The Twitterverse is abuzz with talk of Rob Bell’s new book “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.”  From the promo put out by the publisher and the promo video of Bell himself talking about the book it seems to have leanings towards Universalism.  I sincerely hope that is not the case but I have read many posts from guys who have read pre-released excerpts and feel Bell has moved towards Universalism.  Perhaps the best posting on this issue is by Justin Taylor.  His blog response to Bell’s new book can be found at http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/02/26/rob-bell-universalist/ If it is true that Bell is departing from the Biblical position that those without Christ end up in hell then he could be looking at a serious decline in his church membership.  That in turn will impact what comes in to the offering plate.

While there are certainly larger issues than the offering in a story about a preacher abandoning theology this is after all a stewardship blog.  I will leave the theology to guys like Taylor and others who are addressing the slippery slope Bell appears to be on.  For my part, thinking of stewardship, this move could well be the beginning of the end for his church.

I was reminded of Carlton Pearson who was the evangelical pastor of Higher Dimensions Family Church, a megachurch in Tulsa, Ok closely tied to the Oral Roberts ministries.  His church grew quickly and attracted national attention.  He was both a gifted communicator and a fabulous Gospel singer.  Yet he lost nearly all of his members and his building when he became a universalist, preaching that all mankind will be go to heaven and that there is no hell.  The contemporary Christian musician Carman famously attended this church but parted with Pearson after he declared there was no hell.  Pearson found that when it comes to offerings theology matters.

Here in the Atlanta area Church in the Now grew rapidly under the direction of James Swilley.  He recently was quoted in an Atlanta Journal Constitution article about church foreclosures.  Swilley was quoted as saying that he over built and took out an $18 million dollar loan that they now are struggling to meet.  Swilley blamed first the recession but did say that some members have left due to his “very liberal” view of theology.  The articles next sentence says, “Membership also took a dip after Swilley announced last October that he is gay.”  You think? It is not the economy that is his problem.  It is his life of sin and his open acceptance of that lifestyle that has cost him thousands of members and multiple thousands of dollars and will soon cost him his building.

While espousing views of universalism is not the same as embracing homosexuality they both none the less are a radical departure from theological truth.  Bell, Pearson and Swilley have the right to chose whatever path they might want to pursue.  They should not however be surprised when members vote with their feet and their dollars.  Our theology matters in so many ways.  Espousing  universalism could lead many to feel safe without ever accepting Jesus as their savior.  That is the greatest tragedy.  Yet realize also that theology does matter when it comes to the offering.  I am praying the Twitter hype over Bell’s new book is wrong.  However if it is true expect his star to fade and his church to decline.  Don’t let this happen to you.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

A guy that I follow on Twitter sent out a tweet the other day plugging a new program whereby he could project what your giving would be if everyone tithed.  I am sure it is a slick program and can bring you back a number guaranteed to make you drool.  The only problem is seeing 100% of your members tithe is a pipe dream.  You might as well hope for becoming Bill Gates.

I am not being pessimistic I am being practical.  Here are some of the major reasons you will never see 100% of your members tithing 10% of their income.

1. Not everyone in the church is a member of THE Church. Billy Graham once said that the church is the greatest mission field in the US.  Jesus nailed it in the Sermon on the Mount when He said that not everyone who called him Lord would enter into Heaven.  So to begin with those church members are not going to be spiritually inclined to give in the first place.
2. Tithing is a maturity issue. Apart from the fact that you have lost members on the roll, you also have spiritually immature Christians who have not arrived at the point of tithing.  I heard Barna once say it took the average church member three years to come up to speed in their giving.
3. It’s a financial thing. Frankly many of your members are worrying about making the house payment or the rent or whatever long before they worry about tithing.  So many are up to their eye balls in debt that they cannot see a way to give much of anything much less 10%.  The reality is they don’t have 10% to give.

There might be other reasons but those are the big three in why people do not give or tithe.  Spending the bulk of your time in stewardship chasing after those that don’t give will only wear you out and bring little in return.  Finding out what you might bring in if everyone tithed is a waste of time.  It is like me imaging what I could buy if only I hit the Lottery.  Pipe dreams.

Here is what you would be better off focusing on.

