How Much Can We Raise?

Assessing Church Health and Wealth

by Jim Sheppard

Among the questions most frequently asked of our organization is, "How much can our church raise in a capital stewardship campaign?" Most church leaders are familiar with the rules of thumb that project capital campaign results on the basis of a multiple of budget income. A capital stewardship campaign is an interesting diagnostic tool for church leaders. Campaigns tend to measure and magnify the "condition" of the church in terms of passion, support and unity of vision. A capital campaign will quickly detect dissension and bickering within a church body, which in turn can give church and campaign leaders a unique type of physical and spiritual heartburn. Even the most savvy campaign consultant cannot remedy these types of internal ailments.

Spiritually and emotionally healthy churches, on the other hand, can use general guidelines to predict the amount of resources their capital campaign might raise. Judging by the experiences of Generis, sanctuaries, relocations, family life centers and educational facilities (particularly those involving children and youth) usually generate the strongest financial response: three-year commitments of 2-to-3 times the church's annual budget, and sometimes more. When the project relates to administrative space, parking, and land acquisition, the yield is usually smaller because the need is more practical than emotional. Debt retirement campaigns tend to yield the lowest results 1-1.5 times the annual budget.

Another key ingredient to a successful campaign: something termed a "major gift." Major gifts are typically three-year commitments to give $250,000 or more to a cause. During the early phase of the campaign, major contributors often pledge "lead gifts" that can be announced at the official campaign kickoff. The difference between churches that raise double their annual budget and those churches that raise triple or more, typically ties back to the number of "major gifts" that demonstrate solid support from the outset.

Judging support

Use these five fundamental indicators to assess potential support for a capital stewardship campaign.

• Indicator #1 - Clear vision of ministry
  Every church is called to make disciples, but what else is God calling your specific body of Christ to do in your community or sphere of influence? How does your capital campaign goal fit in with that vision? How aware are your church members of each of these issues? What is distinct about your church?
• Indicator #2 - Strong staff leadership
  Overall campaign accomplishments are closely tied to the strength and influence of the senior pastor and leadership staff.
• Indicator #3 - Strong lay leadership
  Strong lay leaders must be involved and proactive. They must believe in the vision of the ministry and the purpose of the project for which the capital funds will be used.
• Indicator #4 - Unity of leadership
  Staff and lay leadership at odds over the issues can cripple a stewardship drive. When both groups work in harmony with each other, focusing on the faith-raising aspect ahead of the fund-raising aspect, remarkable results generally follow. The most important requirement is for all leaders to be together with regard to the overall strategic direction of the ministry. In other words, I know churches that have solid lay leaders and staff leaders, but they are leading in different directions which sends mixed messages.
• Indicator #5 - Strong consensus as to the need for the funds
  By polling the congregation through "town hall" type meetings, listening sessions (or focus groups with a cross section of key leaders) and congregational surveys, you can determine if you have in excess of 75% support or higher. Committed members who love the church and pastor but do not believe in the project will not commit funds to make it happen.

Anything can happen

At this point, you might ask, "Where is the Holy Spirit in this analysis?"

Ultimately, all increase is from God. God-sized needs are filled by our mighty God on an hourly and global basis, so these guidelines are merely guidelines. Churches can certainly have successful giving campaigns without having all of these factors in place, but expectations should be lowered in most of those cases. A healthy church is less likely to quench the work of the Spirit. The potential wealth behind a potential campaign is most importantly tied to the health of the church considering such an endeavor.