The church foreclosure headlines are continuing to spread across the internet.  We Americans love a bad story.  Why is it we always tend to grasp onto news that is negative?  I have tired of seeing words like surge, tsunami, rapid acceleration and dramatic attached to the story of a few churches facing the possibility of foreclosure.  The drama is being caused by media stories that have done very little research into something they already knew little about, the church.  It fits the popular notion that Big Business and thus Big Banks are just a bunch of greedy people who are now preying on helpless churches.  So, it sounds like what we think a bank would do so we simply believe it without ever probing further.

For some of you reading this your church has a debt.  You might have read the headlines and wondered where you stood with regard to your bank and your loan.  While the recent articles have created an unhealthy panic it none the less serves as a valuable reminder to check the status of your loan.  It is my contention and belief that 99.99% of the churches in America that have debt obligations can and will avoid foreclosure.  Rather than attack the weaknesses of the articles already out there, something I have done in previous posts, I thought I would offer some practical advice on how you can stay in the good graces of your bank and thus avoid foreclosure.  So here is our advice.

Stay current on your payments. I know this sounds simplistic but if you are making your payments you will be fine.  My position is that 99% of the churches in America are current.  Make sure you are current.  Do what ever you have to do, cut budgets, cut salaries, etc. but stay current.  IF you cannot make the full payment pay what you can.  Paying something is better than paying nothing.  Then quickly make up what you can.  While this task might be a struggle it is the safest means to avoiding a foreclosure.

Stay in contact with your bank. Don’t be a stranger when it comes to your loan and the bank that extended it to you.  If I were you I would regularly be in contact with the bank officer assigned to your loan.  Get to know them.  Ask their input about church loans, your status and what the bank will be looking for and requiring.  This will be especially true if you have to reduce your payments for whatever reason.  We have found that bankers willingly talk to churches about their loan.  They are not mean bad people.  They exist to serve you.  They cannot serve you if you do not talk to them.  DO NOT simply stop paying or decrease payments WITHOUT sitting down with them to talk options.  I cannot stress the importance of this enough.  While I am at it let me say that you should not wait until the last minute for loan discussions.  Start today.  You might even take them to lunch!

Have a plan and work your plan. We work with numerous churches that have seen giving increase dramatically during this past recession.  Many of them have been in some of the hardest hit economic areas.  One thing they all have in common is that they take stewardship seriously.  They all have plans and they work their plans.  If you have no plan you are planning on failure.  I believe many churches that have been foreclosed or are threatened by foreclosure did not have a stewardship plan in place until it was far too late.

Keep good financial data. Every business INCLUDING churches must prove to the bank that they are a good risk.  One sure way of doing that is to have solid financial information available for your bank.  Think of it like a business plan.  Your goal is to show that you are a solid church with minimal risk.  There are a few things that banks are looking for:

• Consistency and stability – With staff and congregation.  Long term tenured staff leads a bank to feel better about a churches future.  New churches or independent churches are not going to be viewed the same way those that have been around a long time or are a part of a denomination.
• Numerical growth – Show that you are growing in attendance and you will find banks are more apt to work with you.
• Financial Growth – You need to show that your giving has stayed steady and hopefully increased.  If giving has declined you need to show that you cut your budget so that you could make ends meet.
• Capital campaign commitments and dollars – Banker after banker will tell you that unless you are raising additional funds through a capital campaign they are less interested in loaning money or extending your loan.  They are looking for a plan.

The key is to not simply walk in hat and hand begging to have your loan extended.  Walk in showing a position of strength.  This will put you in a much better light and give you an opportunity to find the loan you need.

Plan now for the future. Don’t wait until the last minute to start working on your loan.  Too many churches put off this crucial process until the last minute.  Recognize that now it will take longer for you to get re-financed than ever before.  You will have to jump through more hoops, fill out more forms, answer more questions, shop around more talking to more banks and simply work at this harder than ever.  Many churches have waited too late to start on this process and now find themselves in a desperate position.  One to two years out is not too soon to start working on this process.  If you are only months out don’t be surprised at what happens to you.  Don’t blame the bank for your lack of attention to this crucial detail.

If you are a pastor I would immediately gather a small group of your best business people and get them started today on this.  You lead the process but allow them to use their expertise.  If there is a wave of foreclosures coming it is because churches have been foolish in the ways of the world.  Your church can avoid foreclosure!  Start today.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

PS.  If all of the above seems too much you should give us a call.  We would be glad to talk to you about how we can help your church avoid foreclosure.

This past week has been a busier one for my blog than normal weeks.  I have the Wall Street Journal and then Fox News to thank for this as they both ran stories about a rise in church foreclosures.  While I have written enough on this issue that you can read about my point is that the “surge” being trumpeted is not a surge at all.  Both pieces overstated the magnitude of this issue. Both pieces none the less gained a lot of media attention.  As with many things in the media there seemed to be no one to counter the views that were put forth.  So I was left to bang on the door and say, “Hey, it ain’t all true!”  A few have heard me.  Others remain skeptical.

The idea of banks foreclosing on churches is a bit scary if you think about it.  I mean if churches are being foreclosed then the economy really is in trouble.  If banks are targeting houses of worship then who of us is safe?  As with many issues that gain media attention the hype is far from the reality.  However I fear too many live by the old saying that goes, “Don’t confuse me with the facts.”  There is more to meet the eye with church foreclosures than is being reported.  So, let me deal with a few issues.

