According to the New York Times story on Church foreclosures,
...borrowing by churches became more common in the 1990s, reaching $28 billion* nationwide in 2006, including mortgages, construction loans and church bonds... via Jordon Cooper's links post
Estimate of cost to save African children from hunger and easily preventable diseases (who die at the unfathomable rate of 25,000/day) - $25 Billion.
Note: The $28 Billion figure does not represent all the monies that have been raised and spent in an attempt to sate the appetites of church leaders' edifice complexes.
