The Overstory 2026 ANNUAL REPORT
August 14, 2026
Dear Friends, Walk into any healthy forest, and what do you see? Growth. Movement. Life all around you. And that‘s just the ground level. From that perspective, it‘s easy to miss the canopy above. Which is rather the point. Foresters call it the overstory. It filters light, softens storms, and shapes what grows underneath. The forest floor thrives because what‘s above it holds steady. BCLC is a canopy, and the churches we serve are the forest floor, where you’ll find children‘s ministries, the community outreach, the regeneration and changed lives: the life that makes the Kingdom visible here on earth. Our job is merely to steward the canopy. Stewardship of the canopy means a resilient capital foundation, stability that doesn‘t waver when the weather turns, because a canopy that can‘t hold steady is no shelter at all. It‘s competitive financing, so that more of a church‘s resources stay where they belong: advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We tend the canopy. God creates the life. “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:7). For over 70 years, BCLC‘s canopy has been grown, tended and protected by faithful stewards, who shaded a forest floor they knew they would never fully see. This year alone, that inheritance made possible more than $45 million in loans funded for capital projects, serving churches of every size, worship style, and corner of the country. Thank you to the men and women of our Board of Directors, to our lending partners, and to the churches we are privileged to serve: the canopy is in good hands because it has always been in His. Under His canopy,
Landon Yeager President / CEO
overstory
noun
‘ō-vər-,stor-ē
the uppermost layer of a forest’s canopy
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Under Above every story is an overstory.
In forests, the overstory is the uppermost layer of foliage. Because of its size, density, and height, it affects everything below it. From the forest floor, that influence is easy to miss. There, we tend to focus on the stories in front of us, forgetting how they’re shaped by unseen forces. But no matter our myopia,
The
the overstory is always there, guiding and protecting what grows beneath it.
BCLC is its own kind of overstory.
The stewardship we practice, the culture we build, and the loans we provide all help shape the churches we support. Much of that influence may go unnoticed by their congregations, but its effects are lasting. Churches nourished by our ministry grow into places that help communities flourish. That is the power of overstories in practice. It’s also the mission of BCLC: helping churches grow in their calling to spread the Gospel. In the pages ahead, you will read stories from congregations, leaders, and ministries we have been privileged to support this past year. While every story is unique, familiar themes emerge again and again: mission-minded growth, Christ-centered ministry, and a commitment to lasting spiritual and financial health.
Canopy Because what grows below is shaped by what’s above.
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BCLC Church Lending
“Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; so there will be a canopy over all the glory.” Isaiah 4:5
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overstory
noun
‘ō-vər-,stor-ē
any force operating above our awareness that shapes what lies beneath
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BCLC Church Lending
Pioneer Drive Baptist Church
Sr. Pastor – Dr. John Whitten II
Abilene, Texas When Pioneer Drive built its third sanctuary in 1967,
carry the church’s history forward. Whitten already
the money ran out before the stained glass went in.
knows which seat he’ll take. It’s the same spot where
The designer offered a solution: he had a pile of
the original sanctuary stood, where his grandparents
leftover pieces. Could he assemble something
worshiped in the church’s first year, and where his son
depicting Pentecost? The resulting piece, representing
came forward for baptism.
every nation, tribe, and tongue receiving the Spirit and being sent out, has watched over the congregation for
The building, Whitten insists, is not the mission; the
nearly six decades. As Pastor John Whitten puts it,
Great Commission is. Love and Care Ministries, which
that’ll preach.
Pioneer Drive launched in the 1990s, has served Abilene’s homeless ever since. It’s vital work Pioneer
It’s now the vision for the church’s fourth sanctuary in
Drive is proud to have had a hand in, along with its
70 years. Founded in 1954 as a mission of First Baptist
campus food pantry, tutoring at Bonham Elementary,
Abilene to reach the city’s booming west side, Pioneer
housing help for single-parent families, and ministry
Drive today runs 1,000 in worship across four Sunday
partners from Ukraine to Guatemala. The congregation
services. The new 38,000-square-foot sanctuary, rising
pledged $6.8 million toward the $17.8 million project
on the footprint of the church’s original buildings, will
in a campaign launched in fall 2024, investing $10.8
seat 1,100 and gather the church into one traditional
million of its own cash alongside a $7 million BCLC loan,
and one contemporary service under a single roof. As
all at a rate lower than the church projected, stretching
Whitten says, it’s built to be a launchpad for mission
its stewardship further. Today, a cross stands at the
and ministry for the next 70 years and beyond. When
sanctuary’s highest point.
the current sanctuary becomes a great hall, worshipers will walk beneath that Pentecost window from the
Whitten is praying the loan is paid off in three years.
old into the new. Stone matching the original 1950s
He admits that’s a bolder prayer for his accountant.
building, the wood ceiling, and even the door designs
Lord willing.
