Community Church of Southport

Southport, Indiana

Challenge: Raise needed funds for church relocation

Twenty years ago, when Community Church of Southport first purchased the land on which its current sanctuary stands today, the leadership anticipated that its facility was a pioneer in an area that would later welcome an expected boom in residential growth.

Instead, the area had developed over the years into more of an industrial zone thanks to the expansion of a nearby hospital. To truly fulfill its mission of serving the 275 families that make up its membership, church leaders and the congregation agreed that a move nearer its residential base was needed.

Tasks: Connect the campaign to the church's spiritual mission

Mounting a capital campaign of any size was a major undertaking for the Southport, Indiana congregation, explained senior pastor Tom Madon. "Finances here have been kind of low key," he added. "We don't even pass offering plates, we just have offering boxes for people to give as they choose."

Generis consultant Rusty Lewis worked with both the church's staff and lay leaders to construct a message for the campaign around the theme of "building faith, shaping generations," which was focused on the five priorities the church had long shared: worship, discipleship, fellowship, service and outreach.

"Philosophically, Generis was on the same page as we were," said Madon. "When Rusty Lewis talked about challenging people not with an amount, but challenging them to pray and ask God what that amount should be, we liked that. That was a significant part of it all."

Solution: A successful campaign, with renovations underway

The campaign, which took place from October through early December 2005, resulted in $1.5 million in pledges for the church, nearly three times its annual budget. "We just had our official groundbreaking [in June 2006], and site preparations are now underway," said Madon, adding that the church's new 43,000-sq.-ft. facility is expected to be completed in a year's time.

Individualized Guidance

Madon said that of all the help that Generis provided throughout the campaign, perhaps the most important contribution was the leadership Lewis offered. "I remember once he said that leadership is enabling people to do something greater than they could have been able to do by themselves," he said.

"I told Rusty after the campaign was over, that's what I think Generis enabled us to do," he added. "We'd never been down that road before and when all was said and done, that's what Generis enabled us to do -- significantly better than we could have done by ourselves.”