1. Work on the top end to further maximize your giving dollars. Jesus had the 70, the 12 and the 3.  If he knew the value of spending more time with fewer people why do we not utilize the same strategy?  It is not showing favoritism when you focus on top end donors.  It is simply adjusting to the reality that the few will give the majority of the money.  Spend what little time you have where it will bring the most results.
2. Teach everyone how to be good stewards of everything God gives us. Make this the issue first and foremost and you are more likely to get more tithers.  Too many preach a guilt trip on tithing that never helps debt strapped members know how to do that.  Honestly they tune you out when they hear you preach on tithing as they think they could never afford to get to that level.  I am all about tithing.  I just think what we have been doing is not working.  If you are still getting the same results as you have always got then something might need changing.
3. Focus on making disciples not adding numbers. Too many churches are a mile wide and an inch deep.  The “crowd” will never tithe but disciples will.  Success is not measured by how many people you had in attendance but by how many disciples you are producing.

What is your stewardship plan for your congregation?  If it is simply a sermon on tithing where you tell them how much the church might bring in if everyone tithed you will fail.  Churches have been trying this for years and year after year what Americans give to the church declines by percentage.  It might be time to do something new.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

There is a saying that it is a recession if your neighbor is unemployed.  It is a depression if you are unemployed.  That saying has been in my mind as I have watched with interest the reaction to recent articles about church foreclosure and my prospective on that.  One guy said, “I wish you would have talked to me before you published that because I know of 20 churches that are upside down.”  I don’t disagree with that and believe that we will see other churches be in danger of foreclosure and some even be forced into foreclosure.  I remain in my view that this is still less than 1% of the congregations in the U.S.

The point of my posts about the church foreclosure issue is not to deny that they exist for they do.  Nor am I saying more will not follow, because they will.  My point was that the panic that ensued as a result of these articles was unwarranted.  Further more the premise that this is all a result of the past recession is only half the truth.  There is indeed in all these cases more than meets the eye.  We have to be careful to overstate and oversimplify this issue.

A larger issue of concern with regards to churches and their loans is the value of the property that they used as collateral for their loan.  Today Zillow sent me an email to inform me that the value of my house had increased by 1%.  It gave me little joy as their stated value is still almost 20% below what I initially paid for the house.  While I am not underwater I none the less would be hard pressed to sell my house and gain any profit.  The value of my home has also kept us from being able to refinance at a better rate.  The same thing that your members are facing in terms of their homes is what you as a church could be facing.

A Two Way Street

Who is to blame when a church is upside down?  Is it the banks fault that gave a loan to the church or the churches fault for taking the loan?  I think both are to blame.  Many churches acquired loans using their existing property as collateral.  Banks were willing to give excessive valuations on properties that they now are more realistically assessing.  I know one church who when they acquired their loan their land and buildings were assessed for around $6 million.  Today the banks says the same property is worth less than $3 million.  Now of course they find themselves upside down.  Trying to renegotiate their current loan becomes hard due to their declined asset evaluation.

What do you do to keep out of trouble? I have been writing on this for the last couple of weeks.  Let me summarize some key points for you to consider…

• Do everything in your power to stay current on your payments.

• Stay in contact with your bank.

• Have a plan and work your plan.

• Keep good records and 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.  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.
• 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.
• A line item in your budget for debt – Banks want to see that you have budgeted repayment of the loan and are not simply depending upon outside gifts.
• 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.

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.  Don’t blame the bank for your lack of attention to this crucial detail.

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

As I write this on Sunday morning my Twitter messages posted by pastors are filled with excitement and hope.  One wrote, “SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY. Gentlemen start your engines. The tomb is empty! Jesus crossed the finish line!”  He might be thinking more about NASCAR than church but he is excited.  Most post stuff about their sermon series, how the music will rock and stuff like that.  All are expecting great things.

I have yet to see a post EVER say, “Praying that our offering plates run over so we can fund more ministries!”  So since no one else was posting anything like that here is what I posted this morning, “Hey pastors, I am praying your offering plates run over so you can fund more ministry and keep your staff on salary!”  As of yet no one has responded.  Sadly most pastors will do very little today to ensure that their offering plates will overflow.  Here are my ten reasons why.

