1. Official Church Members
In case of late repayment, the member needs to contact the Pastor or the Executive Board to set up a new repayment plan, with a maximum of 6 months for the new plan.
If this member continues to fail to repay the Church on time, they will be considered to have lost the ability to repay. The member needs to write a letter to the Church explaining the inability to repay.
Members who lose the ability to repay will not be considered for loans from this fund until the old loan is repaid.
5.2. Non-Church Members
For unsecured loans: they need to contact the Pastor or Executive Board to set up a new repayment plan, with a maximum of 6 months for the new plan.
If they continue to fail to repay the Church on time, they will be considered to have lost the ability to repay. They need to write a letter to the Church explaining the inability to repay.
Those who lose the ability to repay will not be considered for loans from this fund until they can repay the old borrowed amount.
For secured loans: they need to contact the Pastor or Executive Board and the introducing member to set up a new repayment plan, with a maximum of 6 months for the new plan.
If they continue to fail to repay the Church on time, they will be considered to have lost the ability to repay. They need to write a letter to the Church explaining the inability to repay.
The introducing member needs to carry out the repayment on behalf of the person who lost the ability to repay.
In case the introducing member fails to fulfill the obligation to repay, both the introducing member and the person who lost the ability to repay will not be considered for loans from this fund until the old loan is repaid.
Instructions and conditions will be updated each year.
Adopted by the Church
April 10, 2024