For many churches, it is the season of the capital campaign that will help finance the construction of the church building. For the world, it is the season of horror as it celebrates Halloween (don't get me started on that track). For some unlucky few, it is the intersection of both - a capital campaign that turns out to be, if not a horror, then far less the spiritually and financially uplifting event that it should have been.
As a capital campaign consultant, I hear the good and the bad about church's experiences with their campaigns. Sometimes its enough to make you want to cry, or at least cry out in anger and frustration. Today I heard from a church who spent $50,000 on [just] capital campaign services from a well known consulting firm with a short name. The church did not feel they received the the promised or necessary attention or focus of their consultant. The church soon realized that the campaign was in trouble and when they reportedly contacted the firm, they were promised printed materials and follow-up visits, none of which materialized. The end result was the church was left much on its own and raised about 25% of what the consultants told them they could raise. The church is considering asking for some of its money back, as the consulting firm did not deliver on its promised services.
I hear variations of this sad song over and over, perhaps with a different refrain, but always the same chorus; "we paid a lot of money and feel we got very little personal attention for the money spent." Over and over again I hear churches say the results did not live up to the sales pitch. Churches that were wined and dined and inundated with fancy glossy sales packages often felt somewhat abandoned when it came to delivery. A word of warning - it seems that many firms are better at marketing than performing.
Before you get the wrong idea, I do NOT mean this as a condemnation of capital campaign services. A capital campaign is an effort that produces both spiritual and financial benefit! The church will typically experience much better spiritual and financial results when it hires a consultant. An experienced consultant should be able to tailor the best practices developed from other church's efforts into a capital campaign to meet an individual church's needs. Speaking from my own experience as both a client and a consultant, the church should get experienced outside help for its campaign. There are good consultants that can deliver entire completed campaigns for less than just the consulting fee charged by some of the "big firms".
I will also say that, regardless of the size of the company, the church should not "buy the company", it should "buy the consultant" . It's important to know your consultant and how many projects he or she will be working on at the same time as your project. It is also important to know the spiritual "fit". for as it says in 1 Thes. 5:12, we are to "know those who labor among you".
If you have your own capital campaign story, I encourage you to share it as a comment to this post.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Timing a Church Capital Campaign
Timing is critical for churches that want to execute a capital campaign, and preparation for a spring capital campaign needs to start the previous fall (and vice-versa).
A church's capital campaign has 5 phases and it is the third, or public phase, that most church people think of when they talk about a capital campaign. As you will see below, there are two other phases of the campaign that must happen first - and that means the church needs to be getting started in the fall.
A capital campaign takes time to prepare, committees must be formed, people trained, and all of the behind the scenes work to make the campaign happen have to happen before the campaign goes public. As a pastor who recently finished a spring campaign said, "If there was one piece of advice I would give about a capital campaign, it would be to give yourself plenty of time". While their church had a very successful campaign, their short timeline put a great deal of stress and burden on the staff.
The following is a sample time line for a 5 church capital campaign:
This phase can take from 3 weeks to 3 months, depending on size of congregation, method of church governance, availability of staff to the project, and other events on the church calendar. In this phase a general timeline is established, the director and executive committee members are considered and recruited based on job descriptions and gifting. Workers for the various teams or committees may also be solicited during this phase.
Phase 2 - Equipping & Preparation
This phase can last from 5 to 10 weeks, or often even longer. The shorter the time frame for completion, the more intense the effort. It is during this phase that recruitment of workers for the capital campaign teams is completed, training for the stewardship committee is accomplished, and much of the “behind the scenes” background work is completed. The more time the church allows for this phase, the easier it will be for everyone involved.
Phase 3 - Public Phase
It is this phase that most people think of when they conceptualize a capital campaign. This phase can last from 5 to 8 weeks, depending on the size of the congregation and other factors. The goals of this phase are to clearly communicate the need; clearly teach and model stewardship; and for everyone prayerfully consider how the Lord would them contribute to the campaign.
