Vision for Ministry
The Most Compelling Money-Raiser

By Ronald E. Keener

Choosing fund-raising counsel is one of the most important decisions of a church’s campaign when raising funds for a campus expansion. This month, in the third of a six-part series of interviews, Church Business® spoke with Ron Hayden, executive director of Tucson, Ariz.-based Callahan Stewardship Resources, in strategic alliance with Stewardship Coaching Service (of which Hayden is president).

A senior pastor for 23 years, Hayden has worked in ministry development for an additional 13 years, during which he estimates he has traveled 2 million miles and worked with 100 ministry organizations and 50 capital campaigns.

Ron Hayden: ‘Red lights’ exist when the vision is questionable, or if there’s lack of clarity, insufficient resources and serious unresolved issues. This is an unfriendly environment from which to reach maximum ultimate support. Good campaigns always begin with an accurate reading of the congregation; the leadership must be on the same note on the same page of music. The people must be prepared for the campaign’s purpose and process. Frequently asked questions must be discovered and answered thoroughly and correctly. Do the people trust the leadership and the church’s handling of finances?

The internal readiness of the church should be tested — what are the prospects for staffing the campaign, and who are the potential leaders? Will there be enough volunteers for the teams? What’s the potential funding capability compared to the cost of the project? Are the people enthusiastic? Are the influential members outside the elected or hired leaders being used? Unfortunately, church capital campaigns are prematurely launched all too often.

RH: There are components that comprise a “friendly fund-raising environment” for expansion support: (1) great vision-casting that enables the church family to imagine how the expansion project will advance ministry in the lives of people; (2) strong understanding of the project and how it will help to better deliver the mission of the church; and (3) the people believe that the overall finance plan for the project is prudent and doable.

RH: ‘Beyond Belief’ was the campaign theme in 2004 that energized the members of Sun Valley Community Church in Gilbert, Ariz., to make sacrificial gifts for increasing ministry impact through campus expansion.

The approved budget for 2004 was $771,000, and the campaign pledges are $1.3 million and rising. General fund giving during 2004 continued to increase — even during the campaign — resulting in giving that exceeded the budget by $130,000. Because of the campaign, financing is already in place to begin construction of the second building on their 9.15-acre campus. The building will be more than 50,000 square feet with fully equipped children’s area, larger worship center, chapel and additional classrooms and administrative space.

In a second example, Mountain Valley Community Church in Scottsdale, Ariz., entered into a capital-gifts campaign to ‘obtain [its] own home’ — heretofore existing in borrowed, rented or leased facilities. Still, the weekly attendance grew to 1,000 and the budget to $1 million. It became clear to church leaders that they had to move forward in faith to establish the foundation for relocation.

The campaign concluded with a Worship Extravaganza on the church’s tenth anniversary, when campaign commitments were received as an act of worship in the spirit of unity. More than $2.4 million has been committed, enabling the church to complete a finance plan to purchase a prime north- Scottsdale location. On Labor Day weekend last year, Mountain Valley held its first service in their very own home.

RH: There have been many churches who’ve had successful self-directed campaigns, but they’re the exception and not the rule and are probably the result of special circumstances not available to most churches.

The purpose of a capital campaign is to communicate the vision for ministry expansion in the most compelling way possible. This is a complex communication process for four reasons: First, capital campaigns seek to raise large sums of money, so you’ll find people are more attentive to the process than usual.

Second, people are being asked to pledge above and beyond their present giving for a relatively long period of time — usually three years. Third, the very nature of significant expansion fosters greater scrutiny of the decision-making process.

Fourth, and most important, a capital campaign is primarily a special form of high-touch, grassroots communication conducted in a personal environment.

Key messages are designed to align the church family around strategic ministry clarity through repetition, simplicity and multiple mediums. Many communication experts believe that only after hearing a message six or seven times does a person begin to internalize it.

People will sacrificially support only what they know and understand.

Even though Solomon was chosen by God to build the Temple, God gave David the responsibility for the great work of raising the resources because Solomon was ‘still young and inexperienced’ (I Chronicles 29:1). There’s great value in securing the services of someone who’s experienced in capital stewardship campaigns to guide your church through this unique process.

