7 REASONS YOU NEED A

B E F O R E Y O U L A U N C H

A CAP I TAL CAMPAIGN

Tony Morgan & Joel Mikell

COMPELLINGVISION

I N T R O D U C T I O N — Yo u r N e x t C a p i t a l C a m p a i g n I s O p t i o n a l

R E A S O N 1 — Yo u M u s t A n s w e r T h i s Q u e s t i o n ( W i t h a S t r a i g h t F a c e )R E A S O N 2 — Yo u N e e d M o r e T h a n G o o d I n t e n t i o n sR E A S O N 3 — Yo u M u s t L i v e B y I tR E A S O N 4 — Yo u H a v e t o R e v e a l a B e t t e r F u t u r eR E A S O N 5 — Yo u N e e d S o m e S e c r e t S a u c eR E A S O N 6 — Yo u M u s t B e A b s o l u t e l y C e r t a i n A b o u t Yo u r N e x t S t e pR E A S O N 7 — Yo u N e e d t o D e m o n s t r a t e Yo u r U n w a v e r i n g C o m m i t m e n t

C O N C L U S I O N — Vi s i o n A l i g n m e n t W i l l E n g a g e a n d I n s p i r e O t h e r s t o P a r t i c i p a t e

N E x T S T E P SA B O U T T H E A U T H O R SO T H E R R E S O U R C E S F R O M R S I

TabLE Of CONTENTS

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No one feels the sense of urgency or responsibility like the leader to build and expand, but

you can’t transfer that simply through messaging from the platform or great online marketing.

It simply won’t get you to the finish line.

You must engage and inspire people to join you in an effort to bring to life God’s desire for

your church. While you may be absolutely convinced that a capital campaign is the most

logical next step, you must balance that confidence with the knowledge that this is a step you

can’t take alone.

Not everyone in your church understands and buys into your vision—yet. Sure, there are some

who are 100 percent invested. But many others are simply busy or distracted. What will you

say to them? How will you capture their attention?

If you’re going to get enough people on board to fully fund your next capital project, you

can’t overlook one of the most undervalued and overlooked roadblocks to ministry funding—

presenting a compelling vision that inspires and engages everyone. You’re going to have to

dive deep into the why before you start unpacking the what or how.

People want to know your church has a vision, and they want to see tangible results. Yes,

givers are inspired by ideas, but you need more than good ideas. What will truly captivate

INTRODUCTION

Your Next Capital Campaign Is Optional

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the people in your church is when inspired ideas are coupled with a strategy and plan. That

combination will move people to get involved and help bring a clear and compelling vision into

reality.

If you have a vision for the future that requires additional financial resources, you can leverage

that vision to inspire people to invest their lives. When they invest their lives, their resources

will come along with them. But until you present a vision that is supported by a strategy and

plan, a capital campaign is... well... optional for just about everyone in your church.

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The most significant question you’ll ask before, during, or after your next capital campaign

is: why? Why do you need a capital campaign? You need to have a concise answer to that

question because people will ask it. In fact, they will ask it multiple times.

Your response to the question will play an important role in the total participation in the capital

campaign. There are some leaders who believe their persuasive abilities are strong enough

to overcome any resistance or objection. They trust their popularity and power to influence

participation. Unfortunately, that won’t be enough to engage a broad base of support within

your church today. The bigger the vision, the more people you’ll need to bring it into reality.

When people ask why, they want to hear the vision and the measurable deliverables that

accompany the vision. It’s one thing to have a vision; it’s another thing to understand

processes and have a plan to achieve the vision. People want to hear about the ministry

outcomes associated with the campaign. They want to know how their participation will

make a difference. You must wrestle through that. Otherwise, people will choose to invest

elsewhere.

Selling complexity is challenging. Without a strong why, your appeal will get lost in the fine

print. Your answer should challenge and encourage people to invest their time, talents,

and resources. When people buy into your vision and understand the strategy, they will

be far more likely to invest their resources for the cause. Where there’s ownership, there’s

investment. It’s too easy—too tempting—to just jump to the ask before you fully explain why

the money is needed.

REaSON 1

You Must Answer This Question (With a Straight Face)

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The truth is good intentions don’t create forward momentum. Vision is the glue that holds

your ministry together and the assurance you have that you are moving in a singular direction.

Without it, you are subject to the desires of the moment or reacting to immediate needs.

Many church leaders recognize the capital needs but lack the ability to connect it to vision.

Worse, the capital project they want to present never intersects with what they claim to be the

vision of the church.

Vision—once articulated—must be made achievable through a series of specific steps and

action items. There must be a sequential order that enables the church to celebrate the

incremental goals while creating the motivation to continue pursuing unreached goals. This is

what will translate a picture of a better tomorrow into a compelling vision that captivates the

mind and attention of people. Planning ensures we are good stewards. In other words, we

need to pray for God’s purposes to be fulfilled, but we also have to act—wisely—using the

resources He provides.

People want to know how the capital need connects to ministry objectives and what the

ministry priorities are. The long -range success of the campaign will be dependent upon the

stewardship demonstrated with the initial funds. People want to know if you spent the money

on the things you said would be the first priorities. They want to feel as if their contributions

are making a difference. If they are satisfied with the direction things are going, they will be

more likely to continue giving for the duration of the campaign.