Phase 4 - Capital Campaign Wrap-up Phase
This phase will last from 1 to 3 weeks depending on size of congregation and method of collecting pledges. The major goals are: to have a celebration Sunday to give thanks and Glory to God; collect any remaining pledges; provide a final total to the church; send thank you letters; acknowledge and thank workers; and implement a plan and process to provide regular statements on giving.
Phase 5 - Pledge Collection & Follow-up
This phase consists of the tasks of collecting the monies pledged, providing regular statements to members for pledges received, making regular reports to the congregation on capital campaign pledge receipts, and integrating new members into the program.
Churches will typically raise about twice as much money by utilizing an outside capital campaign consultant than they will on their own. While some churches may be put off by the cost or idea of a consultant, it is easy to see that this is an investment that will pay for itself many times over. A church consultant will lead the church's capital campaign committee and help them apply the best practices that have been developed by the thousands of churches in their own capital campaigns over the decades. By getting started with their campaign at the appropriate time, the church will make it easier and more effective, not only for the capital campaign consultant, but for the church as well.
A church's capital campaign has 5 phases and it is the third, or public phase, that most church people think of when they talk about a capital campaign. As you will see below, there are two other phases of the campaign that must happen first - and that means the church needs to be getting started in the fall.
A capital campaign takes time to prepare, committees must be formed, people trained, and all of the behind the scenes work to make the campaign happen have to happen before the campaign goes public. As a pastor who recently finished a spring campaign said, "If there was one piece of advice I would give about a capital campaign, it would be to give yourself plenty of time". While their church had a very successful campaign, their short timeline put a great deal of stress and burden on the staff.
The following is a sample time line for a 5 church capital campaign:
- Planning & Recruiting: 3 weeks - 3 months
- Equipping & Preparation: 5 - 10 weeks
- Public Phase: 5 - 8 weeks (Elapsed Time 13 to 20+ weeks)
- Receiving Commitments: 1 to 3 weeks
- Collection & Follow-up: Typically 3 years
This phase can take from 3 weeks to 3 months, depending on size of congregation, method of church governance, availability of staff to the project, and other events on the church calendar. In this phase a general timeline is established, the director and executive committee members are considered and recruited based on job descriptions and gifting. Workers for the various teams or committees may also be solicited during this phase.
Phase 2 - Equipping & Preparation
This phase can last from 5 to 10 weeks, or often even longer. The shorter the time frame for completion, the more intense the effort. It is during this phase that recruitment of workers for the capital campaign teams is completed, training for the stewardship committee is accomplished, and much of the “behind the scenes” background work is completed. The more time the church allows for this phase, the easier it will be for everyone involved.
Phase 3 - Public Phase
It is this phase that most people think of when they conceptualize a capital campaign. This phase can last from 5 to 8 weeks, depending on the size of the congregation and other factors. The goals of this phase are to clearly communicate the need; clearly teach and model stewardship; and for everyone prayerfully consider how the Lord would them contribute to the campaign.
Phase 4 - Capital Campaign Wrap-up Phase
This phase will last from 1 to 3 weeks depending on size of congregation and method of collecting pledges. The major goals are: to have a celebration Sunday to give thanks and Glory to God; collect any remaining pledges; provide a final total to the church; send thank you letters; acknowledge and thank workers; and implement a plan and process to provide regular statements on giving.
Phase 5 - Pledge Collection & Follow-up
This phase consists of the tasks of collecting the monies pledged, providing regular statements to members for pledges received, making regular reports to the congregation on capital campaign pledge receipts, and integrating new members into the program.
Churches will typically raise about twice as much money by utilizing an outside capital campaign consultant than they will on their own. While some churches may be put off by the cost or idea of a consultant, it is easy to see that this is an investment that will pay for itself many times over. A church consultant will lead the church's capital campaign committee and help them apply the best practices that have been developed by the thousands of churches in their own capital campaigns over the decades. By getting started with their campaign at the appropriate time, the church will make it easier and more effective, not only for the capital campaign consultant, but for the church as well.
Captial Campaigns have gotten even more important due to the economic crisis; see this post about financing and church capital campaigns. If your church is interested in a cost-effective capital campaign that offers the flexibility to be anything from a DIY in-house campaign, to a full capital campaign consulting engagement, visit www.OurCapitalCampaign.com
Save This Page to del.icio.us
Save This Page to del.icio.us
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Church Seating - How Would Jesus Sit?
