Everybody wants to know when the economy will get better. My home town paper on Thursday in the business section had the following headline, “Downturn will drag on, forecaster says.” Then the surprise of the day was that the economy actually grew in the second quarter more than was predicted. Jobless claims dropped , oil prices declined causing the stock market to shoot up two hundred plus points. So today’s headline in my business section quoted yesterdays forecaster as saying, not so fast, we are a long ways from recovery. Who and what is one to believe?

The truth of the matter is that no one knows what the future holds. Technically we have not been in a recession as some of the indicators have remained positive. However we are in a downward trend which no one can deny. Historically recessions last about twelve to eighteen months. So are we at the bottom on the way up or do we still like Thursday’s forecaster have another year of sluggishness left? No one knows for certain but more importantly as you strive to raise funds what does it matter and how does it all affect you?

Here are some thoughts…

Our sense of well being and ease was wounded on 9/11 and it colors how we view everything. Its what I call the 9/11 effect. Even after we recovered from the economic impact of 9/11 people still had an unease about the economy. Jobs were being created, the market reached 14,000 points and in many places prosperity abounded. Yet the perception was one of a fragile delicate economy. The result was and is that donors are much more conservative now than they were ten years ago. A smart leader realizes that this emotional scar could well impact their ability to raise funds.

Given a worthy cause donors will respond. The out pouring of support in the after math of hurricane Katrina is a good illustration of this. People even in tightly perceived economic times will give if the cause is great enough. You simply have to capture their attention with how your cause can and will impact what they hold dear. As I always say, “Good vision trumps bad economy.”

When you have God’s vision nothing can stop you, even a bad economy. If you are putting off that project for fear of the economy you are teaching your people to respond not by faith but by sight. If God is truly behind the project that you are proposing do you not think that He will not provide a means to pull it off? If you are waiting for the economy to get better before you move forward what are you teaching your people about walking by faith? Besides that when will the economy get better? Waiting for the economy to get better is like a young couple deciding to wait to have kids until they can afford them. The reality is, you have kids and find a way.

Honestly I feel we have at least three more quarters of this present up and down in the economy. However as you delay your project the inflation train keeps right on rolling. One friend of mine related to me that they were told steel for their project would increase in price $10,000 every month. While you wait for the water to get just right before you jump in the cost of your project will rise at least 20%. Waiting is often an excuse for lacking courage to move forward by faith. Are you responding in faith or frozen by fear?

In the history of the church we have never let the outside circumstances stop us from doing God’s work. Don’t let the ups and downs of this economy stop you from doing what God is leading. Its time for bold leadership!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group
www.TheCharisGroup.org

I meet Christian leaders all the time that are driven by plans. They have a plan for outreach. They have a plan for growth. They seemingly have a plan for everything. What amazes me however is how few have a plan for stewardship. Its as if they think money will magically fall into the offering plate or flood in by mail. Without a plan for stewardship your dreams and visions will not be fueled.

The company I founded is all about total stewardship. While our primary focus due to customer demand is upon raising funds for capital projects, we focus on every aspect of stewardship. If a church does not have a good stewardship base then it usually struggles to raise funds for capital projects. So our advice is, have a plan!

What should your stewardship plan entail? Here are some suggestions…

Preach and teach stewardship on a regular basis. George Barna has shown through his studies that pastors who preach on stewardship more than once a year will see more giving than those that don’t. Don’t be afraid to preach on giving. It starts from the mouth of the leader and flows downward.

Provide financial ministries to your people. Every church should have an ongoing ministry that helps people manage their finances. There are many out there from Crown Ministries to Financial Peace. Frankly they all have their strengths and I am not wed to any certain one. Choose the one you think is best for you and implement it immediately!

Implement a program for estate planning. The greatest transfer of wealth in the history of the world will occur in the next decade. If you have not talked about estate planning with your 50 year olds and above you are forfeiting future dollars to fuel your ministry. You can be sure that someone is talking to them about their estate it might as well be you. While it might not pay off for you in the present it can leave a legacy for the future.

Keep your members informed! In a day when a few ministries have spent recklessly every ministry gets tarnished. Being open and accountable helps members feel good about their investment into your ministry. It also lets them see when there is a short fall and their help is needed.

The above are simply things that anyone can implement. You would be amazed to find out how few have a plan of action at all. We specialize in helping you put together comprehensive plans of action for stewardship. We are a total stewardship company. Give us a call today if we can be of help.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group
www.TheCharisGroup.org

Maybe I cut the class the day in seminary that they taught us about stewardship but for the life of me I never remember the subject even being brought up. I will admit that I always took the full amount of cuts available. I tried to hold them off until late in the semester when I knew I would be class weary and needing a break. So, it’s possible that I missed some things in college and seminary but frankly I don’t think so.