First, 99.99% of the congregations in America have nothing to fear. Articles have reported that church foreclosures rose from 8 to nearly 200 in the last two years.  However when you factor in that there are over 335,000 congregations in America it means that only 0.000597% have faced this situation.  While it is indeed an increase statistically it is minute.  Even if it does increase another 200 you will still be looking at below 1% that are in danger.  The facts are simply not there to argue that a surge is happening.  It is a media hype to sell papers and grab headlines.

Some churches are in danger of foreclosure but it is an oversimplification to blame the economy. The assumption of these articles is that the recession and unemployment are the culprits.  While in some cases that is a contributing factor it is much more complex than that.  I wrote of our experience in dealing with churches faced with the possibility of foreclosure and how there were other factors at play than just the recession.  It is easy to blame something or someone else for our own faults.  Churches can fall prey to this human tendency as well.  Internal problems can and will impact a churches ability to make their payments.  In many cases these churches have problems that go beyond simply blaming the recession.

Many churches facing foreclosure made poor business decisions. While this statement might not seem nice it is none the less true.  Whether we like it or not there is a business side to the church.  Like you and I they have to pay the electric bill, meet payroll, deal with health care issues and payments and in many cases meet a monthly mortgage.  If a church has bitten off more than it can chew how is the bank to blame?  It might be popular to blame banks for church foreclosures but we need to realize that banks exist not to give money away but to make money.  I know of many instances where a church simply made foolish decisions and now find themselves in difficulty.  The blame is a two way street.  Some banks over extended loan amounts to churches and are paying the price.  However no church was forced into signing a loan for a building they could not afford.  As with all recessions poor business practices results in closed business.  The same principle holds true with churches who are over extended on their loans.

If you borrowed the money you have to obey the law and pay it back. While it seems harsh the reality is that churches are not immune to the law.  Those that are complaining about the heavy handedness of banks are deflecting attention away from their own culpability.  There are stories circulating around the internet about banks preying on members in an attempt to regain their money.  Most stories like this are urban myth.  Most banks that we know of are bending over backwards to work with churches.  However if you simply stop paying altogether why should you be surprised when the Sheriff shows up to bolt the doors?  We need to stop making the banks out as the enemy that is simply greedy for more cash.

If you have a plan and work your plan you will find the bank will work with you. We have consistently found this to be the case with the few clients we have that are struggling to meet their payments.  All are continuing to pay some money towards their note.  Banks are hesitant to foreclose due to bad publicity.  Repossessing the church only increases the amount of dead beat properties on their balance sheet.  Some money is better than no money.  Those churches that are struggling BUT talking and working with their banks are finding a responsive and open door.  Those that are attempting to make the banks the enemy or simply stopping all payments are the ones in trouble.  Again, there is more to all this than meets the eye.  My belief, based upon our experience, is that if you show good effort good results will come.

Let’s stop the fear and panic that are spreading as a result of these stories.  Let’s stop blaming others when we ourselves have much to blame.  Churches should not expect to be immune to the law.  The Church has survived much worse than recessions and it will survive this.  We need to also understand that if the worse happens and a church loses it’s buildings and land it does not cease to be a church.  It has simply lost a building.  The church is made up of the people that meet under the steeple.  Buildings pass away but the Church stands eternal!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

I am amazed at what is accepted for a gospel fact when in fact there are not facts to support what we feel is a fact.  Don’t say that too fast.  You might have to read over that a few times but I think you will find it true.  We would readily agree to the importance of checking facts unless and until it is about our presuppositions.  I like it when my political opponents gets Fact Checked to show how wrong they are.  I don’t like it when my favorite politicians gets tripped up by fact checking.  I like it even less when someone tries to reduce my position with facts.  Whether we like it or not checking up on facts is important.  Too much of what we pass off for truth is often simply urban myth.  My last book, “Stewardship Myths,” dealt with this subject.  In the introduction I wrote…

Myths, urban legends, unsubstantiated reports given as facts are something we have all heard.  The key is separating truth from myth.  I once had a member of my church that served on the local school board.  Our town was holding an election to pass a new millage for the schools.  I thought it would pass easily and told the board member that.  He remarked that in politics your opponent did not have to convince people the idea was wrong or bad.  You simply have to confuse them enough that they will vote against something.  While we all decry negative campaigning the fact of the matter is that most of the time it works.

The church today has its own set of myths and urban legends that I call church legends.  What is interesting about many of these myths and church legends is the fact that often we can not tell the truth from the distortion.  Some myths have been repeated as fact for so long that hearing a different perspective is often rejected.  Many times some element of the myth or legend is correct but the application is wrong.  In fact most myths and legends have the ring of truth to them or at least some sibilance of truth.  Partially containing some truth does not however make them true.

So myths happen.  Why should you care or be interested?  The danger is that myths, half truths and church legends left unchecked can harm your ministry.  It is the premise of this book that incorrect data from myths, half truths and church legends leads leaders and ministries to faulty conclusions.  Faulty conclusions lead to inaccurate and ineffective actions.  This often results in loss of momentum, loss of time and ultimately loss of funding.

