It’s Not Fund Raising It’s Faith Raising
Last week, I told a story of a pastor I once worked with who explained to his leaders that the upcoming capital campaign wasn’t a fund-raising campaign but a faith-raising campaign. I want to further flesh that out in this Coach, entitled It’s Not Fund Raising It’s Faith Raising. Last week, I defined fundraising versus […]
The Power of the Pulpit
The average church member spends one and a half hours at church, including worship. I remember seeing that statistic a few years before the Chinese virus hit our shores. Post-COVID studies are showing an even greater decline in church engagement and attendance. This is why, when raising capital dollars, one of a pastor’s greatest tools […]
The Fourth C
“If you want your members to catch your vision, you will need to tell them that vision seven times, seven different ways.” That was the advice that my first capital campaign consultant gave me way back in the 20th century. With your members getting blasted with over 3,000 marketing messages daily, it’s even more true […]
Capital Campaign Boot Camp
If you keep doing what you have always done, you will not get what you always got. That’s one of my Brooks Mantras for Stewardship. As we entered the 21st century, it dawned on me that our methods for raising capital dollars were antiquated and becoming increasingly ineffective. The classic approach to capital campaigns was […]
Leading Leaders to Lead
Leaders first. Never announce a major change of ministry direction or a new building plan from the platform on a Sunday morning that you have not first announced to your leadership. That is a mantra I preach to every Senior Pastor that I help raise capital dollars. Why? Let me give you one practical reason. […]
Setting Realistic Goals
“Do you want a sales answer or the truth?” Once, I was interviewed by a church that wanted to hire a stewardship partner for its capital campaign. The Executive Pastor asked me how much I thought they could raise in their next campaign. At that point, the church had done three consecutive campaigns in a […]
It Starts With a Vision
If you want to raise significant dollars in a capital campaign you must realize It Starts With a Vision. That is the title of this Coach and the key to a successful campaign. I’m starting back my series on how to do your own capital campaign, entitled Giving Away the Farm. For the next few […]
The 4th of July Giving Coach
July 4th is days away, and in this Coach, I will help you devise a plan to increase giving! I’m taking a break from my series on capital campaigns to focus on this issue, entitled The 4th of July Giving Coach. If you have followed me for any length of time you know that I […]
Identifying the Common Mistakes in Project Planning
“You never have to recover from a good start.” My mentor in capital campaigns, Dave Sutherland, drilled that statement into our heads on the importance of planning out a campaign. 99% of campaign mistakes could have been avoided during the planning phase of the campaign. A big part of being a campaign consultant was helping […]
Putting the New Back in “New”
How old is your “new” fellowship hall or your “new” children’s wing? For the typical church, putting the tag “new” in front of any building simply means it was the last structure built or renovated. For many churches, their “new” whatever was built in the last century! One of the most under-reported needs of churches […]