Three Things to Remember During Your Next Church Capital Campaign
- Churches often do not take time to celebrate and give thanks.You can’t overstate this one. Take time to stop, reflect and celebrate what God has done throughout the multi-year process as a church. This was a big project that was the culmination of a lot of planning, prayer and sacrifice. Remember to celebrate.
- There is a lack of pledge fulfillment. Sure, there is a lot of momentum created during the front end of the process.The project will ultimately stay front and center thanks to construction. Moving dirt and the construction process are exciting when progress is highly visible. Too often, progress reports and communication fall off the radar after construction. The continued financial need must stay front and center throughout the giving phase. Your church should expect to receive 90% to 100%+ of its commitment total with a proper follow up communication plan. Communicate the continued need to make sure everyone knows their gifts matter. If you do not communicate a priority, they will not see it as a priority. What good is it to raise $2 million and only receive 60% of those commitments? Create a plan that maximizes pledge fulfillment.
- Too many churches think short term. Think beyond the multi-year campaign and current building phase.Make future plans accordingly. Set up your next steps as a church. Dream. Use this campaign to initiate visioning for the next phase or stage of life for the church. What does God have next for you as a church? Always have a next step in mind whether its physical expansion or ministry expansion. Also, if there is any debt, don’t sit on it or kick the can down the road. Start developing a plan to get it paid down at a faster pace or eliminated quickly to free up more ministry funds. Unfortunately, some churches will forgo paying off debt and it hampers them down the line if they have another capital project or other ministry needs. Remember to think long-term.
About Impact Stewardship
With 25 years of experience, Impact Stewardship can help you prepare for this season of ministry and ask all of the right questions helping you put your best foot forward and meet your ministry potential. Please contact us if we can be of assistance.