REaSON 2

You Need More Than Good Intentions

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Every church leader thinks they have a vision. Most churches even have been through a

formal process to develop one. It’s not enough to have a paragraph printed somewhere. A

vision—at least a compelling one—must drive who you are becoming. Most times people

know the vision. They just don’t know how the vision will be accomplished. That’s where

strategy comes in. Without clarity around the “how”—your strategy—people fill in the gap with

their own approach. That’s where division begins.

It’s one thing to have a vision; it’s another thing to have a strategy for accomplishing that

vision. This is where many church leaders lose traction. They have great videos and printed

resources that espouse a clear picture of the future, but they haven’t identified how each

ministry area and individual can play a role in reaching the vision. This approach makes as

much sense as a football coach assembling a team, making a great pregame speech, and

then taking the field without a game plan.

Capital campaigns are motivated by vision and sustained by strategy. For the duration of the

campaign, organizational decisions must be made in light of the vision and strategy. This

means saying yes to some things you’ve never done before and no to some things you’ve

always done. This means empowering staff and volunteer leaders with a clear understanding

of their responsibilities and measurable outcomes.

Vision should be something you live by. When you do, seemingly disconnected pieces begin

to form a multifaceted effort to accomplish a specific goal. When you don’t live by it, your

appeal will seem less desirable and perhaps even inauthentic.

REaSON 3

You Must Live By It

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Vision will focus your direction and the attention of others. You must have both before you

launch your capital campaign. Vision and focus are what will capture the attention of people

who live largely distracted lives.

Vision must be connected to the individual hopes and dreams of those you are asking to

invest in it. Too many leaders cast a vision that is so disconnected from the present reality

that people dismiss it as fantasy. That will hinder the success of the capital campaign.

Your clear vision might be fuzzy to others. Therefore, you need to help them by clearly

identifying the personal benefit of the realization of the vision. People receive a lot of

messages each day. Most of the messages are dismissed as being personally irrelevant.

Only a few messages will strike a chord of connectedness with them and cause them to pay

attention.

We can’t compete for someone’s attention with information. We also can’t compete just

pushing our desired action. The only way we can compete for attention is to get at the

motivation behind the action. What will motivate someone to take their next step? This is

typically more of a heart issue than a head issue.

In a world where distraction is celebrated and not paying attention is the norm, motivating

people to invest in a capital campaign can be a challenge. That’s why it takes more than just

REaSON 4

You Have to Reveal a Better Future

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a capital campaign; you need to clarify and share your vision and strategy before you ever ask

people for additional money.

Experience tells us that people invest their resources in things in which they believe. Research

shows consumers will pay more for products that are marketed as addressing social issues

through the profits. Givers will give to organizations they perceive as being effective in

addressing an issue about which they are concerned. When they buy into your vision, their

resources will naturally follow. So, if people aren’t giving to your church, they probably don’t

understand the vision and strategy.

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Vision provides the framework to tell a story that invites other people to join in. And the truth

is that the best stories get funded. Great storytelling will bring your vision and strategy to life;

it will add a human dimension that will personalize your appeal.

Vision establishes the fence within which your organization functions in the mind of the giver.

The more clearly defined the vision, the more effective you will be at funding your vision.

We live in a culture that loves a good story. People want to hear about others who are

benefitting from something you are asking them to do. They want to know about the people

you have helped in the past so they can be confident you will continue to help people in the

future. They are looking for evidence of organizational integrity.

We understand their skepticism. After all, much has been said about church leaders who

mishandle resources. The media pays little attention to all of the great things a church does,

but it jumps on any story that suggests leadership incompetence. So, before you ever ask for

the first contribution, you must establish your integrity and accountability. The best way to do

this is through stories.

Stories are different from advertisements in that they allow individuals to explain the situation

from their own perspectives. Their perspectives should be representative of the varying

REaSON 5

You Need Some Secret Sauce

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perspectives of people in the congregation. You need a story from someone who once was a

skeptic, a beneficiary of the church’s ministries, a key leader, maybe a business owner or city

leader, etc.

Stories need to be the centerpiece of the time leading up to the initiation of the capital

campaign. Use them to build excitement and community. Use them to raise awareness of

issues that will be addressed in the campaign. Use them to show the importance of everyone

in the congregation. The better you are at telling stories, the more successful you’ll be in the

capital campaign.

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Vision clarifies what direction the leader should move next. With so many good giving options

available to the people in your church, you need to be explicitly clear in demonstrating where

this campaign will take your church and what it will take to get there.

When it comes to the next steps, clarity is key. Clarity keeps things simple, and simplicity is

your only hope of ensuring you complete what you set out to accomplish in the first place.

In like fashion, your vision will clarify the next step for your givers. Once people begin to buy

into the vision and strategy, they need to know exactly what the next step should be. They

don’t need so many options that they can’t make a decision. In fact, studies show the more

options people have, the less satisfied they are in their decisions.

The longer the decision -making process takes, the more likely people are not to get involved.