Pastor Dan Kimball of Vintage church posted an interesting history of pews and church seating. As he points out, pre-reformation, people did not sit in fixed seating. I chuckled when he painted the mental picture of the Last Supper in pews. Want to be a new testament church? Then get out of those pews and rows of locked chairs and get more relational in your gathering.
I attended a post modern service with multiple "stations" where you could take the Lord's Supper, pray at the foot of a large cross, pray with like-minded people, or enjoy the teaching of one of the pastors. While at first I found it a somewhat disconcerting experience, that quickly morphed to a one of a deep spiritual experience that I was sad to have come to an end.
We talk about churches being relational. Most churches today have the forced "meet and greet time" where we are all encouraged to turn, great and shake hands with someone. In my personal opinion its a somewhat shallow experience and not one that fosters true communication or relations. Then, after our 2 minutes of "relating", we spend the next 45 minutes looking at the back of their heads. Its no wonder that many wonder why they don't connect better with visitors.
Church seating fanning out nearly 180 degrees, with the pulpit as the center point, does at least let us see the faces of others that are worshiping with us. How uplifting it is to see the faces of people in true worship. And by being able to see each other during worship, we get to know people a little bit, even if somewhat removed.
So, back to my question, which is the title of this post. How would Jesus sit? We know that they used to sit together, sometimes even reclining against each other. I encourage us all to get outside the box and start designing sanctuaries and classrooms that are intentional in their design to create relationships with each other, and our Lord.
I attended a post modern service with multiple "stations" where you could take the Lord's Supper, pray at the foot of a large cross, pray with like-minded people, or enjoy the teaching of one of the pastors. While at first I found it a somewhat disconcerting experience, that quickly morphed to a one of a deep spiritual experience that I was sad to have come to an end.
We talk about churches being relational. Most churches today have the forced "meet and greet time" where we are all encouraged to turn, great and shake hands with someone. In my personal opinion its a somewhat shallow experience and not one that fosters true communication or relations. Then, after our 2 minutes of "relating", we spend the next 45 minutes looking at the back of their heads. Its no wonder that many wonder why they don't connect better with visitors.
Church seating fanning out nearly 180 degrees, with the pulpit as the center point, does at least let us see the faces of others that are worshiping with us. How uplifting it is to see the faces of people in true worship. And by being able to see each other during worship, we get to know people a little bit, even if somewhat removed.
So, back to my question, which is the title of this post. How would Jesus sit? We know that they used to sit together, sometimes even reclining against each other. I encourage us all to get outside the box and start designing sanctuaries and classrooms that are intentional in their design to create relationships with each other, and our Lord.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Capital Campaign Communication Materials
As a capital campaign consultant I understand the important role of communication materials. A church capital campaign is like a three-legged stool in that there are three foundational elements that need to be addressed: Intellectual, Emotional and Spiritual. The campaign materials that you create are an important element that help communicate the information and excitement of a capital campaign and provide an additional avenue to educate the congregation on the spiritual aspects of giving. The ultimate success of a church capital campaign is dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit moving people to make an appropriate faith response to a Kingdom need, not how well we speak or how fancy our materials. That said, if you are asking your congregation to give hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, you should provide communication materials that rise to the occasion.
As a part of my consulting services, I provide the graphic art design for all of the communication pieces. This offloads the church having to spend a huge amount of time and money getting someone to design quality materials. I am able to provide churches with a "menu" of over 150 themes, multiple logos and type faces and can offer a complete communications package in hours or a few days instead of weeks. The church campaign committee makes selections from a flexible "menu" of options and then supplies the text for each of the pieces.
I have delivered a complete set of printed capital campaign materials in as little as 4 weeks from the time the church first sat down to select their options. My secret? Catalyst Faithworks. They have a complete line of capital campaign materials with hundreds of themes, logos, fonts and templates of everything from commitment cards to 4-page brochures and newsletters. They provide the word count for each piece, the church supplies the text and as fast as the church can approve the proofs they can move it through their process and provide either camera ready artwork or they can coordinate printing and ship the completed campaign to the church. The provide the highest quality service and product and at a price that is a small fraction of what it would cost to create the materials from scratch. Before you ask, no this is not a paid endorsement - I really like the service and the people. Give them a call and ask if Steve at AMI Church Consulting services is a happy client.
