Historical Perspective and Our Creation

During the 1970’s and 1980’s, long-term, fixed-rate church financing was one of the most, if not the most, popular method of financing church expansion in America. This was primarily due to ever increasing interest rates during that time. Church finance companies proliferated. The president and founder of many church finance companies during the period were well-intentioned ex-pastors and ex-ministers who were first introduced to Church financing when the congregation they formerly led decided to issue Church Bonds to finance their church.

These ex-pastors/ministers were experts in preaching, teaching, motivation and church administration. However, they lacked formal education, training and experience in finance and financing principles. As a result, the late 1980’s ended with an unprecedented number of churches unable to repay their debt due to “over-financing” and “betting-on-the-future”.

During 1987, a group of experienced businessmen employed in the Church Finance Industry became disillusioned and disappointed over the “less than professional” methodology used to evaluate churches. They believed a church should never be put in a financial situation that could jeopardize its existence!

Therefore, they committed to create a company that applied sound business financing principles to evaluate the creditworthiness of churches so churches could make better decisions. Although Christians themselves, they believed any church investment should be based upon analytical evaluation instead of upon religious or denominational ideals or coercion.

Our Creation

The passion to employ time-tested business practices to benefit churches and investors was the basis for creating Great Nation Investment Corporation on June 19, 1989. Our ultimate vision was this: “Investors will bless churches by providing the needed capital for expansion and ministry and Churches will bless investors by paying a “lenders” rate of interest”. As a result of this dual relationship of “blessing”, the bible verses that best described this vision became the very basis for our corporate name!

(Genesis 12:2-3 NIV)
I will make you into a great nation and will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
... and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Many years and hundreds of successfully financed churches later, Great Nation has not deviated from the vision of helping churches and investors bless each other while carrying out Christ’s Great Commission. Our analytical evaluation techniques and skills continue to advance in order to provide sound financial counsel to Christian churches across America and to provide above-average yields with confidence to investors. Our goal and prayer is to facilitate the growth of Christian Churches in America by employing proven, business principles so that churches and investors are simultaneously blessed.

Great Nation’s motto is: “Building a great nation, one church at a time!”