My lack of knowledge about the subject was due to the fact that it just did not seem important enough to the administrations of my schools to include that in the curriculum. My experience is the same as that of every church leader that I have ever read about or talked to. Most will say that what they have learned about stewardship they had to learn it on their own.

What I find amazing is that to this day many Christian leaders still are ignorant of how important the issue of stewardship is. For many it is a nuisance a back burner issue or at best a necessary evil. Yet without a good stewardship plan their dreams for their ministries will fail due to lack of funding.

Why leaders do not focus on stewardship

Why is it that Christian leaders seem so adverse to the subject of stewardship? Clearly it is not our favorite topic nor one we feel comfortable with. Why is that? Here are some of my observations.

It’s unpopular and we like to be liked. You have heard the mantra from someone before, “All you people ever talk about at church is money.” While I find that is far from the truth none the less that has stuck in our minds and affected how we communicate and what we do. I think the bottom line is that we like being liked and don’t want to do anything that will cause the above statement to be reinforced. So we go out of our way to not mention money. Could it be that the reason people do not like us to talk about money is that they have such a problem handling it correctly? Could it be that by not talking about money we are giving them a pass on an area of disobedience in their lives?

It often makes the leader uncomfortable. Closely akin to the above point I find that many don’t like to talk about stewardship because it makes them feel uncomfortable. They struggle dealing with difficult topics knowing it will rub some the wrong way. They find that they can not with boldness take a stand so they ignore the issue altogether. It is just easier to teach on the love of God rather than some subject that many find hard to listen to.

Some or not convinced it is biblically their role. I find that we have been so conditioned by lay people that we ministers are not suppose to know anything about the churches finances that we incorrectly assume that is biblical. You can search the Scriptures but you will not find a verse that prohibits the leaders from taking an active role in stewardship. Christian ministries that have leaders that are active in stewardship raise more funds and in the end do more for the Kingdom.

Many do not feel adequately trained. This goes back to my opening statement in this chapter. Our Christian institutions of learning have done a disservice to our leaders in not training them in this crucial field. Nearly everything a minister learns about stewardship he learned outside of the classroom. If I do not feel properly trained in an area I will not operate in that area.

Some do not see the necessity. Despite numerous studies that show the importance of the leader being involved in stewardship many do not think it is necessary. As a result their ministry struggle to achieve the dreams they have been given or more likely don’t have any vision for the future at all.

Whatever the reason are we need to get over them! Without a firm stewardship plan your ministry will suffer. At the end of the day the only person you can blame for that is yourself. It might well be that our education was lacking in stewardship training. However there were many things that we did not learn in college or seminary that we have had to pick up. Fortunately there are tools and resources out there to help bridge this gap in knowledge. If you feel you are lacking take advantage of the various conferences, books and partnerships that can help you in this area. The growth of your ministry could well depend upon it.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group
WWW.TheCharisGroup.org

That title might seem surprising coming from a guy who makes his living as a consultant. In fact I find that in my industry there are few if any companies that will admit this much less advocate it. Not long ago a large church that I had worked with before called asking about our services. This church has used several stewardship companies in the past. My first comment was, “Why do you need me? You have done multiple campaigns. You know the process so why pay me big bucks to do what you know how to do?” In the end they partnered with us for only the pieces that they felt they had a need for and paid a price that was fair for both them and The Charis Group.

How do you know if you don’t need a full partnership of a stewardship company? Here are some thoughts. You probable don’t need a full stewardship partner if…

1. You have participated in multiple campaigns before. After you have done two or three stewardship campaigns you should have the process down by then. While every campaign is different the main elements are essentially the same. That is why when Christian ministries interview several companies it all sort of runs together. All companies to one degree or another offer the same thing especially when it comes to the intensive part of the campaign. We may differ slightly in various approaches but at the end of the day the principles are the same. Once you have gone through those elements you tend to have them down.

2. Project is not complex. Some projects are easier than others. Some offer fewer challenges and questions. For instance if you are simply raising funds to pay off a debt there are just so many ways to position that. If the project is not complex you might not need a full partnership with a stewardship consultant.

3. Good staff and lay leadership. Churches will more than one staff member and a good lay leadership team can often manage their own campaigns if they have campaign experience. However if you are the only staff member you might find that adding to your already busy schedule the campaign over site might be too much. Quality lay leaders can often help lighten the load especially if they too have gone through a capital campaign before.