Save This Page to del.icio.us
As a part of my consulting services, I provide the graphic art design for all of the communication pieces. This offloads the church having to spend a huge amount of time and money getting someone to design quality materials. I am able to provide churches with a "menu" of over 150 themes, multiple logos and type faces and can offer a complete communications package in hours or a few days instead of weeks. The church campaign committee makes selections from a flexible "menu" of options and then supplies the text for each of the pieces.
I have delivered a complete set of printed capital campaign materials in as little as 4 weeks from the time the church first sat down to select their options. My secret? Catalyst Faithworks. They have a complete line of capital campaign materials with hundreds of themes, logos, fonts and templates of everything from commitment cards to 4-page brochures and newsletters. They provide the word count for each piece, the church supplies the text and as fast as the church can approve the proofs they can move it through their process and provide either camera ready artwork or they can coordinate printing and ship the completed campaign to the church. The provide the highest quality service and product and at a price that is a small fraction of what it would cost to create the materials from scratch. Before you ask, no this is not a paid endorsement - I really like the service and the people. Give them a call and ask if Steve at AMI Church Consulting services is a happy client.
Save This Page to del.icio.us
Turning Around a Church Building Program Gone Bad
As the poet Robert Burns so accurately stated, "The best laid plans of mice and go oft awry.". Even more so, plans go even more awry when they are not so well laid, especially in church building programs. If your church building program gets into hot water, or never seems to get off the ground, it may be time to regroup, and that my mean getting some outside help.
Building programs that never really get off the ground are certainly not uncommon. I know of churches that have had regular meetings for years (the record is 11 years) without managing to build anything. I heard of another church that went on long enough to have 2 building committee chairs die in office. If your building program is much talk and little action , it will inevitably be found to suffer from one or more of these four conditions:
Lack of real need,
Lack of good process,
Lack of effective leadership, or
Lack of faith.
The first and last are between you and God. A good consultant can help with the other two.
A building program that is in hot water nearly always will get there through a lack of proper planning. The three biggest mistakes that churches make in this regard are unrealistic expectations, failure to count the cost, and failing to objectively understand their needs.
I have been a part of rescuing building programs that were stalled or in hot water. Depending on the situation, the church may need to back up and do a full needs and feasibility study or at least an assessment to see where the building program got off in the weeds and to make the necessary adjustments to get it back on track. Having an outside authority come in and lead the church though an analysis not only helps get the church building program back on track, but will also help restore the confidence of the church membership. This analysis may require changing the scope of the building program to one the church can afford, or it may just help highlight and confirm what the church felt it needed, but did not have the objective evidence on which to make an informed decision.
Save This Page to del.icio.us
Building programs that never really get off the ground are certainly not uncommon. I know of churches that have had regular meetings for years (the record is 11 years) without managing to build anything. I heard of another church that went on long enough to have 2 building committee chairs die in office. If your building program is much talk and little action , it will inevitably be found to suffer from one or more of these four conditions:
Lack of real need,
Lack of good process,
Lack of effective leadership, or
Lack of faith.
The first and last are between you and God. A good consultant can help with the other two.
A building program that is in hot water nearly always will get there through a lack of proper planning. The three biggest mistakes that churches make in this regard are unrealistic expectations, failure to count the cost, and failing to objectively understand their needs.
I have been a part of rescuing building programs that were stalled or in hot water. Depending on the situation, the church may need to back up and do a full needs and feasibility study or at least an assessment to see where the building program got off in the weeds and to make the necessary adjustments to get it back on track. Having an outside authority come in and lead the church though an analysis not only helps get the church building program back on track, but will also help restore the confidence of the church membership. This analysis may require changing the scope of the building program to one the church can afford, or it may just help highlight and confirm what the church felt it needed, but did not have the objective evidence on which to make an informed decision.
Save This Page to del.icio.us
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)