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Enon Baptist Church Sr. Pastor – Dr. Zac Reno
Morris, Alabama
In 1872, travelers crossing between Birmingham and Decatur camped overnight at a natural spring. A group of Baptists saw the campsite for what it really was: a mission outpost. They planted a church there to share the news of Living Water with everyone passing through and named it Enon, meaning “much water there” (John 3:23). More than 150 years later, the oldest Baptist church in Jefferson County is growing faster than ever. Since calling Pastor Zac Reno in 2021, the congregation has grown from around 400 in weekly worship to nearly 800. Baptisms have more than quadrupled in three years, and last year, the church hit its longtime prayer goal of 100 baptisms for the first time. Sunday children’s ministry has doubled to over 100 kids; Wednesday night student worship has climbed from 50 to more than 120, fueled by a student pastor who spends his weeks in local schools. And the sending spirit of that original outpost endures: four years ago, Enon took one mission trip a year with 25 to 30 people. This year, the church will send more than 250 people on nine trips. As they say at Enon, missions is not something we do; it’s who we are. Numbers like that need room. Enon’s solution is a new 13,000-square-foot education building. It’s a space that lets preschoolers, children, students, and adults all spread out. On the recommendation of a fellow church that had built with BCLC, Enon compared lenders and found no comparison: BCLC was the easiest to work with. They flew team members in to meet face to face and structured a $3.7 million loan the debt-averse church plans to retire in just a handful of years. What sealed it was the model itself: interest paid on Enon’s loan goes right back into helping other churches build. After all these years, the spring keeps flowing.
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BCLC Church Lending
New Life Community Church
Pastor – Ryan Wong
San Jose, California
For fourteen years, New Life Community Church has been a congregation without a home. Planted in 2012 by four bivocational pastors, the church has met in living rooms, community centers, hotels, college campuses, a school, and backyards across the South Bay. Venue updates have been a standing line item at every member meeting since. One Easter Sunday, the janitor never showed up to unlock the building. But the placelessness never weakened the church’s roots. Following the example of Paul the tentmaker, all four pastors kept their day jobs and declined salaries from the congregation, freeing every dollar for ministry while also freeing the pastors to preach boldly. That conviction shaped a remarkably generous body: when New Life launched its first-ever capital campaign, the goal was $750,000. The congregation of roughly 100 adults (and nearly as many children) gave more than $1.2 million. Still, in Silicon Valley, generosity alone can’t buy a building. Conventional banks wouldn’t even take the meeting; one lender capped them far below what any Bay Area property would cost. BCLC, whom the pastors met at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting, approved a $3.5 million loan that November. And when the church’s first deal on a smaller building fell apart in due diligence, BCLC increased the loan to $4 million and stayed alongside the church with a simple encouragement: God has a plan that is best for you. That plan turned out to be a $6.2 million former commercial gym that’s roughly triple the size of the building they lost, at nearly the same price, with room for a children’s ministry that already numbers 80 kids. Renovations break ground this year, and New Life hopes to hold its first services by spring. Finally, home is on the horizon for New Life.
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“We’ve always seen our church as a tree planted at the center of this region. And what do trees do? Bear fruit, provide shade, and produce oxygen. BCLC came in as a canopy over our tree, letting our roots go deeper so we can be used for mission and ministry. That’s what BCLC is about.” —Pastor John Whitten Pioneer Drive Baptist Church
“Without BCLC, we would not have a home. They took a risk on this little church of ours, and it has opened up unimaginable ministry opportunities. Now we’re building a home from which to proclaim the Gospel to a place that needs more and more of it.” —Pastor Ryan Wong New Life Community Church
“BCLC is that protective covering over us. They provided the coverage we needed to build for the future at Enon. And on the big-story level, they made it possible for us to do real ministry in our community.” —Zac Goforth, Associate Pastor Enon Baptist Church
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BCLC Church Lending
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10
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Growth by the Numbers
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BCLC Church Lending
$195 MILLION LOANS APPROVED
$150 MILLION IN LOANS FUNDED
over the last three years
over the last three years
In 2026
Over a three-year period, BCLC loan funds created space for
OVER 11,000 PEOPLE WORSHIPED in BCLC-funded churches
AN ADDITIONAL 15,000 WORSHIP ATTENDEES
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Our Mission. BCLC exists to assist churches in their efforts to spread the gospel by providing affordable real estate related loans. In fulfilling this mission, our priorities are to: • Focus on the long-term spiritual and financial health of each church we consult. • Provide our churches with straightforward terms, rate options, and underwriting guidelines. • Serve as many churches as feasible, regardless of their size, longevity, or ethnicity.
Our Leadership. Board of Directors Glenn Gaines
Bret Hefton
Chris Bragg Frisco, Texas
Ann Chacko Dallas, Texas
Woody Conradt Coppell, Texas
Mark Dyer Dallas, Texas
Daniel Edwards Dallas, Texas
Susan Hogan Dallas, Texas
Kelly McBrayer Richardson, Texas
Josh McKee Dallas, Texas
Matt Sibley Dallas, Texas
BCLC, Chairman of the Board Carrollton, Texas
BCLC, Vice Chairman Dallas, Texas
Corporate Officers and Management Landon Yeager President/CEO Kayla Peltoma Chief Financial Officer
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BCLC Church Lending
Bob Gage Senior Vice President
8333 DOUGLAS AVE. STE. 1460 DALLAS, TX 75225 BCLCCHURCHLENDING.ORG