A church-wide capital campaign (to be blunt, a money-raising effort) can be utilized for many different purposes. A campaign may include everything from small projects like buying a new van for the youth group to massive endeavors like purchasing a new facility or paying down debt on an existing facility. But a capital campaign can be fraught with numerous pitfalls and ways to fail.
I have a unique perspective in that I’ve been a part of capital campaigns without outside resources and part of a capital campaign with the help of outside resources. The bottom line is that there really was no comparison. I’ve experienced moderate success in capital campaigns at a smaller level but some of the above pitfalls were also part of the equation. Just standing up in front of the church and saying, “We’re going to raise money for a new education facility,” might be effective, but almost never. Why? Because the communication, thought-process, discipleship, and momentum necessary to sustain that effort has an extremely high probability of failure. And you could find yourself with a 15-year-old building fund that never quite got off the ground.
Imagine being a family with small children and the whole family gets excited and supportive of the church saving for a new Sunday School education facility. But lack of communication, goal-setting, and organization results in a decade flying by without a significant move forward. Suddenly, some of the children excited about the Sunday School addition are graduating from high school and no longer interested.
Thus, once a leadership team decides to pursue a capital campaign, they ought not to “wing it” so to speak. I have only personally experienced outside help from one source, so that is the only one I can recommend, but I can recommend it highly. Dr. Rod Rogers of Abundant Giving (rod@abundantgiving.com and www.AbundantGiving.com) was an absolutely amazing resource for our church situation. Rod is a seasoned pastor and veteran of many capital campaigns personally. What I most appreciated about his program is not just the vast organization and resources he made available, but the thoroughly spiritual and heart-centered approach he recommends to beginning a capital campaign. Through his help, our church was able to start from scratch and purchase and new facility in just under 3 years. This campaign didn’t just build our facility savings, it was a time of spiritual growth and maturity for the whole church.