Myths of the Past Recession

One area where myth and rumor have been prevalent is with regards to the past recession and its impact upon giving to the church and ultimately the impact for the church.  Here are some myths that are simply not true…

• Giving to churches is in decline. Giving to “some” churches is in decline.  Overall while giving has decline, the decline is slight.  Giving USA found that giving to religion in 2009 decreased only by 0.01 percent.  Historically giving to the church has weathered the storms of recession and when and if there has been a decline it has been minor.  Your church might be struggling but many others are flourishing even in the downward economy.  Another churches problems does not necessarily mean that you will have the same problem.  We repeatedly stress that, good vision trumps bad economy! Give a compelling reason to give and people will sacrifice to fund your ministry.
• A coming surge of church foreclosures is on the horizon. My last two posts have dealt with this.  There is no question that “some” churches might face foreclosure.  It is inarguable that church foreclosures have risen from 8 to nearly 200 out of 335,000 U.S. congregations in the last two years.  This does not necessarily mean that a surge is about to overcome your church if it has a debt.  Historically banks have stood with churches in past recessions.  Theyare showing signs of continuing to work through this current recession for their client churches.  The International Space Station could fall upon me tonight.  However I will not lose sleep over that.  While I am not trying to minimize the pain of a few congregations you must not let another churches problems keep you from moving forward.  0.000597% of churches in America have been foreclosed.  One church in foreclosure is sad, but we should not run and hide our heads in fear over the failure of 0.000597%.
• Forward progress on projects should be halted during a recession. It is not true that you cannot build during a recession.  I have a client that built their sanctuary at the height of the recession in the early ’80′s.  They paid 18% interest for the loan they acquired.  Times were tough yet they still built to meet the needs of their growing congregation.  We have a host of churches that have refused to delay needed projects simply because someone said the waters were not just right.  They have raised funds, built their structures, are paying their debt and seeing an increase in growth.  While your project might need to be delayed work on that project does not need to come to an end.  Even if the groundbreaking is put off work still must be done. Tragically many churches have simply put everything on hold out of fear and as a result are losing valuable time.

There are other myths that are foisted upon us as fact.  These three are some of the most prominent that we deal with.  Recessions are never fun or easy.  However we must be careful that we interpret what is going on with good knowledge and facts.  Doing a bit of fact checking not only saves you face it will also save you money.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

My favorite paper the Wall Street Journal on January 25th printed an article on church foreclosures with the headline, “Churches Find the End is Nigh.”  That article written by Shelly Banjo was quickly picked up throughout the media world.  On Twitter scores of people passed along this article that was posted on Fox News with this title, “Church Foreclosures: Surge Seen as Next Wave in Crisis.”  This was my fear when first I knew that the WSJ was working on this article and when I saw what they published.  As published it presents a narrow one sided view that a miniscule number of churches in America are facing.  The message communicated, whether the articles purpose or not, is that this “surge” will grow with “rapid acceleration.”

Let me summarize my objections with the premise and conclusions of this article.

• It overstates the magnitude of the issue. 200 churches in the last two years forced into foreclosures is 0.00587% of the over 335,000 congregations in America.  Rapid acceleration from 8 to 200 in two years compared with 335,000 does not make this issue a surge or rapid.
• It failed to compare current foreclosures with previous recessions. The simple reality is that in a recession businesses close, even churches due to the downward spiral in the economy.  How does this past recession and its impact on churches compare to previous recessions, in particular the recession of the early 1980′s?  The article failed to give us a proper historical perspective.
• It over simplified why churches are being foreclosed. The premise seems to have been that the recession, unemployment and declining donations were the culprit.  Our experience, not our opinion, our experience is that there is always more to the story than the economy or any recession.  Sadly some of these foreclosed churches made stupid decisions and are paying for it.  It is all too easy to blame someone else.
• It assumes a worst case scenario. I don’t argue that many churches that have current debt will not be faced with stressful times to meet those obligations.  What American house payer is not?  However we have found banks more than willing to work with churches bending over backwards to keep them afloat.  Our view is that this will continue to be the case.  The bank is not the enemy!
• It assumes that giving to churches is in a steeper decline than facts reveal. Giving USA shocked many last spring when it produced its findings that giving to religion in 2009 decline only by 0.01%.  While some churches have seen giving decline the national average is much better than most realize.  Even among those churches that have seen declines in giving it has been slight.
• It makes a church’s problems in California every churches problem. Without question some churches for whatever reason are in trouble.  That is bad.  However what happens in California or Georgia does not mean that will happen to you and your church.  Pray for them but keep your focus on your house!

The article concerns me in that it feeds the popular view of so many that the sky is falling even in the church world.  An amazing reality of this past recession was the American tendency to see the glass not only half empty but quickly being drained dry.  Too often the media has feed this obsession for negativity.  Blood always leads.  Bad news sells.  At a time when we need balanced perspective from reasoned reporters it is disappointing to find articles such as these.  Why is this such a big deal?  Here are some thoughts

• It perpetuates fear and panic. As Christians we are to base what we do on faith not circumstances.  I would also counsel churches to make wise decisions.  I certainly advise our clients to consider the economy.  However be sure that you are reacting not out of fear of what “might” happen but from a position of faith and assurance.  The reality is that churches have always weathered recessions AND even built new structures.  The short comings of a few should not cause others to shrink back in fear.
• It confounds and clouds decision making. I would not want to be a pastor leading a church to expand with my lay leaders reading ONLY this article.  It would cloud their decisions and could ultimately lead to bad decisions.
• It freezes the church into indecision and inaction. Never before in my ministry have I seen the Church so frozen into inaction by a recession.  We have lost almost five years as a result of indecision and inaction.  While it might not be best to start that new building tomorrow plans for that needed facility still need work.  Too many churches have simply stopped the process and thus will find restarting it difficult if not impossible.
• It endangers growth. The delay of projects can and will delay growth in many churches.  Many churches have lost momentum that will be difficult to regain.
• It shifts the burden of how we move forward away from God’s leading to circumstantial issues. Those reading this who are not believers will find this hard to grasp.  We must always be people of faith.  Christians are not to blindly ignore facts.  We are however to act upon the basis of faith than fact.  The Church in these last few years has struggled with this.  I pray it shifts back.

