First of all, what even is a Church Capital Campaign?
We define a church capital campaign as any kind of generosity initiative that is going to require significant capital to be raised above and beyond regular giving and normal tithes and offerings.
Whether your church is looking to build a new building, go from a portable location to a permanent one, build a new campus or site, retire debt, or any other kind of large project – a capital campaign is worth thinking about.
“So….. is a capital campaign just a fundraiser?….”
While many might say yes, we believe that in a truly successful capital campaign, people go on a spiritual journey that helps them connect to the generous heart of God.
God then moves in the hearts of people, making them generous, and fully-fund your church’s mission and vision.
The key phrase here is, “spiritual journey”.
We believe that a capital campaign is more than just about money, it’s about seeing people’s lives changed and transformed.
So….. is your church looking to raise some significant capital?
At INJOY Stewardship Solutions, we want to help you CRUSH your next capital campaign.
And to do so, we created a 4-part process to a successful capital campaign taken directly from I Chronicles 28-29.
Each step is essential for a great campaign.
We unpack each of those steps below.
Vision clarity is the number one determining factor in a campaign’s success.
In the Vision Clarification portion of our campaign strategy, our consultant helps craft a customized capital campaign alongside the leadership team of your church.
There are two distinct components of the Vision Clarification process that produces a unique campaign experience: Environmental Assessment and Financial Analysis.
Through Vision Clarification, your church is able to construct a campaign that captures your church’s culture, and God’s vision for the future.
Everything rises and falls on leadership, including the success of a capital campaign.
During the Leadership Development phase of our campaign strategy, we help unify, develop, and deploy leaders as carriers of God’s vision for the church.
This is accomplished a number of ways.
Through the Leadership Development portion of our campaign strategy, we help ensure the leaders in your church are unified and prepared for what God has called you all to do.
In the Going Public phase, the initiative is brought before the entire congregation through a variety of channels, including, for example, targeted communication, small group studies, Sunday School lessons, and a sermon series.
This helps everyone in the congregation understand what God wants to do through your church, and equips them participate in the campaign by helping them take personal journeys of faith and sacrifice.
The Going Public phase of the campaign initiative is the culmination of months of hard work and prayer, leading to praise, celebration, and momentum.
The fourth and final phase of our campaign process, Followthru, is vitally important, as it helps people walk in faithfulness to what God laid on their hearts during the Going Public phase, and ensures the financial goals set at the beginning of the campaign by your church are met, and even, exceeded.
We accomplish this a variety of ways.
At INJOY Stewardship Solutions, we work with you to develop a customized, vision-driven capital campaign that is modeled after the four-step process laid out in 1 Chronicles 28 and 29 and captures the heart of God for your church’s future.
Your people will be taken on a spiritual journey of generosity so they give out of obedience to God, and become more fully-surrendered followers of Christ.
People are often confused about what the defining moment of a capital campaign is; what makes a capital campaign successful?
Many pastors and church leaders think it is the Commitment Event.
When people bring their pledges or intentions as a measurable expression of the work God has done in their hearts, that is a very significant moment.
But, that is not the defining moment.
Others think it is when the permitting process is approved, and ground is broken.
The ball is rolling, and things are beginning to take shape.
This is without a doubt a significant moment of celebration, but not the defining moment.
What about when you finally get into your building, or burn your bank note?
This is the starting line; now, ministry can be facilitated as God is calling your church to do so.
Therefore, this is a significant moment, but is not the defining moment.
So, if none of these important events is the defining moment, what is?
A life walking with Jesus is a life marked by continual surrender to Him.
As we become more like Him, we begin to live more generous and open lives, because that’s Who He is.
Therefore, the defining moment in a campaign may look something like this:
Those singular moments, multiplied a dozen, a hundred, or even thousands of times at your church, are the campaign’s defining moments.
Why? The kitchen table conversation is the expression of how God has changed a human heart during the campaign.
The dorm-room prayer is evidence God has built something far more than brick and mortar.
The moment of surrender in the businessman’s life shows a life now marked by faith, generosity, and sacrifice, rather than greed.
The ripples of those moments will be felt for years, even after the giving period has concluded, and the building’s new smell has worn off.
So, enjoy the Commitment Event, because a lot of hard work and prayer went into it.
Celebrate the permit process, and the construction of your facility.
Soak in the new paint smell.
And give praise to God for the hundreds and thousands who will give their lives to Him in the new building.
But never forget, this is all the result of a defining moment when one or two individuals bowed before God, with open hands and open hearts, and asked Him what He would have them do, trusting Him to provide as they surrendered and sacrificed.
At INJOY Stewardship, our primary job is to work with your church to see as many defining moments happen as possible, because that is where true life-change takes place.
Define success, and invest appropriately.
In order for your church to craft a successful capital campaign, you must first define success.
While each church may differ slightly in their approaches to success, a successful capital campaign is defined by making disciples (Matthew 28:16-20).
We see this achieved through personal stories of life change, an expanded leadership base at the church, maximum participation from the congregation, and maximum dollars raised.
Through partnering with thousands of churches, we have noticed five qualities of churches that see this type of success in their capital campaigns.
Everything rises and falls on leadership.
Successful campaigns increase the capacity of current leaders, and help identify new leaders.
Many pastors tell us they identified their next several staff hires during the campaign!
It is important to quickly point out simplicity doesn’t mean it’s easy!
Sometimes it is more difficult to do the work to keep things uncluttered and simple. Simplicity is clarity.
If the leader is passionate about their campaign, and confidently proclaims the vision, a campaign has a tremendous chance of succeeding.
If the leader views the campaign as task they are obligated to do, there is little chance of a successful capital initiative.
When church leaders help their people win with all the money God has provided them, a spirit of partnership rises up.
The entire church knows the leadership team cares greatly about the funding and accomplishment of the God-given dreams of each individual.
The old statement rings true: “Help enough people get what they want, and they will help you get what you want.”
When a campaign is the top focus, it cannot be lost in the day-to-day ministry of a church.
It also helps ensure maximum participation.
However, if an initiative is forced to compete with ten special offerings, and five special events unrelated to the campaign, the campaign will suffer.
We are committed to staying with your church throughout the entire campaign process, doing all we can to serve your church with integrity and excellence.
We would love to discuss your needs and timeline and help you on your church’s capital campaign journey.
If you would like to speak to one of our consultants, click the button below and someone will be in touch with you in the next 24 hours.