Sunday, June 27, 1999 | 9:21 a.m.
Money can ruin a perfectly good conversation about religion.
Clergymen and -women discuss adultery and abortion with little hesitancy. Few decline a chance to talk about capital punishment or homosexuality.
But when asked to talk about church finances, lips quickly seal. Faces twist uncomfortably. Eyes turn toward other corners of the room.
"It's a very sensitive topic. Church people are embarrassed about money. The Bible says that money is the root of all evil, and church fund-raising is a difficult subject," said one local pastor who has spoken out about numerous social issues, but asked for anonymity on this subject.
"We'd just rather not talk about money."
But in the Las Vegas Valley, as in many areas across the country, untold millions of dollars have gone to religious organizations in recent years.
New houses of worship are going up in every corner of the valley -- including some multimillion-dollar facilities equipped with state-of-the-art multimedia systems that outclass many a secular auditorium.
In some cases, the girth of church operating budgets is affording clergypeople to tool around in luxury cars and live in upscale neighborhoods. Clergy salary and perk packages at mid- to large-sized congregations range generally from $40,000 to $70,000 annually; a few local clergymen earn more than $100,000 per year.
But before the dirt is turned on any new construction project and before the pastor gets a raise, someone has to put the cash in the coffer.
In order to open the laity's wallets, Las Vegas church administrators are hiring professional fund-raising consultants and national marketing firms. They are producing videos and slick brochures that juxtapose biblical verses with requests for stocks or estates. They are hosting dinners for donors and paying personal visits to deep-pocketed members, saying, "We're getting ready for this big move, and I just hope you'll be open to however God wants you to participate."
The crux of fund-raising in Christian churches is spinning the biblical concept of generosity into the direct funding of church construction, Paul Gage, a Dallas-based church fund-raising consultant, said.
"People don't like the term 'fund raising,' " Gage said. "It's not a Bible term. Nowhere in the Bible do you find the word fund-raising. But you do see the word 'giving' all over the place in there."
In one handbook on church administration, pastors are taught the significance of word selection:
"It's best to avoid worn-out words and phrases that raise red flags," the Leadership Handbook of Management and Administration says. "The word 'stewardship' is overused. 'Tithing' evokes images of the 10-percent syndrome. 'Pledging' may denote coerced payment of a portion of income required by the church. On the other hand, phrases such as 'gifts of gratitude' or 'investments in the Kingdom' not only sound unique, but they teach a biblical concept as well."
Accordingly, pastors with successful fund-raising campaigns negotiate the language nuances well:
"We don't like to see ourselves as being in the fund-raising business," the Rev. Gene Appel of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas said. "We see ourselves in the people-raising business."
Appel's church has raised more than $9.5 million from laypeople since 1996 to build its new "campus" on a 56-acre parcel in Henderson. Central Christian -- the largest evangelical church in Nevada -- is regarded by church administrators nationwide as one of the best examples of well-managed growth. Recently the nondenominational church was featured in a national documentary about the top 100 megachurches in the United States.
In 1962 the church consisted of 24 people in a rented room. When Appel arrived from Illinois 14 years ago, the attendance was still well under 1,000 per week. Today, the church boasts weekend attendance of 4,000, employs 45 people including 13 ordained ministers and has a weekly operating budget of $60,000.
About three years ago when the congregation outgrew its current building, Appel said, the church started a fund-raising drive for the new building. Gage was hired to help with the task.
What he and other consultants around the country do is "create an atmosphere that is conducive for people to give," Gage said. Church consultants charge either a commission on the funds raised or a flat fee based on the size of the congregation in exchange for their services. "But 90 percent of the people at Central Christian didn't know I was there for the weeks I was there. I work behind the scenes. The idea is to go in and create a spiritual climate to inspire people to give from the heart," Gage said.
The new Central Christian complex will be 150,000 square feet with a 3,100-seat auditorium, a 400-seat chapel, a secured children's wing, classrooms, a bookstore and plenty of parking space.