1. The majority of pastors view any talk of money as unpopular and avoid the subject. I wonder if we are more interested in running numbers than producing disciples?
2. Most pastor simply do not see the importance of good stewardship planning. What you view as important you spend time on.  You will find few pastors that spend time on their stewardship plans.
3. Pastors are under trained in the area of stewardship. We simply do not train pastors well in this area.  At some point we have to break this trend.
4. Few pastors take the time to learn how to increase stewardship at their church. Everything I have learned about stewardship I learned on my own.  Pastor must do the same.
5. Seldom does the offering time get any thought or planning to make it special. How much thought and prayer did you put into your offering time?  The offering has become a rut.
6. The vast majority of churches in America lack a stewardship plan. If you don’t plan you are planning on failure.  Why is it you have a missions plan or growth plan but no stewardship plan to fund them?
7. The majority of pastors in America feel the churches finances is not their business. Who said it was not your business?  When the lead pastor is not involved the church will never reach their potential.
8. When the pastor is not the lead in stewardship no one really owns it and thus it suffers. It is not that you have to run everything but you need to make sure that someone is.
9. We don’t make giving meaningful and exciting. It is not that churches talk too much about money.  It is that when we talk about money we do it in a way that lacks appeal.
10. The majority of pastors simply do not feel stewardship is important. I always say I can tell what you value by your check book and your day planner.  The same is true about stewardship.  Saying it is important but not backing that up with actions shows what you truly believe.

So, do all of the above and you can be assured that your offering plate this morning will not overflow.  Then don’t complain on Monday morning when the report comes in about the decline in giving.  Of course you can make some simply changes that will ensure that your offering plate is full.  It takes so little time and effort.  The time and effort might just save your budget and your salary!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

Recently I interviewed church members at a contemporary church whose leaders are contemplating another capital stewardship campaign to help pay down their debt.  Repeatedly I heard members say things like, “We talk too much about money here.”  This was coming from people who are the top donors of this church.  When we do interviews we ask to talk to those that are giving not those that are not.  So it struck me as odd that so many had the perception that their church was focusing too much on money.  My premise is, and I wrote a whole chapter on this, churches don’t talk about money too much, they don’t talk about it enough.

I commented to one couple that I was interviewing that if their pastor preached one sermon a year on stewardship out of fifty two that would be one too many for a lot of people.  In fact at this particular church I pressed to find out how often the pastor does preach on money.  I knew the answer but wanted to hear it from them.  The reply was one series a year that typically lasts three to four weeks.  Well, if he only preaches on it that one time a year why do so many think that all the church talks about is money?  Another person replied that a few weeks back during the offering the pastor mentioned the need to give.  So that’s it?  Does that really qualify as talking too much about money?  That morning I was in their second service and at the offering time the worship leaders said, “As we sing our collectors will come forward so you may give your tithe and offerings.”  That was all that was said.  Yet for many I suppose that was too much.

Later that evening in a focus group I probed further of the eleven people I was interviewing.  What were their thoughts?  One man commented on the fact that there was always something to give to or pay for.  If you had kids and you wanted to enroll them in Upward Bound sports there was a fee for that.  The youth regularly go on trips that almost always require some amount of money to be paid.  Then there were a host of special offerings that were listed from benevolence to special projects of need around the church.  So, while the church was not specifically pressing for money the bottom line was that the perception was that money was always mentioned or required.  As we all know perception is the cruelest form of reality.

Study after study has shown that the vast majority of churches hardly ever talk about money.  Yet the presumption is that churches talk about money all the time.  I am sure some churches talk too much about money but they are the minority rather than the majority.  Why then is it that most people would agree that churches talk too much about money?  Here are some simple reasons.

1. Money is the god of our age. Any talk about money is too much talk about money if it means having to give up some of my precious dollars.
2. Materialism has impacted the church. Sadly we are not focused on being disciples but on acquiring things.  Thus we get stingy rather than generous with our money.
3. Those who are struggling with God’s ownership of all we possess see any talk of money as too much talk about money. It is a maturity issue.
4. The price of the abuse of a few is paid for by the rest. Sure some TV preachers have abused money.  Some churches harp on it too much.  The sad reality is that all the rest get characterized by the abuse of others.
5. Churches all too often fail to communicate giving the right way. Christians should give out of obligation.  Yet churches need to do a better job of showing the benefits of giving both for the churches Kingdom work and for the member’s blessings.