4. The amount of money you need to raise is not very large. If what you are attempting to raise is less than half your yearly operating budget for small to medium size churches then you might be able to do the campaign yourself. When the amount climbs upwards it becomes much more of a challenge to effectively run a campaign on your own.

There are many that have the ability to do their own campaign. Almost all churches and Christian ministry however at some point in their campaign need an experts hand of attention. Look for companies that offer to unbundle the elements of the campaign for you. That way you get the solutions you need for a price that is fair and insure that the campaign is successful.

What you may be looking for is a retainer type of consultant rather than a full partnership. My company The Charis Group can fill the bill for you and this need. Give us a call.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group
800-750-7095

Not long ago I did an analysis of a church’s campaign capability for their next capital campaign. When I came back with a gift range that was close to what they pledged three years ago I was immediately hit with the reaction, “We ought to do more this time since we did that last time!” Comparing your last campaign to an upcoming campaign is like comparing apples to oranges. You could have an unrealistic expectation that causes you disappointment.

I would love it if this church exceeded our projections. However I had based my projections AFTER I had talked to scores of their donors and looked at years of giving data from the church. I knew what the donors were telling me and I know that the expectation for this campaign better be lower than what they had initially planned.

Why is it that second campaigns sometimes do not garner as much support as the first even though the church has experienced growth? Here are some thoughts…

1. Different projects. In the case above the first campaign was for relocation. It is usually easy to get donors excited about the move and the first building. The next campaign is more difficult in part because typically a part of every dollar has to go to service the existing debt load. Relocations raise more money than debt reductions any day. What type of project your campaign is set to fuel will determine to a large extent how successful you are.

2. Different times. Frankly we are in a down economic time rather than an up economic time. Donors will pledge significantly less on their cards today as opposed to a few years ago. Knowing the times we live in is important in setting realistic expectations.

3. Different congregations. Sometimes I hear pastors tell me that their buddy down the street who is half their size raised four times his budget so they feel they ought to do at least that. What they fail to know is that their buddy has a relative of Bill Gates in his church. Large gifts drive up the percentage of what a church can do. Don’t fall prey to the comparison of your congregation to others around you. It truly is an apples to oranges kind of comparison.

4. Expended resources. The reality is that your donors may have given so much in the first campaign that they do not have anything left to give. When you have sold the bass boat, gave up the vacation condo or gave the family inheritance there is now less that you have to give. Your congregation could be the “tired and the tapped.” Without additional new donors you should expect that the pledge in succeeding campaigns will be less.

Immaturity of new donors. Hopefully between the first campaign and your next campaign you have experienced growth. The reality is that it takes sometimes years to get those new donors up to the level of giving that your base is at. So, just because you are running more in attendance now than when you had the last campaign it does not mean you necessarily see a surge in the amount pledged to your next campaign.

Understanding the donor landscape surrounding your next campaign is essential in setting realistic expectations. We do that with our financial analysis that tracks your giving patterns and can give you a good look at your capabilities. However just looking at numbers can not tell whether your donors will give to this next campaign. We actually in our Pre Campaign Assessment Study talk to your leaders to find out what is a realistic expectations. One pastor said recently of this study, “This allowed me to enter into my campaign with the best intelligence ever and be the most prepared for success.”

Don’t make the mistake of comparing apples to oranges. Those unrealistic expectations could be a cost too high for you to pay!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

Not long ago a church that we had made a presentation at called to tell us they had decided to use someone else. When we pressed as to who that someone else was we found out it was a friend of the pastor who himself was a full time pastor of a growing congregation. We wished the church well. Our experience is however that they will not get the full benefit of a professionals dedicated calling and years of experience.

Why do churches often resort to hiring a non professional? Here are some thoughts…

1. Familiarity. Sometimes you go with someone you know and believe you can trust. Its easy to engage your friends as you feel you know what you are getting.

2. Close proximity. One of the most appealing selling points is that the friend or local guy is close and can and will be there more.

3. Cost. Frankly this is the major reason. Usually your friend who is the pastor is simply looking to gain some additional income. His one real selling point is that he will not cost what a professional will.

You have to consider if hiring your friend or the guy down the street will help you best achieve the level of financial commitment you need to pull your vision off. Are you willing to take a chance on someone who does this part time or only a few times a year?

Why you should consider a professional company for your next stewardship campaign.

1. Experience. There is no substitute for having an experienced partner. You want someone who has been there and done that. You want someone that brings a wealth of experience to the table. Professionals have been at this for years and have finely tuned their ministries to help you. We are not some one looking to pad our income this is our livelihood. If I want to win the gold medal I want a coach who knows how to get me there.