"But it's so much more than a building. There is a whole community of people out there who do life together. They are a community. When you're a part of something like that, it's not hard to invest in it."
'Who do you know?'
According to Gary Arnold of Church Fund-Raising Services, a Longmont, Colo.-based consulting firm, Appel's tightly knit "community" is the key to accessing the congregation's assets.
"The only people who know who is wealthy in the congregation is the congregation itself," said Arnold, who has worked with St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church and University United Methodist Church in Las Vegas.
"We go in and form small groups of church members, and say, 'Who do you know?' We start with 10 or 12 and form a committee of laity called a building fund committee. Then we pick people to do an evaluation of the whole congregation, sort it out and categorize it by estimated giving capability. "Then we rank them in suggested asking order," Arnold said. "You'd be surprised how well people in a congregation really do know each other."
"We've also done some individual home meetings where I meet with them personally," Appel said. "We focus on what the church has meant to them and what it could mean to others.
"I'm not going to wine and dine them. I'm sure that happens, and I don't want to pretend like I wouldn't be concerned about people who contribute significantly, and if they have specific concerns about the church, I'll listen. But we're not willing to change what we believe in order just to maintain their financial support."
During their building fund-raising drive, Central Christian administrators made a video about the importance of funding the new building and hosted several dinners for members to view the video.
They also issued a glossy 12-page brochure that includes biblical verses, illustrations of the new church, and explanations of ways to donate.
"... (My own) family is making the largest sacrificial gifts to this project we've ever given," Appel wrote in the brochure. "But instead of worrying, 'How can we afford this?' we're thinking, 'We can't wait to see how God miraculously provides what we've committed to give by faith!"'
In the next few pages, the brochure explains to church members that the Bible tells them to give.
"Am I willing to give generously and then trust God to care for my needs?" the brochure asks. "Does my giving indicate I'm growing to spiritual maturity?"
The answer printed comes from 2 Corinthians: "... It tests the sincerity of your love."
The brochure continues:
"God is waiting for us to demonstrate our faith through our giving. Ask God for creative ways to increase your gift ...
"Give a cash gift. Make a 36-month giving commitment. Give a gift of assets. Make the church a beneficiary in your will ... Our finance director can give you direction in this area, call (702) 735..." Although Central Christian is considered a leader in the capital building fund-raising race, it stands among many other Las Vegas religious organizations involved in capital building campaigns.
Green Valley Presbyterian recently completed a new $1 million sanctuary.
Canyon Ridge Christian Church is partially finished constructing a new complex in northwest Las Vegas that will surpass $10 million when completed.
West Valley Assembly of God, Temple Beth Sholom, the Islamic Center of Las Vegas, Shadow Hills Baptist Church, the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas and countless other religious organizations have recently built or have plans to build soon.
In fact, 60 percent of U.S. churches in 1996 planned to either build an addition or embark on a major renovation. The money would come either from loans or, ideally, from the faithful flock's open purses and pockets.
A philanthropic feeling
Shotgun collections. Bicycles. Houses.
The faithful have turned over their valuables to temples and churches in droves around the valley.
"Stocks, property, investments -- churches tap into all of that, of course," Appel said. "We've had five or 10 diamond rings, lifelong coin collections -- things that were meaningful to people. We had an antique gun collection once. It was a real challenge to find the right market to sell that."
Central Christian has a team of volunteers in charge of liquidating donations.
"We ask people to go to their safe deposit boxes and take an inventory," Arnold said. "Sometimes they say, 'Oh my gosh, I've got grandma's half-karat diamond ring.' They can gift it to the church and get a tax deduction."
A booming economy has allowed religious organizations to seek bigger gifts from more of the congregation than in years past, when only a wealthy few could afford to make contributions of property and commodities.