Here is my advice.  Don’t stop taking up the offering.  Don’t stop talking and preaching about money and giving.  Look at how you make appeals.  I am convinced and studies verify that people give to a compelling vision.  Make every opportunity to give an appealing opportunity.  You will find you have more dollars and less complaining.  At the end of the day remember this, Jesus talked more about money and possessions than any other thing.  If he talked about it so much why are you not?

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

How fast can your car go?  If you are a car person you probably know the answer to that.  Not being a car person I have no clue.  I only care that my car can get me there and back.  Yet I do know that the key to how fast my car will go depends upon how much horse power is under the hood.  When it comes to raising funds the same is true for your church.  How much you can potentially raise depends upon how much horse power you have among your donor base.  If your church is totally lower wage earners or middle wage earners the answer to how much can you raise will be much different from a church filled with doctors and lawyers.

I often hear pastors comment, “My buddy across town runs hundreds less than we do, has a smaller budget than we do, and they raised four times their annual budget in their campaign.”  Yes and Bill Gates nephew goes to his church.  Do you have a Bill Gates or a Warren Buffett in your church?  No, well it might be time for a reality check.  Just as your car can only go as fast as the horse power under the hood, so your church can only raise as much as the horse power of your donor base.  This reality is all too often ignored by churches as they approach their capital stewardship campaigns.  Why is that?  Here are some thoughts.

Churches too often fall prey to the sales pitch. For years churches have been told that the average of a capital stewardship campaign is one and a half to three times your annual budget raised over three years.  Churches never seem to hear one and a half.  They always heard three times and assumed that was what they could raise.  It’s a sales pitch that has no validity to the facts.  The truth is that no one at that point can tell you with any degree of accuracy what your church can raise.  There are simply too many unknowns.

When I started The Charis Group I decided not to have a sales force.  The reason why is that salesmen tell you what you want to hear not what you need to hear.  They always focus on the best case scenario not what your church might experience.  The truth is that there has never been an independent study on how much churches raise through capital stewardship campaigns.  I do know of one stewardship firm that hired marketing firm to do a study but the results were skewed and suspect.  The honest answer to the question, how much can we raise is, it depends.  Not exactly a winning sales strategy.  However it is the truth.

Churches fall prey to the comparison trap. As with my Bill Gates illustration at the beginning of the post too many churches base what they might do on another churches experience.  Think about it though, is there any other church exactly like yours?  None!  Every church is unique. Churches that raise more than two times their operating budget ALWAYS do so as a result of large gifts of $50K and up.  Most churches raising more than two times their budget have several six figure and even seven figure contributions.  Do you have those kinds of donors?  Comparing yourself to another church can lead you to an unrealistic expectation.

Churches tend to confuse optimism with faith. I am all about faith.  However at some point you have to face reality.  If you are a church of a $500K budget it is probably overly optimistic to think you can raise $3 million dollars in one campaign.  I know God owns the cattle on a thousand hills but in my experience without very large contributions a church will never raise that kind of money.  However I have had pastors with budgets of that amount assure me they can and will raise that amount.  Not without significant gifts.  Again, do you have a Bill Gates at your church?  While it might be harsh to say, even if the janitor at your church is super excited about the project, there is only so much he can give you above his tithe.

Churches ask the wrong question. The wrong question is how much can we raise?  The right question is how long will it take to raise the amount we need? My pastor friend with the $500K budget could indeed raise $3 million.  It will simply take him longer than three years to do so.  What he needs is a plan to get him to where he needs to be.  In every church campaign that I have worked on, including Lakewood’s $100 million dollar project, it took more than one campaign to raise the total amount needed.  If the largest church in North American needs more than one campaign who are we to think we can do it in one?

