So when the 10,000-member Brooklyn Tabernacle came calling last May–yes, the one with the famous, Grammy award-winning choir–with a need for nearly $60 million, Thompson knew he had a shot at the church's business.

"I'm the type of guy who is pretty aggressive and is up for at least exploring things, so I said, 'We need some time to think about this, but I think it's something we can put together'," Thompson recalled. Within two weeks, Thompson was on a plane to New York to meet with church officials to educate them about credit unions, and discuss their needs. "Clearly, we understand what a church needs, and they felt very good about that, because we were speaking their language. It just seemed like it was something that was there to happen, it was the right time and right place; and, not to get churchy, but it seems like God just kind of blessed it," he said of the meeting.

The CEO's next meeting was with his participation loan contacts at WesCorp, to not only discuss participation options, but also whether or not to even pursue the gigantic loan.

"They came to us early to assess the situation, and also offer them some advice on how to structure the loan, how to make it a very solid, credit worthy loan. We worked in partnership with ACCU, with the goal of eventually participating the loan out," said WesCorp Manager of Loan Participations Dan Frilot.

According to Frilot, the loan is the largest participation loan WesCorp has ever handled. And if sheer size wasn't complex enough, the church wanted to refinance debt from several lenders and secure it with the church's campus: a multi-building complex on two separate sites, with more than 250,000 square feet of space. The church's main sanctuary, although recently renovated, was originally built in 1918.

"I think it would be fair to say [church officials] were anxious, because they had been working with huge banks, these are national names, for several months, and never could come to suitable terms," Thompson said.

"Then here we come, a David going up against the Goliaths. We walk in and say, 'yeah, we can do it.' I'm sure there were moments when they shook their heads and wondered 'Who are these guys?', but they soon found out we were very serious and had the ability to pull it off," he said.

Thompson returned to Brooklyn to offer a commitment to fund the loan, backed by WesCorp, provided due diligence was agreed upon by all parties.

Despite the complexity of the loan, the credit union based underwriting on existing policies, and used its regular appraiser and attorney, Thompson said. In fact, save for WesCorp, the only extra help ACCU needed was CUNA consultant Carol Wakefield, who provided her business loan underwriting expertise. "Together, we plowed ahead and did the underwriting, everything that needs to be done to make a good, solid choice, and we were able to do that in about seven months," Thompson said.The end result was a 30-year loan with a five-year call, which Thompson said is standard terms for church loans. He would not disclose the rate, but described it as "a pretty good yield for our investing credit unions."

ACCU will retain servicing of the loan, which includes periodic reviews of the church's books, in order to "preserve the quality of the loan," Thompson said. The CEO would not reveal the amount of the servicing fee; it's not as large as one would think, considering the size of the loan, Thompson said, but is enough to cover all servicing expenses. The loan funded Jan. 19. Frilot said WesCorp has sold about two-thirds of the loan, and expects to find the rest of the funds within a few weeks.

"We're offering it for sale to any credit union who is interested, but our priority, of course, is our WesCorp members first and foremost," Frilot said, adding that the corporate has never sold a participation loan outside the credit union industry.

While a $60 million real estate loan sounds risky, churches are a more stable investment than the average business. The credit union has never written off a loan secured by a church, and only rarely does a church loan fall 30 days past due, Thompson said.

"And usually, the loan-to-value is less. This church is less than 50% loan-to-value, and who wouldn't make a loan on 50%? I'd make those kinds of loans all day. Even within a real estate economy that may be softening, there's a substantial amount of equity there, and that's part of what makes this loan as strong as it is. The church has cash flow, it has equity…everything syncs up, and that's something we insist upon," Thompson said.

The credit union leader said he doesn't have any grand plans to hit up the largest churches in his field of membership for loan deals, but said he is ready and willing to consider any church loan that comes his way.

"I think through relationships and the general marketing we do, it will be known that we're able to step up and do a very large deal, and churches that are similar in size to Brooklyn Tabernacle will probably call and ask what we can do for them. We have an appetite and the ability to look at other deals like this," he said.

At the end of the day, Thompson said he is more proud of what the loan will do for the church than his record-breaking deal.

"Within the credit union world, we often talk about the underserved. One of the interesting things about this church is that it has a very significant learning center. They teach close to 1,000 people how to read every year. People are allowed to come there free. Part of the savings from the refinance will allow them to expand these. Here's another to add to the multitude of stories we can share that show, indeed, that we were able to lend support to a church that is providing inner city youth and adults with tangible skills," he said. –[email protected]