Maximizing His Resources to Accomplish His Vision
No one can control the rain. Only God. Rain is essential for growth and renewal, the creator provides the rain.
God never intended churches to raise money. Clearly, money is essential to build ministries, reach people, and spread the Good news of Jesus Christ. In the life of a church, money is essential for growth and renewal, but the creators plan is that He provides those resources. His will is not to raise money but for Him to lower the resources we need from His hands to ours. Just as God controls the rain, He controls the money. We must depend on God to meet our financial needs.
All my life I was taught we have to raise money for God. Then God led me to understand that it is not His plan for us to raise it, because He already has it. We must lead His people to get in position to receive it. Many use the word “campaign” when they describe the process for funding projects. “Campaign” denotes a specific time period with a beginning and an end. PCC believes that giving is an act of worship and does not have a beginning or an end. It is on this principle that I founded Partners in Church Consulting. PCC does not produce a run-of-the-mill “campaign”; we prepare a giving plan that your people own. This plan can propel your church beyond the parameters of your current project. What a dream it would be if you had to tell your people to stop giving because you have more than enough, just like Moses did in Exodus 36:5-7.
Rain is abundant. God’s resources are abundant. He has all we need; all we have to do is teach our people to give His way. Here’s our plan to do that:
STEP 1: Design Giving Emphasis and Develop Calendar.
Your church is unique! The design of your campaign should be just as unique. This process involves a one to two-day planning session to create a unique giving emphasis for your church. It includes beginning the process of choosing a title, developing a calendar, and designing the Kick-off, Commitment, and Celebration Sundays. A detailed strategy will be developed to inform your congregation about your project through small group meetings, banquets, rallies and your regularly scheduled meetings and organizations. It also involves designing a plan to spiritually challenge your people through a prayer strategy, Bible studies and your worship services. Through this process you will also determine the leadership team needed for your campaign.
STEP 2: Enlist and train Leadership Team.
Once the design is complete, the strategist will return to your church and conduct an orientation for your Leadership Team. He will then meet with each of them one-on-one to train them in their specific responsibilities. The orientation is not only a training time but a time of vision casting, team building and spiritual motivation. They will be given a detailed timeline of their duties and a clear understanding of how their responsibilities relate to the project as a whole. This visit usually can be accomplished in two days. The strategist will also assist in future visits by:
- Providing giving program samples and resources
- Continuing to train and coach campaign leadership
- Training the telephone team
- Training host for small group meetings
- Coaching the Sr. Pastor and other leaders on their campaign presentations and activities
- Coaching leadership in producing printed and video material
STEP 3: Public presentation of Vision And call to Commitment
The "public" aspect of your capital campaign involves 5-8 Sundays. The primary purpose is to cast the vision God has put before your congregation and call your people to commitment. A prayer strategy is at the heart of this phase of the emphasis. The culmination of this phase is Commitment Sunday.
STEP 4: Development and implementation of Follow-up strategy
The number one complaint against fundraising companies is poor follow-up. One reason for this is that companies assign new consultants to follow-up duties as a training ground. The PCC consultant who leads you in your campaign will be the consultant who leads your follow-up. 60 to 90 days after you Commitment Sunday, your consultant will meet with your follow-up director and staff to design a follow-up strategy. He will then work with you throughout the giving period to ensure the strategy is executed.
Through onsite visits or video conferences ( a combination of both) PCC can design a plan to equip you, your staff, and volunteers to safely lead your church with excellence.