Take Your Medicine!
A GREAT CAPITAL CAMPAIGN NOT ONLY HEALS YOUR CHURCH, IT LEAVES IT BETTER THAN BEFORE

Most churches assume conducting a capital campaign is the only approach to a process often considered a necessary evil at best. As a pastor, I was conflicted by our need for a new facility vs. my natural aversion to pain. I still remember the angst.

It reminded me of my first dental appointment. There were few things in life that would drive me to this depth of masochism, the need for money being one of them (spiritual platitudes aside). With a stiff upper lip and whimpering held to a minimum (I was the pastor, after all), we entered in.

To my surprise, a catalytic event ensued — one that dramatically changed the spiritual landscape of our church. The capital stewardship process created an atmosphere in which individuals were encouraged to take personal inventory of their lives and then, instead of simply asking for donations for the budget or for a new building, challenged to coalesce around a compelling vision for our church.

Was it painful? Whenever people are asked to change priorities and value systems, an obvious inertia must be overcome, which always is accompanied by levels of discomfort. This was not, however, taking medicine to simply get well or to maintain status quo — this was exercising faith that produced new muscle for ministry. No longer the 98-pound spiritual weakling, the stewardship process was a workout regimen that created a discipline to trust God not merely in theory, but in the reality of serving Him over money.

Having worked with thousands of pastors, I have found my pastoral experience was the rule, not the exception. Capital campaigns aren’t about pain; they’re about God building something for the future. Frankly, the most important thing you build will have nothing to do with bricks and mortar.

Raise money or raise ministry?

Those who have served in any fundraising capacity might be skeptical of this question. They know executing the process can be much more arduous, and the results more mundane, than it seems. As with any physical exercise, however, working out the wrong way can cause more harm than good, even to the point of serious injury.

Unfortunately, almost everyone has seen things done the wrong way, or personally taken the wrong approach. How can this process infuse vitality into the spiritual health of the body and not deplete the body of energy?

It’s more about relationships than meeting needs

Hands extended, too many pastors get into the habit of begging and pleading for the needs of the Church to be met. While space and ministry needs are important, this scenario defines leadership as nagging others to simply perform a household function.

God’s people, on the other hand, are created to enjoy God in relationship, and biblical stewardship is an immediate opportunity to experience Him. Connecting to a God-given vision that inspires openness to trust God when exercising generosity, and connecting with fellow believers in the unity of the body, brings vitality and energy to a church. This is the capital stewardship process’s motivation.

In fund raising, the main goal is to raise funds to meet a need. While meeting the needs of others is one component of stewardship motivation, it can never stand on its own and still be Christian stewardship. Individuals can give to a multitude of causes that meet needs that are not even remotely Christian. While this might be philanthropic and good, it isn’t biblical stewardship. The goal of stewardship is to connect with God to realize eternal purposes. That goal inspires believers to trust in spiritual realities that invade the moment and, as a result, lead to extreme generosity. Because we have relationships with God, giving — like all disciplines — is about seeing and understanding Him. This is the Church’s distinction. Why lose it and raise funds just like anyone else?

Stewarding the vision of the Church

While connecting with God in relationship is the true motivation for stewardship, connecting with the body of Christ in the local Church becomes the target of the capital stewardship process. In fact, in a very healthy sense this process becomes a “line-in-the-sand” moment to connect a congregation to its vision. Few things in the life of a church will bring its people to the point of decision concerning the church’s future like the capital stewardship process.

Unfortunately, the Church often reflects the fragmented lifestyle that permeates our culture. Families fight the tyranny of overworked schedules and activities, with little time spent as a family unit. The postmodern church fights the same battle of communicating and involving a fragmented congregation. Few ministries in church life bring the majority of people together at the same time to contemplate a common vision for that congregation. Building consensus around that vision usually is left to bits and pieces of information, with little platform for true consolidation of the people around a common purpose.

Furthermore, fewer attendees begin their relationship with the Church out of a sense of calling. More and more church leaders are facing consumer driven congregations. Members ask, “What services does this church provide for my family and for me?” Discussions about vision fall on deaf ears because vision is someone else’s responsibility if members view themselves only as consumers.

The beauty of the capital stewardship process is it merges these elements into a deep connection of a compelling vision. Buildings are important, but they can never drive this process. Knowing the vision, intellectually, is the first step toward that connection, yet it only dangles, unfulfilled, in our minds until everyone in a congregation is challenged to resource it.

In short, the challenge is to move church members’ mentalities from “consumer” to “owner.” You must challenge individuals to know, pray and give, melting into God’s purposes for your church. In short, pastors must steward the vision God has given them as a people. Pulling together all these components is the unique grace of the capital stewardship process.

I don’t like medicine either, and I know there are no “miracle” tonics, physical or spiritual. Still, a regular dose of real stewardship — not the caricature — seems to be a very healthy, even invigorating experience for the church of Jesus Christ.

So open wide, and chase it down with living water from a well that never runs dry.