Tallowood Baptist Church

Houston, Texas

Challenge: Rebuild facilities to accommodate growth

By any measure, Houston's Tallowood Baptist Church has been a success in bringing its message of the Gospel to the diverse, multi-ethnic neighborhoods and communities in which it ministers, drawing an average of more than 2,000 parishioners to its services each week.

In recent years, however, steady growth had begun to stretch the capacity of its 1,350-seat sanctuary and its 10-acre campus, requiring Tallowood to offer parking shuttles from remote lots.

"We have really saturated our facility," explained Larry Heslip, Tallowood's administrator and minister of church education. "I don't know any other place in the country that packs as many people in a small space as we do."

Tasks: Construct a multi-year campaign that allows the church to remain

Though the leadership briefly considered relocating, they decided instead to rebuild their campus in order to better serve their growing congregation. "It would have cost twice as much to relocate as it was to rebuild," he added. "And from a relational aspect, we chose to stay because we were in the community, and ministering to the community -- we didn't want to leave."

With the help of Generis, the church began a $26.1 million capital campaign in August 2005 that will run through December 2008, one that focuses equally on the church's multicultural mission and its need for expanded facilities to fulfill that mission.

"We're in a neighborhood with all different ethnicities -- we're not skewed toward just one type of income or education level," said Heslip. "We want to be a place where anyone feels at home."

Solution: In the first year alone, a successful campaign

By the end of May 2006, Tallowood had already raised $18.5 million in pledges and gifts toward the campaign for a new sanctuary and 64,000-sq.-ft. church education facility for youth and adults. "We think we'll be able to grow to a little over 3,000 on Sunday mornings," said Heslip.

"If you reach two and a half to three times your annual income, it's a success," he added. "We really think we're going to exceed three times our annual income when all is said and done." The new facilities -- which are expected to be completed by the end of 2007 -- will help the church make great strides toward its goal of bringing its message to as wide an audience as possible.

"Ultimately, we want to mirror the ethnic blend of Houston and be an international congregation," said Heslip. "We're that now, but ultimately we want to reach everybody in Houston with the message of the gospel."

Individualized Guidance

Heslip added that of all the consultants Tallowood considered to assist the church in its campaign, Generis stood out as the firm that best understood its philosophy as well as its unique vision for the community.

"Generis was the best firm for us to deal with," he said. "Jim Sheppard and his staff were thoroughly professional. What worked so well was that their approach was really both spiritual and businesslike."