Capital Campaign Overview

The following is a copy of what I hand church leaders in my first planning meeting with them. This is a great overview of the basic principles of a campaign. How this is fleshed out is church dependent. The following is my initial handout.

The overall mission of a capital stewardship campaign is to help cast the vision of your church campaign in a clear, concise, and compelling manner. The goal is to connect each segment of the church family to the vision so that their questions are answered and they are ready to make a willing, wholehearted commitment to the campaign.

The principal values to remember throughout this process are to:

• Share the vision of the church and how the project links to fulfill that vision;
• Tell the story of your church;
• Answer anticipated frequently asked questions;
• Inspire members about the vision;
• Encourage involvement in the church and the campaign;
• Challenge each church family member to commit to supporting the vision.

Values of a Successful Campaign—As you build a plan to bring maximum dollars to your church, you must focus on the key values that make up a successful campaign. We will focus not on a particular method but the value and then look for the best plan to communicate that value to the church family.

Vision Communication—Before anyone fully commits to a campaign, they need to fully understand what we are asking of them. They want to know what the dollars raised will be going for, and most importantly, they want to know how that will make a Kingdom impact.

Spiritual Connectivity—It is essential that members catch the vision for what we believe God wants to do through this campaign. Our hearts have to be inspired. We must see the link between the project, why we are raising dollars, and the church’s vision. We must spiritually connect the members to that vision that comes from God’s heart.

Leadership Track – We cannot expect the church family to join if your leaders are not on board. The following events will bring leaders up to speed and on board.

Leadership Summit—On this date, we hold an event to which key leaders are invited for fellowship and dessert. The pastor shares with the church leaders the vision of the new campaign and what it would accomplish for the church.

Early Commitment Process—This process’ purpose is Biblical and practical: Leaders should lead! Having leaders commit early will allow us to show the church family that we have great momentum, encouraging them to help finish the task. It will also model what a sacrificial gift looks like.

Commitment Sunday—The two key reasons for the Celebration Event are to celebrate the blessings of God upon the church and commit to the future of the church. At this event, we will ask the entire church family to commit to the campaign.