It might be fun to have a car that can go faster than my Toyota Camry.  The truth is that my Camry will get me to the airport and back just fine if not as fast as a red Corvette.  My car is dependable and trustworthy AND paid for!  What more could I want?  It is time to be realistic about what you can raise.  Your church might not be a Corvette in terms of raising funds fast.  Yet it still can get you to where you need to go.  You simply need directions.  That is what we do.  Give us a call.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

One of the most over looked aspects of raising funds is prayer.  In our rush to put programs together and catchy themes we often forget about our greatest resource, prayer.  One reason for this oversight might be that we all too often over look the importance of prayer in many of our endeavors in church.  We give lip service to prayer but do we actually really pray?  Apart from a one minute platform prayer do we really engage in the exercise and discipline of prayer?

The last two days I have been at Phillips Temple in the Dayton, Ohio area.  Of all the churches that I have ever worked with this is the most praying church I know of.  In fact as I have been recovering from a recent fall I was prompted to ask the church to pray for me.  I can say that in all my years as a believer I have never had a group of people pray for me like my adopted Phillips family.

Led by Pastor James Washington this church has made prayer a key to all they do.  Every campaign that we have held at Phillips, we are in our fourth, has been bathed in prayer.  Is it any wonder that they have yearly increased their giving while adding millions of dollars in capital campaign giving?    This is no small accomplishment in a recession ravaged area like Dayton.

What lessons can the rest of us learn from the Phillips success story?  Here are a few…

Build a climate for prayer. Don’t just pray when your back is against the wall make prayer a natural aspect of all you do.  Prayer should be the key element of everything you do.  Pastor, if you are not praying you will not lead your church to pray!

Don’t programize prayer. We have a tendency to make everything into a program.  While enlisting a prayer team and organizing around the clock  prayer slots might be a great idea it too often can lead to prayer simply being one more church program.  True Spirit directed prayer cannot be boxed in by a prayer program.

Don’t apologize about prayer. When it comes to capital campaigns and prayer many times churches shy away from an extensive prayer thrust.  They fear that members will feel that the call for prayer is really a disguised call for giving.   You are not asking them to pray when you really are asking them to give.  You are asking them to pray in order that they might know what God wants them to give. If all that we possess is God’s why should we not pray about what to give?  If we are truly trying to walk by faith how can we do that apart from prayer?  So, be unapologetic in calling your church to pray about their giving.

Start your own Phillips Temple success story by making prayer the foundation of all you do.  Don’t just give lip service to the power of prayer.  Fall on your knees today and ask God to favor your offering this Sunday.  When was the last time you prayed for the offering as opposed to simply praying before the offering? There is a big difference that will result in a big difference.  There really is power in prayer in raising funds.  Just ask Phillips Temple.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

I once heard a pastor at the beginning of his capital campaign say, “We are raising faith not raising funds.”  He was exactly right.  When it comes to raising dollars in your church whether it is a capital campaign or simply your budget, you have to approach it differently from fund raising.  If you are attempting to raise dollars like the YMCA you might raise some cash but it is questionable whether or not you are raising faith.  I love capital campaigns as they are one of the greatest ways to teach your members how to walk by faith.

Just this morning I had a conversation with a client about making their campaign about faith not fund raising.  They had all the elements in place.  Meetings were scheduled.  A sermon series was planned.  Materials were in the process of being printed.  When I asked about any prayer strategy they admitted that as of yet they had none.  So that exchange got me to thinking about all this.

Here are some important elements to remember to help you make your next campaign be about faith raising not fund raising.

Campaigns should be run consistent with how you do everything else. We used to always say that you needed to weave the life of the church into the campaign and the campaign into the life of the church.  Would you send out a missions team without prayer?  Why then would you not have a prayer strategy along with all the other plans of your campaign?  If everything else we do and teach is about faith why should a campaign be different?  The most successful campaigns that I know of were always bathed in prayer.  You are not asking members to pray but really wanting them to give.  You are asking them to pray in order that they might know what God wants them to give.

Use your campaign as a teachable moment. From your preaching to what your small groups discuss the campaign gives you a great opportunity to teach how to walk by faith.  It is not simply about raising funds.  It is about raising the faith level of your congregation.  The campaign gives you a platform upon which to teach biblical principles that will impact all of my life, not just what I put down on my commitment card.

Never assume that everyone knows how to arrive at a decision. One of the mistakes we often make is to assume that people know how to find the will of God.  Even your most seasoned members struggle with this.  Since your last campaign you have had numerous people join who have no clue about how to find God’s will in terms of giving or even living.  Use the campaign to teach them how to find God’s direction.