"In the last four or five years, we've seen more people -- more younger people, Generation X and Boomers -- receive stock options," Gage said. "Their portfolios have gone through the roof and, on paper, they're able to turn over stock to the church. If you've received stock options for many years and you give it to a nonprofit, you don't have to pay capital gains tax. You see? There are just much more creative ways we're using to utilize funds these days."
But at the core of the fund-raising business, Arnold says, is "that philanthropic feeling," and not tax breaks. "But it helps if you can offer tax breaks."
"I've learned over the years that perhaps giving is the gift," said Jerilyn Clayton, who along with her husband gave an undisclosed but "significant" amount to Central Christian and helped to run the fund-raising drive.
"The giving is not about the building. It's about giving back a portion of what God has given to you, with no conception of getting more in return. To give is joy.
"I know that my husband and I, when we were doing our personal pledge, we realized we weren't sacrificing enough. When we saw how the congregation responded to our plea to build the church, we realized we needed to step up to the plate and give even more, and in doing so, it affected our spiritual life very deeply," she said.
"I think a lot of people are looking for something to give them a purpose in life right now, and they can have all of the material things in the world, but it always leaves them wanting something else. It's religion and God that they need and want, and giving is a natural part of that. It's a privilege to give. Christians consider it a privilege."
Who is watching?
Each year an estimated 6,000 pastors are audited by the Internal Revenue Service, according to Christianity Today Inc. There are more than 450,000 houses of worship in the United States.
Religious organizations generally incorporate as nonprofit entities under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, which exempts them from federal taxation.
Last month pastors gathered in a Las Vegas hotel conference room for a seminar aimed at teaching them the ins and outs of tax law.
Topics included "What Never to Say to an IRS Agent" and "How to Keep the Pastor Out of a Federal Penitentiary."
"The opportunities for diverting money are probably greater in a church than elsewhere," said Bob Hildner, an investigator for DSFX investigations in Falls Church, Virginia. DSFX is a private firm that investigates white-collar crimes such as embezzlement at both profit and nonprofit companies nationwide, including churches.
"It's easier to divert money in a church than elsewhere for three main reasons," Hildner said. "People are more trusting in a church, sometimes they are using volunteers who aren't trained in money management and sometimes the books are sloppy."
Most large churches, such as Central Christian, employ an outside accountant to do quarterly audits of the books as both protection against fraud and evidence of proper bookkeeping should they be audited by the IRS. "Misappropriation of church funds generally occurs between the time money is placed in the offering plate and when it is deposited in the bank," says the church Leadership Handbook.
"But it can also happen with cash disbursements. Any treasurer, if inclined, can find ways to manipulate the books to cover misappropriation. Checks can be written to fictitious payees and then cashed by the church treasurer. Or treasurers can write checks to themselves and charge them to an expense account or offset them against offering income."
Church employees and volunteers are held to the standard of "good faith" when managing the church's money; that is, they are responsible to be as prudent as a court would determine an ordinary person to be with the organization's money.
Federal law prohibits a minister from "benefiting excessively" from the money donated to a church -- a standard left to subjective review on a case-by-case basis. Most church boards establish a pay scale for employees and stick to it, often guided by their denomination's regional offices.
The problems are often not in the salary. Some churches find themselves in trouble with the IRS for giving ministers unfettered control over church funds, or too much leeway with "business expenses."
For example, the Rev. Henry Lyons, once the national leader of the American Baptists, was convicted this spring of an array of fraudulent activities ranging from failing to pay taxes on his $1.3 million in income to racketeering and grand theft.
Lyons was ordered to pay $5.2 million in restitution for bank fraud and tax-evasion. He also is serving 51/2 years in prison.
Another legal action is in process in Tampa, Fla., where seven administrators from the Greater Ministries fellowship are being tried for money laundering and mail fraud.
In that case, the church operated a fund-raiser that promised donors that the money would be invested in international accounts and that the donors would receive a return on their investment.
Prosecutors allege that some of the church's elders were using the money personally -- in one case, an elder received $400,000 in "gas money," according to the indictments.
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