Let me end by saying that any church facing foreclosure is sad.  Let me also give the reporter Shelly Banjo credit for pointing out this issue and some grace that some of her reporting might have been edited out due to space.  My view is less extreme than many.  I tend to see the glass as half full waiting to be filled to over flowing.  What I am simply asking for as we consider this issue is balance, objectivity and calmness.  Over reactions will do no one any good, especially your church.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

PS. We can, are and will help churches avoid foreclosure.  If you think you are in danger email or call us.

“Not so fast, my friend,” is a line Lee Corso of ESPN has made famous.  Every Saturday when his fellow co-hosts attempt to predict the outcome of a game in favor of one team over another Lee will point out what he feels is an overlooked item that could change the game in other ways.

I was reminded of that quote when I read the Wall Street Journal’s January 25th article entitled, “Churches Find End Is Nigh.”  The line under the head line states, “The number of religious facilities unable to pay their mortgage is surging.”  Surging?  The article written by Shelly Banjo, states in the second sentence, “The past few years have seen a rapid acceleration in the number of churches losing their sanctuaries because they can’t pay the mortgage.”  Really?  A rapid acceleration?  Ok, let me roll out a Lee Corso quote, “Not so fast my WSJ friend!”

Like so many articles about the impact of this past recession this article leads to fears that left unchecked or unchallenged could cause irreparable damage.  It is my opinion that this article buys into assumptions not entirely based upon facts.  It takes the problems of a very very few churches in America and makes it look like a surge and acceleration of trouble is ahead when the facts do not support it.  It disappoints me that my favorite newspaper published such a one sided and inaccurate view of what is happening in American church life.  As one who works with churches to meet their mortgage payments let me give you my not so fast facts.

0.000597 is the percentage number of US churches that were foreclosed since 2008! As a minister I hate to see any Christian church close that is working for Christ’s Kingdom.  For each of the nearly 200 churches that were foreclosed as listed by the WSJ that for them is a crisis and sad.  There are roughly 335,000 religious congregations in America.  Over 300,000 of these are Protestant churches.  To make a case that foreclosures are surging or rapidly accelerating is an inaccurate conclusion and poor journalism.  It creates the potential for panic where none should exist.

As I have tracked this story over the last few years I have seen headlines that read, “Church Foreclosures Triple In Recession.”  What the articles fail to tell you is that triple means it went from eight in previous years to twenty four.  Again, that is out of well over 300,000 churches.  Furthermore these articles never set this in historical context.  How has church foreclosures during this last recession compared to past recessions?  There is little historical data on this.  The assumption of the current WSJ article and every other fear mongering story I have read about church foreclosures is that the economy is to blame.  Again, not so fast!

Blaming the economy as the sole reason for any church foreclosure is a mistake. It is easy to blame the economy and leave it at that.  The problem is that it is too easy.  While I grant you that the economy has and will continue to play into the few churches that are in trouble in many of these churches that is only half the story.  Perhaps the most celebrated of all churches struggling to pay their debts is the Crystal Cathedral in California.  However one has to wonder how much the split between father and son caused stress on the finances of this church?  It would be a mistake to blame all their financial woes on the hard pressed economy of California.

We were called in by a bank to work with a church that is struggling to make their payments.  The pastor claimed that the decline in giving was due to the recession and that many of his members were unemployed.  We analyzed their giving data and indeed saw a decline in giving.  However as our team sat down in one on one interviews, small focus groups and analyzed an anonymous survey sent to congregants we gained a different perspective.  While some decline in giving could be tracked to unemployment the real reason for the decline in giving was not the economy but poor leadership.  Leaders were spending money in ways the members objected to.  Decisions were being made without the churches approval or support.  The result was that once generous contributors were withholding their gifts in protest of the direction of the church.  It had nothing to do with the economy.  In the few churches that we are working with that are struggling to pay their mortgage none is where they are solely as a result of the economy!

Under evaluation does not mean ultimate foreclosure. Thousands of Americans today find themselves living in homes that are valued for less than they paid or owe.  Yet over 90% of Americans are current on their loans and even though the value of their home has decreased they are not in danger of foreclosure.  The same is true for the vast majority of the churches in America.  We have several clients that have seen the value of their property decline.  While that does impact what they might be able to borrow on future loans or as they come to refinance current loans it does not mean they are in danger of losing their place of worship.  We have found that banks are bending over backwards to help churches during this economic down turn.  Banks simply don’t want the bad publicity of foreclosing on a church.  Nor do they want the white elephant on their balance sheet that church property is in terms of trying to sell it to anyone else.

Giving to religion has declined only fractionally. Another inaccurate assumption is that giving has greatly declined in churches thus forcing this supposed crisis.  The Wall Street Journal article stated, “Religious denominations of all kinds have suffered in recent years as donations have declined.”   The facts however do not bear this out.  Again, some churches are indeed struggling financially.  The facts are however that most are maintaining their current giving level.  Giving USA reported last spring that giving to religion in 2009 went down by only 0.3%.  In 2008 giving to religion actually went up!  This shocked many but facts are facts.  Historically during times of recession churches have weathered the storm better than almost any other institution.  In only three other recessions before this last one has giving to religion declined.  Each time, including this past recession, the decline was small.   Since giving has stayed steady it has allowed churches to meet their financial obligations to banks and thus avoid foreclosure.  Once again however the facts are ignored by the hype that the church is about to go under.

