One of the greatest challenges I face is helping pastors plan their preaching for a capital campaign. I’m often asked how long a sermon series should run for a capital campaign. The answer depends upon many factors, but I have found that four to six weeks is the best length. The...
The following is reprinted with permission and can be found at https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/attracting-the-next-generation-of-donors The future of church giving is at a crossroads, demanding a strategic shift. Currently, most churches in America are heavily dependent on financial support from Baby Boomers, a generation that is now entering retirement. But what happens when...
“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...
The following is a page from my campaign planning sheet. Each church defines the Communications Team's makeup. For some, this is run by a staff member. For others, a layperson heads up the team. No matter the team's makeup, the following principles and tasks give you a broad overview of...
A few years ago, I was on a conference call with a church, thinking about starting a capital campaign. One of the leaders on the call asked me about common mistakes churches make regarding capital campaigns. I sat down and came up with seven mistakes that we found most common....
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...
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...
Success in a capital campaign begins by understanding that capital campaigns are different, not dead. The traditional capital campaign process was developed in the last century and, for the most part, has been left unchanged into the 21st century. That model revolved around organizing a multitude of various teams involving...
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...
Let me explain what I mean when I say leaders. As a stewardship guy, I’m thinking of raising funds. So, I want the top 15% of your donors to be present at any leadership meeting. Often, that net captures all your leaders. However, it might not catch the faithful retiree...