I believe if you will approach your campaign with this in mind it will take on new meaning.  If you view it as an opportunity to teach life lessons WHILE you raise funds it might change your attitude.  When you have a better attitude about your campaign it will reflect in all you do.  While it might seem a bit corny, truly you are about raising faith not funds.  Approaching it in this manner could mean the difference from success and failure.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

Can a church have too many capital stewardship campaigns?  Yes.  While this answer might seem surprising from a guy who makes his living helping churches put on capital stewardship campaigns it is a truth that needs to be communicated.  Frankly it is not something you will hear those in my industry admit to.  For one thing most companies make their living helping you put on campaigns.  Most firms don’t know how to do anything else.  Most firms still act like it is 1980 and have not essentially changed how they approach stewardship.  It is time to wake up and realize it is not 1980!

Here are some truths to consider.

Each succeeding campaign will be less effective than the first. There are exceptions to this but they are few.  The first capital stewardship campaign is usually the one that gets a church into a building or relocation.  It has the most excitement and is the easiest to sell.  From there on out it gets difficult.  The reasons campaigns see a diminishing return are many.  First and foremost is that typically the second, third and future campaigns involve paying down debt and little else.  I always say that when you buy a new car there are only two checks you like to write.  The first to get you out of the lot and the last to pay the car off.  Everything else is a chore and a burden.

Secondly, multiple campaigns are typically asking the same people to dig further down into their pockets to give.  At some point they are give out.  In the first campaign I might sell the bass boat or my antique car to generate a large gift.  For the second campaign what is left to sell?  Then it comes straight out of my check book and it gets harder and harder.  Many of your donors put off buying cars or other items so that they can make a commitment to your campaign.  At some point they have to replace that car, that computer or add to the house.  Multiple campaigns drain the resources of the core of your congregation.  Unless you have added numerous new members don’t expect to continue to see two, three and four times your annual budget being pledged.  Even with new growth it typically takes time for them to come up to the speed of your regular members as it pertains to giving.

Keep doing what you have always done and you will NOT keep getting what you have always got. I know that is not how the saying is suppose to go.  However when it comes to capital stewardship campaigns that is exactly what is happening.  The reality is that successive campaigns do have diminishing returns IF you approach them all the same way.  This is one reason why we reject the standard campaign.  There is no one size fits all program in a box.  This is especially true as you approach multiple campaigns.  You need to break out of your rut and look for new ways to generate your needed funds.

The need to raise additional funds will  never change but how you raise funds better change. Need trumps everything when it comes to raising funds.  I have never worked on one project including the largest in the U.S. that did not take more than one campaign to raise the funds for.  Even small projects can run into the millions.  The cost is high but the cost of doing nothing is even higher.  As a result you will have to continually raise funds beyond your operating budget to service your debt until you pay off the loan.  With each successive campaign, whatever that looks like, the challenge will be greater to keep members focused.  To be effective you must have a long term plan that makes sense to donors and works.

If all this is true why are capital campaigns continually run? I realize many will react to this post negatively.  I find that we are often so captured by our past that we cannot think outside of the box.  In my mind there are several reasons why churches and companies keep doing the same old campaign routine.

• We’ve always done it that way before. The seven deadly words.  Both stewardship firms and churches are guilty of this.
• It is the easiest and most understandable path. Honestly most companies are too lazy to do anything else.  It is cheaper for them and easier for them to simply unpack the campaign out of the same old box.  If you stop and think about it why could you not do the same?  It is one reason why we give a campaign manual away for free.  You don’t need a program.
• We can’t see any other alternatives. This is much like the first point.  There are other alternatives you just have to spend the time and effort to develop them.

Not all typical capital campaigns are bad.  First capital stewardship campaigns can and are successful.  Running one might be the best option for you even if it is the third in a row.  For many however, you have reached that diminishing point and you need some fresh advice and approaches.  Well, that is what we do!  We’ve moved the simple capital stewardship campaign.  Have you?  After all it is no longer 1980.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

PS.  We don’t simply do campaigns.  We help churches enhance their stewardship.  Could your stewardship be enhanced?