Perspective not panic is what is needed. Why is this even important?  Articles like the Wall Street Journal’s creates a view that often leads to panic and fear.  While it might fit the popular assumption that this past recession was calamitous the truth of the matter is that we have and will continue to survive.  The church has in the past weathered recessions and will weather this one.  Hyping the problems of a minute number of churches can cause others to delay or put off much needed projects.  Simply because a church in California is struggling to make their debt payments does not mean your church in Lincoln, NE will struggle too.

There are for sure lessons to be learned.  Churches like home owners over built and often made poor business decisions.  However all churches should not be penalized for the minute few that made poor decisions.  At the end of the day we in the church are not to base our futures upon Wall Street, Main Street or the bank down the street.  Our hope is in the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.  My money is on Him over the bank or even my favorite paper!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

If the economy was a season right now it would be early March across the United States.  For much of our country March means warmer weather and the promise of spring and new growth.  For other parts further north it simply means that there are several more weeks of cold weather before any green growth appears.  My brother use to live in South Dakota.  It began snowing in November and he did not see his yard again until April.  For many this economy seems like the winter of our discontent.  The cold ice still lingers and spring seems still in the distant future.  They look out their economic window and cannot see the yard for all the snow that has piled up.  Many churches feel the same way.

Yet the economy is on the rebound.  The recession, our worst since the early 1980′s is technically over and has been for a year.  I say technically because the emotional impact of this past recession is still with us.  In many parts of our country the recession STILL lingers.  Recessions come region by region and sector by sector.  They end in much the same way.  So a church in Dallas feels the impact differently than a church in Detroit.  Still even in cities like Detroit if you look you can see the signs of spring.  There are signs of the thaw that should give us all confidence in the future.  Here are some areas that you should focus on when looking for the coming of spring.

Look for unemployment to start declining. The “feel” of recovery is simply not there with the American people yet.  Forget that the Stock Market has rebounded and our 401K’s recovered much faster than most experts predicted.  Unemployment is what is driving the feel of our nation and it is still far too high even though it is now safely below 10%.  The past few weeks have seen the number slowly decline as our economy begins to thaw.  Companies are sitting on some of the largest cash reserves in their history.  They are poised to start hiring again.  An article in the Wall Street Journal on January 24th reported that a recent poll of 84 companies taken in the fourth quarter of last year by the National Association for Business Economics found 42% expect to increase jobs in the next six months.  That is up from 29% in the first quarter of 2010.  To be sure the decline in unemployment is slower than anyone would like.  Still expect Americans to go back to work.

Consumer Confidence is increasing. As unemployment drops then the confidence of consumers will continue to increase.  The Consumer Confidence Index basically tracks how Americans feel about the current status of the economy.  When it is high they spend more.  When it is low they spend less.  Consumers make up 70% of what drives our economy.  Consumer Confidence while taking a slight dip in December is none the less on the upswing.  This is good news for the economy.

From a church perspective you will find that when the consumer on the streets confidence is high then your donors in the pew will have a higher confidence.  A high donor confidence means more money in your offering plates.  People are starting to pull money out of their pockets to spend on various items.  The smart church will begin to tell their story of why donations to their ministry are a good investment.  While we might not like to admit it we are often in competition with Mickey and McDonalds for money in the plate.  High consumer confidence does not necessarily mean your offerings will go up but it does give you a better platform in which to communicate your story and vision.

Banks are starting to lend money at a faster rate. The inability of small businesses in America to acquire loans has been one of the major reasons this recession has lingered on for so long.  If a business cannot acquire a loan to start new work or continue existing work they are forced to put off hiring new employees and sometimes lay off existing employees.  You can see how this stagnates any decline in unemployment.  Banks have slowly started recovering from the crisis of the fall of 2008.  There are signs that lending is increasing.  This is good news but the rate of increase in loans is still far below what we need to see for expansion to pick up.

Large Banks have fared better than small banks.  In another Wall Street Journal article on January 24th they reported the problems small banks are having getting past the crisis.  They project that consolidation of many small banks looks inevitable.  This could have a huge impact upon churches.

Many churches have used smaller community banks in the past.  In part the reasons for this might have been the comfort level of working with a bank locally owned.  Many simply feel more at ease with a small bank rather than a national firm.  Small community banks seemed to be more in tune with the American Church than a major corporation.  As a result many churches turned to them for their financing.  That resource for loans all but dried up the last two years.  As churches were faced with little to no prospect of acquiring financing, building projects were put on hold.

The ice may be melting in the banking world but it is still going to be a tough road to hoe in acquiring financing for any type of project.  Expect it to take you longer than ever to get a loan.  Expect that you will have to prove to a greater degree that your church is a good risk for the banks you talk to.  You might also have to search far beyond the radius of your church to find an institution that will even talk to you.  Our advice to all our clients is to start sooner on this process rather than later.

This March gardeners all over our nation will begin to start preparing their gardens.  Old leaves will be cleared off.  The ground will be tilled.  Fertilizer will be used.  Seeds and seedlings will be purchased and in some cases even planted.  All this work will be in anticipation of a summer harvest.  Without the work in March there will be no harvest in summer.  The same is true for your church.  Start now in the March of this economy and you could see a harvest in the coming summer.  Keep your head under the covers for too long and you will miss not only the spring but the harvest as well.  Can you afford to stay under the covers any longer?