Capitalize on the moment by giving people one option. Offer them a card on which they

can identify their response. Capitalize on the intentional moments you create through the

storytelling.

A word of caution: As a leader, the most important thing you can do is follow through on the

next step. Your willingness to do what you said you would do determines the longevity of the

investments other people make. If you maintain your focus, guide the process publicly, invest

in key leaders, and celebrate incremental successes, interest in and contributions to the

capital campaign should sustain and even increase over time. However, if you ask people to

give without a compelling vision or a clear plan, their interest in the campaign will diminish.

REaSON 6

You Must Be Absolutely Certain About Your Next Step

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It’s easy to get distracted along the way. Vision provides the accountability leaders need to

keep things moving in the right direction. Buildings, bricks, and mortar don’t engage or inspire

people. Those are merely tools—necessary ingredients—to accomplish a larger plan. What

inspires people is something that shows them how they can make a difference in the world

and why your church is best positioned and prepared to bring that plan into reality. In short,

vision is a promissory note that gives enough confidence to the giver that they are willing to

respond to your invitation to get involved.

People want to make a difference and they want to invest their resources in things that matter.

Unfortunately, loyalty doesn’t always cast the deciding vote. Just because people attend your

church doesn’t mean they will invest in it. They will weigh your church’s strategies against

other benevolent organizations. The key question here is what makes you distinctive? If you

didn’t fulfill your vision, would anyone notice?

They will evaluate your success against the successes of other organizations. They will

watch to see if your actions support what you say is important. Their contributions are their

votes of confidence. They give when they believe the church is on target and moving in the

right direction. They discontinue giving when they question where things are headed—or

decide another organization can deliver more effectively. That’s why it is so important for the

leadership team to stay focused on the campaign objectives.

REaSON 7

You Need to Demonstrate Your Unwavering Commitment

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The landscape of capital giving has changed. People want to know what you plan to do, not

just what you plan to build. This subtle shift changes everything.

Churches that are successful at raising money are the ones that use vision and strategy to

help people see how each individual can make a difference. People respond when they see a

need and believe they can personally address the need. They respond differently when they

only see a facility. It’s not that facilities are bad, but they should be presented as tools to help

your congregation reach its community and the world.

When you cast a vision, you make a promise to your congregation and community. It is

important that the leaders of the church do everything possible to deliver on those promises.

Accountability, transparency, and vision -driven spending are trust- building exercises that will

solidify the commitment of your giving base and inspire new givers to be part of

something special.

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If your vision inspires a strategy that aligns with the congregation’s expectations, a capital

campaign can be instrumental in the financial, spiritual, and relational aspects of the church.

However, if your vision isn’t clearly articulated or seems out of sync, a capital campaign will

magnify your weaknesses and inconsistencies.

A capital campaign isn’t designed to fix those foundational issues like vision and ministry

planning; it is a tool to help you achieve your financial goals by connecting them to a clear

and compelling vision for your church.

So, before you think about entering a capital campaign, take time to think through your vision

and strategy. What are the long -range plans and how are you organized and equipped to

achieve those goals? Survey your key leaders and see if they know what the vision of the

church really is. Ask staff members how their ministries relate to the overall vision of the

church. In other words, do your homework before you launch a campaign.

You are the linchpin in any capital campaign. You are the one best positioned to engage and

inspire others to participate. That’s why you must get vision right BEFORE the launch of any

capital campaign.

CONCLUSION

Vision Alignment Will Engage and Inspire Others to Participate

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5. Contact us to discuss your church’s needs.

5 E A S Y wAY S F O R Y O UT O C O N N E C T W I T H R S I

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A B O U T T H E A U T H O R S

TONY MORGAN is the Chief Strategic Officer and founder of The Unstuck Group. He and his team have worked with more than 80 churches across the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, providing consulting and leadership coaching to help churches get unstuck and have a bigger impact. For 14 years, Tony served on the senior leadership teams at West Ridge Church (Dallas, GA), NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC), and Granger Community Church (Granger, IN). He has written several books including Simply Strategic Volunteers, Killing Cockroaches, and Stuck in a Funk? which all focus on improving leadership and ministry strategies. For more information, visit www.TonyMorganLive.com and follow Tony on Twitter (@TonyMorganLive).

JOEL MIKELL is president of RSI. With more than 25 years of local church ministry experience, he brings a passion for helping churches cast their vision to reach people for Christ, as only a pastor can. He has helped church leaders raise more than $400 million for kingdom projects and has had the privilege of working with some of the most well-known churches and church leaders across the country. Joel has written several books and eBooks including Church Giving Matters, The Ministry of Giving, and Crafting a Theology of Stewardship. Joel can be reached at joel.mikell@rsistewardship.com, Twitter (@joelmikell),or Facebook.

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O T H E R R E S O U R C E S F R O M R S IC L I C K I M A G E T O D O W N L O A D

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O T H E R R E S O U R C E S F R O M R S IC L I C K I M A G E T O D O W N L O A D

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O T H E R R E S O U R C E S F R O M R S IC L I C K I M A G E T O D O W N L O A D

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P R O D U C E D B Y

What is God calling your church to do next?Call us today!

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