The top 10 benefits of hiring a campaign consultant or coach are: (1) support for the pastor and staff; (2) help in creating relevant initiatives; (3) broad experience, knowledge and judgment; (4) a step-by-step campaign plan tailored to the church; (5) an unbiased and independent perspective; (6) undivided attention; (7) innovation and new ideas; (8) a catalyst for growth; (9) supplement of needed skills and management; and (10) accountability.

RH: Very seldom. It’s generally accepted that self-directed church campaigns will raise about one-third of the potential support. Therefore, the cost benefit to securing the ministry service of someone who’s experienced is substantial.

RH: I refer to this testing of the congregation as ‘stewardship preparation.’ The results will sometimes tell the church leadership to slow down enough to allow the hearts and minds of the people to catch up with the hearts and minds of the leaders. The campaign itself can help align the congregation with the leadership but can’t be perceived as an alignment ‘cure-all.’ REK: What character and personal traits do you look for in the pastor of a church entering a campaign?

RH: A campaign will be more successful if the pastor is engaged enough to serve as a personal example for campaign-process support and sacrificial giving. Generally, this means at least five things: (1) hands-on involvement with campaignleadership recruitment; (2) attendance at selected key campaign team meetings; (3) sharing his personal commitment to the vision; (4) providing relational influence with selected key gifts; and (5) vision casting. The pastor’s involvement is best determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the unique context of the church and the pastor’s leadership priorities.

RH: Depending on the nature of the project and the size and number of major gifts, a general guideline for church campaigns is that a church will raise 1.5 to three times its annual budget over a three-year giving period. It’s also helpful to create a Summary of Needs designed to communicate the number and size of gifts needed to reach the goal. It should be done on a churchby- church basis, with the pertinent financial information of the particular congregation.

However, the Summary of Needs ‘model’ begins with accepted rules of thumb: first, that 30 percent of the total campaign commitments should be expected from less than 10 percent of the regular donors, with the single highest gift accounting for 10 percent of the campaign goal. Ninety percent of the campaign gifts usually will come from about 50 percent of the active donors (i.e., households that give $100 or more in a year).

RH: The rule of thumb often presented by financial professionals is that a church can design a project finance plan equal to four to five times the current annual giving. The finance plan normally would be a combination of a capital campaign(s) and prudent long-term debt.

Churches with sizable reserve funds, the ability to raise three times or more the current annual giving, and the willingness to borrow three to four times or more the current annual giving often exceed the accepted rules of thumb.

RH: Pastors should not be timid about the subject of money. 2 Corinthians 8-9 records the principles established by Paul for collecting money from the Gentile churches in aiding the poor believers in Jerusalem. Paul made sure the Corinthians knew the truth about money and giving.

Today, thorough teaching on true biblical stewardship is a neglected subject. Pastors often shy away from preaching about money. Even though stewardship relates to more than economics, believers can’t be good stewards if they don’t know and practice God’s wisdom about money: how to get it, spend it, save it, invest it, borrow it and give it.

When we teach about giving, we must not see ourselves as beggars standing on a corner with a tin cup, but as those who are following the Lord’s example of connecting God’s people to God’s work by staffing and funding Kingdom enterprises. The most successful capital campaigns are built on a platform of foundational truths about stewardship that are understood before the campaign ever begins.

Conduct a campaign that is ‘truly tailored’ to your church. Every church and ministry is unique; a ‘canned’ process will more than likely cause irritation at one or more points. Engage a professional who has the ability and time necessary to understand how you do ministry and can help to structure a process that looks like your church, sounds like your church, and feels like your church.

Avoid a premature launch of the campaign. The people must be prepared for the campaign’s purpose and process.

Ronald E. Keener writes from Mesa, Ariz., where he follows faith issues for the church in society and culture, church renewal and growth, and leadership and management. He is the former editor of Christian Management Report. Contact Keener at HealthyChurches@hotmail.com.