We can help! With all of the above we have the ability to help you chart a course of action to success.  Raising funds is not as easy as it once was.  Don’t make mistakes that could set you back months or years.  Call or email us today to see how we can help you.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

I love my job.  I love helping churches.  It is what God gifted me to do.  I believe quite frankly that I am one of the best in the stewardship field.  I work hard to be the best.  By God’s grace I have worked with some amazing churches from the largest church in North America to churches running only a few hundred.  Over the course of twelve and a half years in this ministry I have helped raise millions upon millions of dollars for Kingdom purposes.  As in any field there are always things that frustrate you.  One of my greatest frustrations is tying to get a church to even talk to me about how we could help.

It is a proven fact that if you go it alone in attempting to raise funds you will raise less money. I remember a couple of years ago being at a Sunday School party when one member asked what I did.  When I told him he remarked that our church had used stewardship firms in the past but on the last campaign had gone the Do It Yourself route.  They raised one million dollars less.  I have tons of stories like that and there are many studies to show this fact as true.

The Major Reasons Churches Fail To Engage Help

Money. The vast majority of churches that attempt to do it themselves do so because of the price of hiring outside consulting.  “You want how much?”  You can almost hear that rumbling in the heads of those people that sit around the table listening to your presentation.  While I don’t know what factored into my church not using a stewardship firm in their last campaign saving money probably was a factor.  They probably saved $50K to $75K on their way to raising one million less than the previous campaign.  I had a pastor once honestly tell me that they did not use a firm for the second campaign as they wanted to save money.  They raised half of what they raised on the first campaign with outside help.  Their third campaign they re-engaged with a firm to raise the amount of money pledged.

At times the fee for our services is the biggest hurdle we have to overcome in order to engage with a church.  My answer to this has been to offer our services in a variety of ways.  The issue should never be to see how cheap you can get the services you need.  The issue should always be, who can best help us raise the most funds to fuel our dreams?  If I can double the amount you would raise would not my fee be worth it?  Value should be the issue not price.

Churches feel they were snookered. This issue runs a close second to money.  Frankly too many stewardship firms have over promised and under delivered to too many churches.  The result is that the stewardship industry has a black eye with many churches.  We charged too much and delivered too little.  Those companies with a sales force were especially guilty of this.  Salesmen, even Christian salesmen, all too often will only tell you what they know you want to hear.  The object is to win the contract.  Over promising, under delivering and out right lying have caused many churches to simply ignore any other stewardship firms attempt to help them.

Add to this the fact that many consultants, the person actually assigned to run the campaign, are over worked, continually on the road, and stretched to the breaking point.  What results is that you never fully get the service you were sold by the salesmen.  When was the last time you even heard from your consultant.  In my early days of working at a major firm it was not unheard of for me to work over twenty churches a year.  One of my associates at that firm that is now with us once worked nearly thirty campaigns in a calender year.  His churches were lucky if they saw him six times in six months or heard from him once in the three years of the campaign.  How much is that worth?  Churches are saying, “Not much!”  This is one reason our consultants only work six to eight churches in a calender year and most of the time it is four to six.  Our goal is to deliver on what we promised.

Unrealistic Expectations. All the fault cannot be laid at the feet of stewardship firms.  There are good firms out there with good men and women fully committed to faithful service.  One problem is that too often churches have expectations that simply cannot be met.  While some of the blame might be that a salesman told you things that cannot be met at the same time I find many churches are unrealistic in their demands.  A good stewardship partner can and will help you raise more money.  However if you do not have the capacity to raise what you think it is not their fault.  If you don’t follow the advice they give then if you fail it is not their fault.  Part of our job is to give you a proper perspective of what is possible.  While we can bring great value to your campaign or annual funding we cannot work miracles.  That belongs thankfully in God’s territory.

What happens when churches have unrealistic expectations is that disappointment is the natural result. Then on the morning after the commitments come in and the result is not what the church hoped for someone has to be blamed.  All too often it is the stewardship partner.  While I grant you that the fault many times lies in bad advice or under delivering of promises, still blame cannot be totally shifted away from the church.  The underlying cause is often unrealistic expectations.  When time comes around for another campaign the pain of the last failure keeps churches from engaging with another stewardship firm.

We can do this ourselves. It seems easy.  It sometimes sounds easy.  Many churches think that everyone is on board.  How hard can it be to get people to give more money to their church?  I will grant you that a few pastors have the ability to run their own campaign.  Those that do are typically gifted in the area of administration and have had prior campaign experience.  The truth is that most don’t have the extra time to give to designing AND over seeing a campaign on top of their specific campaign duties as a pastor.  This is not to mention their regular weekly duties like preparing to preach Sunday’s sermon, visit the sick, counsel, administer the staff and make sure the bathrooms have toilet paper in them.  It is simply not as easy as you think.  This is especially true if you have major funds to raise.

One reason I think churches fail when they do it themselves is they do not have anyone to hold them accountable.  We allow churches to decide how much of our services they want to use.  Many, especially those that have prior campaign experience, think they can run the commitment part of the campaign themselves.  What I find is that all too often since it is no one’s specific duty to keep the campaign on track the campaign falls through the cracks.  Many times I get calls from Church Administrators asking if I could add the campaign programming to what we are already engaged to help them with.  They realize often late in the game that they simply do not have the time to keep things running smoothly.  Be sure when you say you can do it yourself that you really can and will do it yourself.