2. Value. Yes you are probably going to spend more to engage a good partner. You have to see the value that the partner brings to the table. A good partner will more than bring a return on investment. My friend Pastor Jimmy Washington said,”I paid $60K for a stewardship partner and he helped me raise over $1 million dollars. Was that a good investment?” The question you should be asking is who will bring the most value for the dollar we are going to spend?

3. Accessibility. With the Internet and telecommunications and the ease of travel you will find that most professionals can be there just as much as the guy down the street. Often the answer to your question takes an email response or a brief telephone call not a trip to see you. There are times that indeed you need your consultant on site so you need one that is not engaged in too many campaigns. However the local guys claim that he can be there more is in this day of technology not accurate.

4. Results. Studies have shown and our experience has borne out that professional companies will raise your ministry significantly more than if you did it yourself or hired some part timer to run the campaign. When so much is riding upon you raising maximum dollars can you really gamble on the results?

In the end you have to decide what is best for your church and ministry. You have to choose a partner that you believe gives you the best chance to be successful in raising the money you need. You have only one chance to get it right so choose wisely who you partner with.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group
www.TheCharisGroup.org

Every August we get calls from churches and other Christian ministries asking if we can help them on their capital stewardship campaign in the fall. The answer is of course yes. Yet you have to wonder why they are just now getting around to making plans for something as crucial as raising money. Many call that late because they don’t understand the time that goes into a campaign. When asked how much time should a campaign take there is not one answer that fits every situation. However, typically a good campaign from planning to execution runs around six months. We have some clients that their process has taken over a year. The more time you give the process the better the results will be. It is why we continually advocate to ministries that they start their planning sooner rather than later.

Still the question remains is there ever a time that you can move the process forward more quickly? You may find yourself in a situation where you have to do just that. The following is a check list that we as consultants would be asking you.

When can you move forward quickly?

Here are some thoughts that might be helpful to you.

1. The need is pressing. Need is a trump card to everything. Often the situation is out of your control. You would love to have months to plan and prepare but the situation you are presented with requires fast action. I once worked with a church that was told by the state highway department that they had six months to find a new place of worship! While we would loved to have taken much more time for the campaign, due to the pressing need we had to move quickly. I have another client now that has been told by the bank that they will not loan them money until commitments have been received. The land that fell into their lap requires they move fast and the bank has dictated a capital stewardship campaign first. So, what usually takes at least three to four months or more is being boiled down to a matter of weeks. It’s not the best scenario but sometimes you simply have no choice.

2. The project planning is finalized. Before a donor is going to give you additional money they are going to want to know that the project makes sense and can be successfully accomplished. Questions like how much will this cost? How long will it take? Has the bank approved a loan? Those and many other questions need to be answered. If the plans are still just written on your napkin don’t expect your donors to start giving to your dream just yet. If your project appears to them like a moving target that changes from one week to the next they will not give to your campaign. Good planning evokes confidence in donors leading to whole hearted sacrificial commitment.

When it comes to asking people for money you have to let them inside the engine room to see what is going on. The more information you can share the better their confidence that you can pull it off and the greater will be their financial commitment to that dream. While you might not know every detail tell them what you do know. Admit what you don’t know and stress your plans for finalizing all plans. The key is to give them confidence in your planning ability thus earning their gift. The ability to successfully move forward quickly depends on how well you have planed.

3. Your leaders are firmly on board. Tell me where your leaders stand about your project and I can tell you how your campaign will go. If your leaders are on board the congregation will follow their lead. As I tell pastors, it is not the vote in the sanctuary that matters it’s the vote in the parking lot! Leaders that are on board with the project and its time line will be echoes of your vision and passion. They in turn will bring on board those in their circle of influence. You can never by pass your leaders in the race to get the campaign finished. You need a plan to bring leaders up to speed so that they can in turn help the congregation come up to speed. This is true whether you have six months or six weeks for your campaign time line.

4. The calendar is clear. If you are too busy to give your undivided attention to the campaign you will never be successful. If in the midst of the campaign you have a trip planned to Africa, I actually had a pastor do that once, you are too busy for the campaign. There must be nothing on the calendar that competes for your time or the time of your congregation. If you are launching new ministries, new worship service times or gearing up for the living Christmas tree your campaign will take a back seat to those activities. The average donor can only process so much at one time. You have to ask yourself if raising dollars to build that new building or buy that piece of land is more important than you preaching at your friend’s church. If the campaign is not a priority on the calendar you can be sure that it will not be a priority in the mind of the donor and will be seen as just one more program. What will result will be a campaign that is less than successful.

