So You're Leading Your Church Through a Renovation, Huh?
How’s that going? How are you?
My church is in the process of finding a contractor so that we can make much needed upgrades to our physical space. You, like me, may be a bit green to the process of church renovations. I had a little taste while working as a campus minister at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where our church owns a house on the campus that serves as a ministry hub and residence. When you don't know who has skills you need or who has the contacts to the skilled people you need, this process can be an absolute chore and you will start composing a letter to your future self that goes something like:
“I will never again pastor a church in need of renovation.”
Chances are that when you say never, it will happen, and the rest of us will just snicker in the corner.
One of the realities of renovations or new builds is that many (probably most) of our churches don’t have all the money already sitting in the bank. And while I know that God rewards good stewardship and sacrificial giving, I must admit that I was initially worried about how we’d run an capital campaign that doesn’t wear members out. I’ve received advice from other pastors specific to fundraising that I think you’ll appreciate, too. Here’s to you and your church as your move forward!
From Nigel
A practice I’ve used is breaking up the church into fundraising groups using a biblical model to form a spiritual context. We call it a Rally! In 2021 we had “Rally of the 7 Churches” (Ephesus to Laodicea). Each group of members had a goal to raise $7,000.00 in 7 months. The members would solicit funds, Ingathering style, and meet their goal collectively. We exceeded our target of $50,000.
In 2022 we had a Rally of the 10 trees to raise another $50,000 to cut down trees on the land we bought to build our church. We used 10 trees from the Bible. The goal per group was $5,000. We made the target. My sense is that if the fundraising activity follows a biblical model and is conducted within that spiritual context the engagement of the membership is more robust.
Now we need to raise $100,000 over the next year. We are keeping our working groups in place and as the membership grows we place members into groups.
Secondly, it is most important to remember to thank all the donors so that they remain willing to give in the future.
How do you avoid burnout?
Celebrating the achievement visibly when the target is reached fires up the givers and protects against burnout.
In reality when the members are sold on the vision, the goal seems achievable, and enough people have bought into the plan to make it viable the burden is lighter and it generates its own energy. On the other hand, when the full burden is carried by a few they will burn out quickly. So I encourage my group leaders to expand their fundraising groups using non-members who are willing to commit to the project.
Check back in two weeks to learn how a few other pastors have navigated the fundraising process in their contexts.
Michaela Lawrence Jeffery pastors the Athens Georgia Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Athens, GA.