HOW TO DO IT

Up to this point you have reviewed general information on completing a Prayer-Oriented Home-Group approach to a Church Capital Campaign. If your interest is in getting an overview of this approach you can now file this website away for future reference. If you are considering completing a building campaign in the foreseeable future, please be aware there are numerous details that need to be strictly followed. It is human nature to assume you can improve any process with a few personal changes. Resist that temptation. I spent my entire career seeking and occasionally trying modifications to this plan only to find out that following the basics is always the best idea. I’ll point out the areas that can be personalized to your congregation, but the best results can be achieved by not skipping any details.

Initial Organization

If you are the first in your congregation to come across this website you will have some leadership responsibilities. Read through the entire website before attempting to describe it to others. Much of this approach may sound too good to be true to church leadership who are considering a $30,000+ fundraising consultant. Upon first hearing the concept you may get
“Yeah-But” reactions. Most of the initial concerns are addressed in the first part of this website. You can have the answers before the questions arise. The entire approach is as easy as it sounds as long as you stick to the plan. Once you are thoroughly versed on the details, ask for an opportunity to present this plan to your church’s leadership. Several days before your presentation to the leadership, send a brief email to your church leadership directing them to this website. Many people will not have read through the website prior to your meeting, but a few will have briefly reviewed it. This group could be your Elders, Trustees, Board of Directors or comparable group. If the concept is well received, make arrangements for everyone in a leadership position to have the website address. No financial investment is required; only an investment of time to consider this approach. Even if it seems obvious, pray about this commitment to be sure you are in God’s will. Discuss the general concept and if consensus is reached make a commitment as a group to explore this approach in detail. Allow a few days for everyone to read the website and come up to speed.

Leadership should remind each other that this approach has no One-On-One solicitation and all gifts will remain strictly confidential. Solicitations will be between the donor and God. Remember God is much better at this than any of us.

A Prayer Warrior Team

A Prayer Warrior Team should be the first recruitment goal of the leadership. This prayer team should have a chairperson and a few members. A group of a half a dozen could work well. This team could be bigger, but should remain a manageable size as they will be active through the entire campaign. Each prayer team will develop somewhat differently, but the goal will be the same. God will have the solicitation role in this campaign. Every prospective donor, with God’s guidance, will need to decide what they should give. That decision will not be based on their own personal evaluation, but rather on prayer seeking God’s guidance. All operational decisions should also be based on God’s guidance. This will require operating on faith as there will constantly be pressures to get off track. We all need God’s guidance on a continual basis to do our best. I recommend that this prayer team meets every time the leadership team meets. They do not need to be in the same building, but as the leadership makes decisions on materials, recruitment and timing they need to know they are being supported with prayer. There is much power in prayer; often far more power than church leadership realize. The results of this prayer team will be real and visible. The secular world may say there were favorable coincidences. As Christians, we know it is more than just good luck.

The chairperson of this Prayer Warrior Team needs to maintain contact with the church leadership so they know what to pray for through the campaign. The prayer team does not pick out the colors for the Case Statement brochure, but they do seek God’s guidance for everyone working out the details.

The Campaign Accountant

The Campaign Accountant is the next key recruitment of the leadership. This may be your Church Treasurer or it may be a new volunteer position. Confidentiality is a key part of this campaign and the person in this position must be respected by the entire congregation as having the ability to maintain confidentiality. In a very real way this person has the responsibility of properly handling the “Knowledge of Good and Evil”. There can be no exceptions. Someone will want to know what Charlie gave. The Campaign Accountant (and their staff in a larger church) will need to be able to keep a secret. The temptation can be great, but no one knows what any individual gives except the Campaign Accountant. The minister, trustees, elders or even the richest guy in the congregation does not get to know who gave what. One exception can destroy credibility, so it is important to not have any exceptions.