I once worked with a church whose pastor was simply too busy to do the work required for the campaign. He never found the time to give the process what it badly needed, himself! The campaign while marginally successful did not raise quite the dollars they hoped for. When I arrived to work on their subsequent campaign three years later I stressed that the pastor must make time for the campaign. He promised me he would and he did give all of five days of his calendar for meeting about the campaign. Would it surprise you to find out that their second campaign was even less successful than the first? There is always a lot of finger pointing after a less than successful campaign but too often it is an over crowded calendar that is the culprit. A successful campaign will require the key leader in the organizations undivided attention. You can go on vacation after the campaign is over not in the middle of it!

5. You can simplify the process. If your church requires many different committees to sign off on every decision a quick campaign will probable not work. If you have the idea that you will need to utilize multiple teams to organize and communicate the vision then a quick campaign might not work for you. Campaigns on a fast track are more platform driven than team and task oriented. You have to be able to simplify the process or it will be impossible to hold an effective campaign. Some churches simply can not move that fast or be organized that way. If yours can not you are better off waiting.

6. You are ready to go now! A decision must be made immediately. You don’t have time for countless committees to approve your plans. You can’t interview company after company. You can’t think about it for weeks on end ignoring the stewardship partners call day after day. In short you can’t dilly dally around. Every week you delay a decision robs you of valuable time. It further backs you into a corner and makes it all the more difficult to have a successful campaign. If you are not ready to move immediately you might want to slow down the process so that you will not make mistakes.

Get it done right, not on time! We live by that mantra at The Charis Group. We believe that the best results take time. Given time you will raise more money than if you hurry the process. Hurrying to the finish line often causes you to miss a base or two along the way. Ultimately that haste can lead to a less than successful experience. Mistakes made in the process will cause your donors to view you as not being a good planner. This can and will result in a loss of confidence that will show up in their commitment to your ministry. Start early to avoid what we call million dollar mistakes.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President of The Charis Group

Recently I met with a man whose business to churches was described as a ministry approach. When I asked him to define that he began to tell me about the various teams he organized and programs they over saw. He went to great lengths to tell me about how hands on he was in the process and how he had written several different modules that provided true customization for each church. What he was describing was not ministry per se but a programed approach.

Sadly we in the America church think all too often that the way to get God’s work done is another program. While programs can be helpful they are not a substitute for the divine blessing of God. We often are busy in church but devoid of true spiritual depth or commitment. Busyness doth not equate to holiness! Work in God’s name can not replace a walk with God.

I tell our consultants all the time that anyone can deliver a program. In fact if you want a program in a box for your next stewardship endeavor there are many out there. The problem with that is that they don’t truly know who you are and what you need. It can never be a one size fits all approach. You can not also write four or five modules and then cut and paste them into some program and call it customization.

Sadly in my industry there are few that offer a true partnership. Too many companies have programs on the shelf that they pull down, insert your name upon them and call it customization. To some degree these men and women are well meaning and often are simply doing what they have always done in ministry, inserting a program. Programs are easier to put together and run. They require little thought and even less imagination or creativity.

Yet programs are not the same thing as ministry. I had to learn early in my pastoral ministry that you can not bring true revival in a box. I have learned over time that good stewardship is the result of quality partnership not slick programs. While looking for a stewardship partner you need to be looking for the one that is asking you penetrating questions, offering new insights and arriving at the table with a blank sheet of paper ready to help find true solutions for your needs.

There are a few out there. I would like to think we are one. You will be the judge of that. Christian ministries need partners not programs!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President of The Charis Group

I have often found it interesting that giving to churches during the Depression was higher percentage wise than it is now. Depending upon which poll you read we give 2% or less of our income currently to church work. This was true before the current economic down turn. Pulpit Helps blog has some great insight into this in a recent post. You can read about it http://pulpithelps.com/blog/?p=14.

In a time when we are struggling to stay relevant it might just be that the answer is to look outward rather than inward. I have long contended that donors give to those causes that move their hearts. Could it be that we are too focused upon our buildings getting built that we have failed to communicate why we build them? If you do not connect the project you are attempting to build to the mission you are called to fulfill don’t be surprised if your donors do not step up. Show your donors how meeting needs through the new facility or paying off the debt will cause ministry to increase. Then they will stand with you.

Just some thoughts…

Mark Brooks
Founder and President of The Charis Group
www.TheCharisGroup.org