Timing a Church Capital Campaign

Many churches in the past year have postponed building programs due to economic uncertainty. Even though building may be 1, 2 or even 3 years away, the wise church will be preparing now for a future building program. One of the keys to becoming financially prepared to build is to execute a capital campaign well in advance of building, or even before talking to lenders about borrowing (for more on this subject see my post, The Year of the Church Capital Campaign).

As we enter into the fall, now is the time we are helping equip churches to execute a capital campaign in the 1st quarter of 2010. Now is the time to begin to implement a campaign timeline and strategy, recruit capital campaign committee members, and integrate your campaign into the church’s calendar. There are a number of things the church can do to prepare the way; to prepare the fields and sow some seed that will increase the spiritual and financial effectiveness of your capital campaign next spring.

By the time of this post, most of those churches planning a Christmas play or pageant have already begun to organize and mobilize for this event. If you give 3 months to preparing for the Christmas play (a one-day event), how much more time should you give to preparing for a capital campaign which is much more complex and lasts for 6-7 weeks?

All too often churches underestimate the time and effort that goes into preparing for an effective capital campaign. There are several topics for messages, if not entire sermon series, that should proceed the “actual campaign”. There are scheduling issues that need addressed, recruiting, organization, and equipping that needs to be done before you even begin!

Churches that wait until after the first of the year to begin to move on a spring capital campaign will find themselves pressed for time and having deal with more stress and complications than necessary. The church that does not plan ahead will make this wonderful event a burden, not a joy to the staff and committee members. It will, in all likelihood, end up negatively impacting the spiritual effectiveness and financial benefit of the campaign. The earlier your church begins to prepare for its capital campaign, the more effective the campaign will be, and the least stressful for those involved.

Related posts:

1. Timing a Church Capital Campaign Timing is critical for churches that want to execute a capital campaign, and preparation for a spring capital campaign needs to start the previous fall...
2. Time is Running Out for a Fall Church Capital Campaign A church capital campaign is not unlike the Christmas play – you begin to prepare months in advance to have the best and least stressful...
3. The Year of the Church Capital Campaign The banks have money to lend, they just don’t seem to want to do it. This week a number of the largest banks were called...
4. Church Capital Campaign: The Biblical Basis I occasionally run across folks that think that a church capital campaign for a building program is a bad idea. Some have even called it...
5. Capital Campaign Communication Materials As a capital campaign consultant I understand the important role of communication materials. A church capital campaign is like a three-legged stool in that there...
6. Church Capital Campaign Horror Story For many churches, it is the season of the capital campaign that will help finance the construction of the church building. For the world, it...
7. Announcing The Complete Church Capital Campaign in a Box AMI today announces the Abundant Giving Capital Campaign, a complete Church Capital Campaign in Box.   Abundant Giving distinguishes itself from other church capital campaigns by its...
8. Church Capital Campaign . A church capital campaign is a spiritual endeavor that every church should engage upon for the spiritual and financial benefits. Typically will raise 2x...
9. Raising Money From Outside the Church A reader asked about how a church capital campaign can reach outside the church to get money from the community. This is a good question,...
10. Capital Campaign Feedback I had a status call today with a church capital campaign client this morning, and the chairperson had a most insightful and encouraging comment.  The...

Comments

1. Storage Containers says:

   September 28, 2009 at 11:48 pm

   Thanks for the information and i think that economic uncertainty is the main factor for, Building Churches .It is a good idea for churches to execute a capital campaign.There should be a proper planning of capital in the staff and committee members otherwise it is difficult to plan an event.If capital campaign will sucess it will be easy to build Churches .

   Thanks,
   Storage Containers,
   http://www.boxtcontainers.com
2. Sandy says:

   October 7, 2009 at 6:53 pm

   The only thing about delaying building is that you are passing up some of the fantastic deals that are available now. Everything from labor rates to materials are available at reduced prices now.