The responsibilities of the Campaign Accountant go far beyond the completion of the small group meetings. Collections may go over five years thus the campaign accountant needs to keep information confidential for that entire period and beyond. Over that period, reminders of the status of pledge payments need to be sent two, three, or at the most four times a year. It is not necessary to pressure people to pay their pledges, but a gentle reminder will help keep collections on schedule. Changes happen over multiple years so it is wise to plan on 20% of pledges not being collected. That’s true regardless of how pledges are obtained. Don’t worry, just factor this into your planning.

I sat in at an Elders meeting once when they were deciding who should be the be the Campaign Accountant. They quickly agreed, “That needs to be Steve”. Steve had the complete trust of both the leadership and the congregation.

When the congregation learned that Steve would be the only person to see individual gifts there was universal acceptance that 100% confidentiality would be maintained. It is very important that you find your Steve.

The Home Group Meeting Scheduler position

The Home Group Meeting Scheduler position may not even be required. If your church has home groups that meet weekly the campaign can be completed as a 20-minute section of these meetings. Church members that are not a part of a home group can be invited to the home of the Minister or an Elder for their presentation. Shut-ins or anyone else that cannot attend a small group meeting can be addressed on an individual basis by the Minister or an Elder. This presentation follows the same agenda as a small group meeting. Make sure there are no surprises. Tell people ahead of time that you will be coming over to talk about the Capital Campaign and get their confidential giving decision. At this meeting review the Case Statement, show the video, and give them a pledge card and an envelope.

Remind them that no one except the Campaign Accountant will see their pledge. Don’t leave anyone out of this process. Even if you expect a pledge of $1 it is still their church and they deserve to be involved.

Architect and General Contractor

Architect and General Contractor

discussions can begin at this time to get the most basic cost of the building you are considering. No commitments are necessary at this time, but a general idea of cost will be helpful in determining the feasibility of the project.

There are companies who specialize in building churches and they have learned through extensive experience. They can be a valuable resource through the entire process especially since local contractors most often have limited experience determining the special needs of a church.

Goal Setting

Goal Setting can then be established by considering initial estimates of cost vs all income sources including the sale of the existing facilities and land. Goal Setting is not as crucial with this approach since it is not used as a major motivator for giving.

Everyone attends a small group meeting, turns in a pledge card, and the campaign is complete. There is no passing the basket again to reach a goal.

A Feasibility Study

A Feasibility Study is often recommended at this time. Feasibility Studies are usually completed by fundraising consultants to determine how much could be raised. While feasibility studies may look complex, they really just ask the following question of anticipated major donors.

“If we conduct this campaign, approximately how much could you give?” I recommend skipping this step as it can easily be replaced by a Pacesetter Campaign.

A Pacesetter Campaign

A Pacesetter Campaign can now be completed to determine the feasibility of generating enough money to complete the building project. A leadership group consisting of the Board of Trustees, Elders, the Campaign Accountant, and selected leaders within the congregation, is invited to the church for what amounts to your first small group meeting. This group would be told a few days in advance what would happen at the meeting including collection of pledge cards at the end of the meeting. The chair of the Elder Board describes the general building plan, distributes pledge cards and envelopes and asks everyone to make their confidential pledge. The Campaign Accountant then takes all the envelopes into another room and totals them. Upon returning to the main meeting room the Campaign Accountant announces the total of this Pacesetter Campaign. This process gives the same information as a feasibility study, but without that extra step or fundraising consultant expense. If the total of these pledges is over 30% of your goal a successful campaign may be feasible. If the total at this point is 5% of your established goal, you may want to postpone the campaign until situations change.

If you determine it would not be wise to continue the campaign at this time, the Campaign Accountant will destroy all the pledges and the campaign will be deferred until a later date. If the total indicates a campaign is feasible, the first small group meeting is complete. The total of the Pacesetter Campaign (not individual gifts) will be announced to the entire congregation to encourage their giving.

A Decision to Proceed

A Decision to Proceed or not can now be determined. At this point no money has been invested and no pledges have been collected. Campaign leadership is in place and there is a universal understanding of the approach to be used. You are now ready to develop campaign materials.