In part two of our series Healthy vs. Wealthy, we will discover how a capital campaign helps you engage your audience. All too often excess focus is given to money or necessary funding as the ultimate goal of a church’s capital campaign. In our previous blog we discussed how church leadership should not be short-sited and only consider monetary needs when entering into such an important season for their church. Instead, a deeper question should be pondered, “What can be gained from planning your next campaign well?” Much can be gained from a campaign conducted with the right priorities.
Here are some additional key non-monetary goals every church needs to aim for:
#3 An opportunity to engage all generations. The church today ministers to a generationally diverse congregation and community made up of Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, Silent Generation and beyond. Furthermore, each generation possesses equally diverse experiences that shape their preconceptions, attitudes, and relationship with money. Each generation is motivated in such different ways it is critical to consider how each process communication and information. Creating a communication strategy to reach all with the message of faithful stewardship, yet customized to each group remains a key challenge facing the church. A capital campaign is a wonderful opportunity for church leaders to internalize and develop a holistic communication to engage and educate all generations from 5 to 105.
#4 An invitation to involve a larger amount of its people. One of the greatest things church leaders can do for their people is not try to handle all aspects of the campaign themselves. Instead, they are encouraged to delegate. One thing I have learned in 17 years of church consulting is that when churches involve a greater number of its people in the process, everyone wins. Too often a church leader believes running a campaign with only a small pool of 3-5 people is all that is needed. We warn churches to avoid only circling around this pool of 3-5 individuals, which usually include the Pastor and key staff. Keeping the circle of involvement smaller leads to burnout and can have disastrous results for the entire church. As we know, most church leaders don’t need any more put on their plate. Therefore, by delegating and letting others be involved, a larger percentage of your congregation shares in the narrative of your church. By allowing more individuals to work together toward a common goal assists in communication, buy-in, and sustainable involvement well after the campaign is complete.
#5 An infusion and addition of new leadership in the church. As mentioned above, at the conclusion of the campaign, one of the greatest benefits is often new leaders empowered with vision and determination to assist and lead in the church. When many are involved in the campaign in key areas, such as education, media or activities, they will need to involve some assistants on their teams from their different relational spheres of influence. These assistants often may have never been given an opportunity to serve in such a role at their church. These individuals step up and are new blood that can be injected into your pool of leadership.
