Campaign Duration

Some companies and consultants propose two and three-year campaigns. A longer campaign duration allows members both to give more and to leverage their gifts over a longer time period. A disadvantage is that many people find it difficult to anticipate expected income and financial liabilities beyond a few months into the future. Future economic uncertainty or current anxieties may limit participation in longer term campaigns.

Some churches have adopted an annual or semiannual emphasis on stewardship and giving. This could take the form of an annual one fund emphasis or a capital campaign to fund facility improvements. Churches without indebtedness sometimes use annual stewardship emphases to promote an annual love offering (e.g. “I Love My Church! Offering”) to fund important needs, ministry expansion, mission projects or facility upgrades.

Campaign Options

Church campaign consultants and companies exist to make the tasks of capital stewardship campaigns easier for pastors and their churches. While this arrangement works well for many churches, the cost can be high. Consider whether you can do the job with teams and volunteers that already exist in your church.

You know your congregation and local context better than anyone. You may need the benefit of a consultant’s experience to ensure a campaign’s success, but you may already have everything you need for a successful stewardship campaign. Consider the existing knowledge base that may already be present in your church:

• Business People – Your church already contains men and women who work in the banking, financial services and financial planning sectors.
• Managers – Experienced managers can assist with logistics and project details.
• Marketers – Church members or staff with some marketing experience can help identify the best ways to communicate the church’s capital needs and tell member stewardship stories.
• Graphic Designers – Mobilize volunteers to assist with graphic design and campaign presentation or you can easily hire local designers.
• Church Staff & Leaders – Church staff members can help manage a campaign. Church leaders can be a useful sounding board to identify church member questions and concerns about a stewardship campaign.
• Online Resources – Resources are available from Church Development and most capital campaign consultants listed below. Among other sources, peruse an archive of stewardship articles from Baptist Press.

If you decide to enlist the help of a capital campaign consulting and fundraising company, evaluate them on four points:

• Company
• Consultant
• Campaign
• Cost
  
  

• Experience & History – How long have they served other churches?
• Previous Campaigns – How many campaigns have been conducted for other churches? How many campaigns have been conducted for other churches of similar size, worship model and values?
• References – Ask for the last ten churches the company has worked with. Call them!
  
  

• Presentation of Material – Is the person making the initial presentation the one who you’ll be working with? If not, ask to re-schedule the initial presentation with that person. Your team’s comfort level with the consultant is the first key to a successful campaign.
• Knowledge – Does the consultant understand your church, its unique context and its needs?
• Accessibility & Compatibility – Do you have confidence in the consultant’s ability to get the job done with professionalism and integrity?
• Experience – Does the consultant have previous successful experiences with churches like yours?
  
  

• Biblical Basis – Are you comfortable with the scriptural integrity of the company, the consultant and the campaign?
• Customized or “Canned” Approach – Does the proposed approach resonate with your church and its context?
• Preparation & Planning – Is the proposed campaign well-organized? Does the implementation plan seem reasonable? Is there enough time to accomplish it?
• Giving Options & Follow-Up – After the campaign, the consultant will move on to other churches. How long and under what terms will he or she be available to you? What follow-up steps are laid out in the agreement?
  
  

• Fixed or Percentage – Will the company charge a set fee or will they charge a percentage of funds raised? Is there a limit on any percentage-based fee? Is there a minimum on any percentage-based fee? Vet the proposed agreement thoroughly and ask other leaders to anticipate objections or concerns.
• Fee Due Date – Many companies require that their final fee is paid early in the campaign process, usually within six months of the initial commitment Sunday. Be sure to understand the time frame for final payment of the company’s fee.
• Contract – Understand every detail of the contract before signing. Ask the church trustees, management team and/or deacons to review contract details. It’s always a good idea to have the church’s attorney review the contract before signing.
  
  

• Auxano Generosity Campaigns – P.O. Box 118, Chelsea, AL 35043, 800-894-0991
• The Gage Group – P.O. Box 2005, Colleyville, TX 76034, 800-684-4243
• Generis – 102 N. 85 Parkway, Suite B, Atlanta, GA 30214, 800-233-0561
• Horizons Stewardship Company – 183 Arena Road, Cabot, AR 72023, 501-843-9448
• INJOY Stewardship Solutions – P.O. Box 7700, Atlanta, GA 30357, 800-333-6509
• Shepherds Group – 3606 N. 156th St. Suite 101-320, Omaha, NE 68116, 888-834-9552
• The Timothy Group – 1663 Sutherland Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49508, 616-224-4060
• TLC Ministries – 1702 Indiana Avenue, New Castle, IN 47362, 800-473-5352