Please let me help you! If you have gotten this far through my post please consider talking to a quality stewardship firm.  Of course I want your business.  Of course I think we are the best.  At the end of the day however I want you to succeed.  We work hard to make each of our engagements with churches a win/win for everyone.  We are ready able and willing to help you achieve the dreams God has given you.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

Perhaps the number one question I get asked by potential clients wanting to raise funds through a capital stewardship campaign is, how much can they raise?  It is a pertinent question when you are faced with projects that easily run millions of dollars.  Or you have an existing million dollar plus debt you need to pay off quickly.  Just how much can you count on raising over and above your regular offerings?  While it is an important question the answer is far from easy.  Honestly the truthful answer is, no one knows.  Truth in my industry however is sometimes hard to come by. We lose often to other firms because we simply refuse to give churches sales answers that have no basis of truth to them.  Our motto is, “We would rather tell you the truth and lose the contract but have your respect six months later when you find out we were right.”

In the stewardship industry there is no more disingenuous issue than how we answer the question of how much you can raise in a capital stewardship campaign. There are so many stewardship firms that I have lost count.  There are at least ten to twenty major firms competing for your business.  On top of that there are about the same number of small one man firms.  Then nearly every denomination has their own stewardship group.  The bottom line is that it is fiercely competitive.  What that produces is a lot of smoke and mirrors in an attempt to impress you and thereby gain your business.  In the sales cycle to gain a churches business ahead of the competition it is all too easy to lie, fabricate or simply tell you what you want to hear.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in dealing with the question, how much can we raise?

You can raise between one and a half to three times your annual budget in a capital stewardship campaign! For years everyone in the stewardship industry gave that as the standard answer.  Churches never heard the one and a half number but always focused on the three times number.  The result was that their expectations going into a campaign were often too high.  It set many a church up for failure.

The truth of the matter is that most stewardship companies purposely do not know what their pledge to budget ratio is.  To my knowledge there has never been an outside independent study of how much churches actually raise in a campaign compared to their annual operating budget.  Honestly most companies make up the number.  I have sat in the room with salesmen who told churches that our average was 2.4 times only to admit to me in the car riding to the airport that they just made the number up.  No one really knows what the average is.

Raising more than two times your operating budget is always the result of large gifts. This statement is not something that most companies will tell you.  I have many pastors who tell me about a buddy of theirs whose church is smaller but raised three to four times their operating budget in their campaign.  What he is saying is, “If my buddy can raise that amount, surely my bigger church can raise that or more.”  What he does not know is that his buddy most probably had significant gifts to get to that level.  I always say, “Your friend across the state has Bill Gates in his church.  Does any of Bill Gates relatives go to your church?”  If you do not have that kind of horse power under the hood of your engine you will not get your car up to that level.   Churches that raise more than two times their operating budget typically do so with significant gifts from wealthy members.  Do you have those kinds of members?  If not then you had better lower your expectations.

In the interview process no company can tell you how much you can raise. Stop asking the question.  It is the wrong question to ask.  The only way the question would be valuable to you is to see if the company is honest or not.  The honest answer at that point is, “We don’t know and it depends on a lot of factors.”  You might not find that helpful but it is the truth.  Don’t get suckered by the claims that their average is four times budget or whatever. It’s a sales answer and you can be sure they have thrown out the bad results to make their average look better.  In the sales cycle everyone will tell you the best case scenario.

The impact of the recession has lowered what campaigns raise. I doubt seriously if the average ever was one and a half times to three times a churches budget.  Three times was rare.  Now after this past recession it is even more rare.  While there has been no outside national study of the average my experience is that campaigns are now raising one times to at best two times budget.  People are greatly impacted still by the unease of this recession.  As a result they are far less aggressive in the amount they might put down on a card.  What pastors are now hearing is laypeople saying, “Pastor we made a commitment to the campaign but we hope to give more.”  What this means is that you need to lower your expectation.  You can still raise significant funds but you need to be realistic.

Avoiding unrealistic expectations will help you avoid failure. Can you assure me that this weekend people will respond to your sermon and commit their lives to Christ?  No.  What you can assure me is that you have worked hard on your message.  You have prayed fervently for God to show up.  What will happen is unknown.  You do the best you can praying and hoping for results.  In the end the results are out of your hands.  In much the same way you need to approach any capital stewardship campaign.  Good planning and hard work will give you the best opportunity to raise significant money.  How much money depends upon so many factors that you ultimately will not know until after the campaign is over.  Don’t let that honest answer discourage you from starting now to raise funds to fuel your dream.

The question is not how much can you raise but how long it will take you! If your project is going to cost $10 million or $1 million you can over time raise that amount.  Don’t expect to raise it in one campaign.  Given time and a healthy congregation you can and will hit the number you need.

Please don’t fall prey to the marketing of slick companies that promise so much.  Our industry has numerous honest and sincere companies and workers.  Find the one that best fits you and you will increase your ability to raise significant funds.  Just make sure you are asking the right questions and have realistic expectations.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

RT @themillennials are indifferent toward American churches because they don’t see these churches making a significant impact on the world.  That Tweet was posted by Tom Rainer this morning on Twitter.  He and his son have written a new book on reaching Millennials.  Millennials comprise the generation that was born between 1980 and 2000.  Some 78 million people comprise this generation.  The Rainer’s book talks about the difficulties in reaching this generation whose view of the church is often one of indifference.

The tweet that begins this post states that Millennials don’t see the church making a significant impact on the world.  Are you kidding me?  When Haiti was devastated by the earthquake last year it was the church, countless individual congregations, many denominations and several Christian organizations that led the way for support.  Look at all the hospitals in our country with the name of a denomination at the front of them.  Millions upon millions of dollars every year are given by the church around the world in aide and support.  Yet it appears that Millennials somehow have missed this news.

