Church Capital Stewardship Campaign

Before becoming a church construction and capital campaign consultant, I led my own church through a successful capital campaign. I can say with no fear of contradiction, that nothing our church ever did brought us closer together as a body in unity than sacrificing together for a common goal.

Capital campaign Focus

Intellectual

Your congregants need the facts and the figures about why you need the money, how it will be spent, how it will solve a need, and what you expect of them.

Emotional

Facts alone will not move people to give. The congregation must also become emotionally involved in the solution. God wants us to be cheerful givers from the heart.

Spiritual

You will be asking people to make a faith commitment and since, "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." This will be a time of clear teaching and earnest prayer.

Phases of a Capital Campaign

Phase 1 - Planning & Recruiting

This phase can take from 3 weeks to 3 months or longer, depending on size of congregation, method of church governance, availability of staff to the project, and other events on the church calendar.

Phase 2 - Equipping & Preparation

This phase can last from 6 to 10 weeks, or sometimes longer. The shorter the timeframe for completion, the more intense the effort.

Phase 3 - Public Phase

It is this visible, public phase phase that most people think of when you say capital campaign. This phase can last 5 to 8 weeks depending on size of congregation and scope of building project.

Phase 4 - Wrap-up Phase

This mini-phase will last from 1 to 3 weeks depending on size of congregation and method of collecting pledges. The purpose is to collect pledge cards, provide a final total to the church, send thank you letters, acknowledge and thank workers, and implement a process to provide regular statements on giving.

Phase 5 - Collection & Follow-up

This phase consists of collecting the monies pledged, providing regular statements to members for pledges received, making regular reports to the congregation on pledge receipts, and integrating new members into the program.

4 Key Elements of a Successful capital Campaign

Communication

Your communications must be clear, concise, compelling and consistent. Clear communication brings understanding, answers questions and promotes unity. It is important to use multiple channels of communication over a fixed period of time to insure the message is fully communicated.

Prayer

Ultimately it is not fancy words or pretty materials that will make the campaign a success - it is the movement of the Holy Spirit in people's lives exhorting them to step out to make the appropriate faith response. By teaching biblical stewardship principles and bathing the campaign in personal and corporate prayer, desires will be brought into alignment with God's will.

Leadership by Example

People will not follow where leaders do not lead. Church staff, capital campaign team members, and other leaders need to model stewardship principles and give their testimony.

Involvement

The more of your congregation you get involved in the various aspects of your campaign, the better the response will be to the campaign. Involvement produces ownership, ownership produces responsibility, and responsibility spurs financial support. It should be the goal of the church to involve as many people from the congregation as possible in some role in the campaign.

Executing a Capital Campaign in Your Church

A church's capital campaign is a carefully orchestrated event that will utilize the best practices learned from the thousands of churches that have gone before you in this endeavor. While the ultimate success of a campaign is dependent upon on the spiritual matters of prayer and teaching, the maximum benefit will be realized by following the best practices that have been developed over the years.

Your results will be greatly influenced by how well you follow the consultants recommendation. There are a timeline and proper steps to follow that will provide the best synergy between the emotional excitement and intellectual and spiritual understanding. Some purposes of some aspects of the capital campaign may not seem important to the church, or there may be something that the church does not feel comfortable in doing, like preaching and teaching stewardship. A consultant will insure that your church takes all the right steps in the right order to maximize the spiritual and financial benefits of a church capital campaign.

A church capital campaign is ultimately not about money, it is about helping people understand a kingdom need exists, understanding God's perfect plan of providence through stewardship, and, through teaching and prayer, calling people to the appropriate faith response .

If you would like to discuss our capital campaign consulting & training services. Please use our contact form or call us to discuss how AMI Church Consulting can help you with your capital stewardship campaign.