The fault lies with the fact that most churches do a poor job of trumpeting their wins.  It’s as if we fear that telling the story of what we accomplish is somehow bragging or being boastful.  Corporate America spends millions every year telling Americans all the positive great things they do.  Remember all those BP feel good ads this past year?  Oil was continuing to gush out of the ocean floor but BP kept advertising how hard they were working, how much they cared and on and on.  I am not proposing that we adapt Fifth Avenue marketing.  I am proposing that we tell our story again and again.

Learn From Non-Profits

When was the last time you received a letter from any non-profit?  The next time you get one look at it closely.  One thing I can assure you is that it will tell you all about the positive things they are doing.  They will appeal for your gift by telling you not only how badly it is needed but by telling you what it will do.  My wife supports Smile Train an organization that provides medical help for cleft palate born children in third world countries.  Letters from this organization typically have real glossy pictures included in them.  They don’t just tell you about what they are doing they show you.  They celebrate their accomplishments.  Why is this important?  People love to be on a winning team.  People love to know that their money is making a difference.  Show them that it is and they will give you more money.

Churches need to blow their own horn!

No one else will celebrate your wins.  You have to do it yourself.  Your church accomplishes so much every year that gets unnoticed.  Part of the fault is that we do a poor job of telling our story.  Could it be that Millennials are ignorant of the impact the church is making in our world because we simply are not blowing our own horn?  Could it be that one reason why your giving is struggling is that you have not told your story?  It is time that we the church start telling people about the impact we are making.  The press is not going to do it.  You have to do it yourself.

Start making offering time story time.

They typical offering at an American church is one of the most boring moments of the service.  We give so little thought to this as we do it every week.  Is it any wonder giving has declined year after year?  Here is a thought, why not take thirty to second seconds before EVERY offering and tell the positive things that gifts to your church are being used for.  Don’t tell people to give.  Show them what giving does.  What if you showed videos of mission work?  What if you took just thirty seconds to highlight some ministry of the church.  You could say, “Did you know that one area where your gifts make an impact is in our Student Ministry?  We every week have over fifty teenagers in our Impact student meeting.  We are working hard at training up the next generation.  Your gift today in part helps us reach this crucial generation for Jesus.”  You could say that better than I just did but hopefully you get the point.

It is time that we in the church celebrate our wins and tell our story.  We do so much good that seldom ever gets mentioned.  If you don’t blow your own horn no one else will.  It is not bragging if it is true.  Start thinking today how you can show people the “wins” your church is involved in.  It might just impress Millennials that indeed the church is relevant.  It might also increase the amount of money your church receives.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

Every day that I work in the stewardship ministry I am reminded of how important the pastors role is.  Without high pastoral involvement a church will hardly ever meet or exceed its financial obligations.  Yet the more I work with churches the more frustrated I am that so many pastors fail to see the key role they play.  In working on my newest book I came across a quote from “Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money.”  The authors quote Loren Mead, a clergyman and church management consultant.  Read what he wrote…

“Some pastors make a virtue of being “above” all that concern for filthy lucre…Under the rubric that money is “secular” and that the pastor’s work has to do with the “sacred,” clergy have written a brief that permits them to avoid leadership in the financial management and leadership of the congregation.  They have accepted a functioning job description that excludes any concern for what I contend is one of the dominant spiritual issues every parishioner has: how to deal with material resources.  This means that clergy not only give little leadership to the financial life of a congregation, but also set up a climate that sets little value on the functions of financial management carried out by others…It means pastoral abdication of one of the most troubling dimensions of living in our society.”

When pastors abdicate involvement in stewardship everyone is negatively impacted including your operating budget.  Abdicating your role in stewardship education helps perpetuate the decline of giving among American Christians.

One of our client churches is Christ Church in Fairview Heights, IL.  If you think denominational churches are dead and dying then you have not been to Christ Church a fast growing United Methodist Church pastured by Shane Bishop.  Christ Church only thirty minutes from downtown Saint Louis is experiencing tremendous growth not only in attendance but in giving.  Rev. Bishop has been the senior pastor at Christ UMC since 1997. Under his leadership the average worship attendance has grown from around 300 to over 1,200, and membership has grown from 400 to over 1,000. In the last three years, there have been almost 200 professions of faith.  Shane was named the 2010 Distinguished Evangelist of The United Methodist Church.

Christ Church has seen amazing results in their giving.  From 2007 to 2008 they increased giving by 46% and the number of giving units by 50%.  Much of this increase was due to entering their new sanctuary.  From 2008 to 2009 giving increased by 15% and the number of giving units increased by 13%.  This past year they saw giving increase by 23% and their giving units increase by 8%.  This is remarkable when you consider that these years were during the height of the recession.

On top of general offering gifts they also raised over $2 million dollars in capital campaign money.  With about five months left on their capital campaign they have received 92% of what has been pledged and are on pace to exceed the pledged amount.  While not your typical denominational church they none the less are running counter to the assumption that denominationalism is dead.  If a denominational church can raise funds what is your excuse?

One key reason for their success?  Pastor Bishop takes the lead in stewardship.  In every church that we see success in giving ALWAYS the pastor is the key.  Bill Easum and Bil Cornelius in their book, “Go Big,” write the following, “Don’t delegate raising money to someone else.  Others can help but the lead pastor is the primary fund-raiser.” They conclude their chapter on giving by saying, “Never shy away from asking for money because you are asking for the greatest mission in the world – God’s mission to save creation.  You should never be embarrassed.  The one who should be embarrassed is the one who refuses to give!  As a leader, if you allow finances to hold your church back from reaching your community, then you just allowed finances to become your God.”

Nothing gets done without the pastor, including raising funds.  How involved are you?  It is time to step it up!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group