Done well, a capital campaign is an invitation for a congregation to imagine what God is calling them to do next.

“We think we might need a capital campaign.”

Those seven words begin a lot of conversations I have with churches.

The calls and emails come after a building assessment reveals a failing roof, an aging HVAC system, or a desire to make the building more accessible for an aging congregation. They come because there’s not enough square footage for everyone in the congregation to meet all at the same time (a great problem to have!). They come because the debt service on the prior building project is eating away at the budget year after year. They come because church leaders simply know that the congregation needs to prepare for the ministry they hope to offer in the future.

But then the second comment is usually:

What exactly is a capital campaign?

Some church leaders have heard the phrase. A few have been through one before. Others have only a vague idea that it means “raising a lot of money for a building.”

A capital campaign is much more than that.

A successful capital campaign is a season of prayer, discernment, leadership, generosity, and shared vision. It is an opportunity for a congregation to come together around something God is calling them to do, and to invite every member to play a part in that vision.

What Is a Capital Campaign?

A capital campaign is a focused, short-term effort by a congregation to invite significant financial commitments toward something beyond the normal operating budget.

Most churches use capital campaigns for needs such as:

• Building renovations or new construction

• Accessibility improvements

• Major repairs and deferred maintenance

• Debt reduction

• Ministry expansion

• Endowment growth

• Preparing facilities for future generations

A capital campaign often begins with a physical need. A roof needs replacing. A sanctuary needs updating. A building needs to become more welcoming and accessible. Sometimes it’s about retiring debt or building the endowment.

But at their core, campaigns aren’t about buildings.

A roof may be the reason a church begins talking about a capital campaign. It is rarely the reason people give.

Fundraising expert and guru Jerold Panas said there are three primary reasons people will support a nonprofit with a significant investment: belief and alignment with the mission of the organization, trust in the primary executive officer, and confidence in the fiscal responsibility of the organization.

Those things matter in a church, too. People give because they believe in the ministry that happens inside the building. They give because they believe their congregation has a purpose. They give because they trust the people who are leading it. And they give because they want future generations to experience the same community of faith that has shaped their own lives.

The building matters. But what happens in the building matters so much more.

How Is a Capital Campaign Different From Annual Stewardship?

Capital campaigns and annual stewardship are both expressions of a church’s generosity, but they serve different purposes.

Annual stewardship supports the ongoing life of the church. Worship, staff, education, fellowship, missions — the ministry that happens every day in the congregation. The annual campaign impacts the Income & Expense statement of a church. A capital campaign asks members to make commitments above and beyond their annual support toward a specific, long-term vision. Typically, it impacts the Balance Sheet of the church.

Annual stewardship sustains the ministry of today. A capital campaign helps prepare for the ministry of tomorrow.

Healthy congregations understand that both are important. A capital campaign doesn’t compete with annual giving. Instead, it grows out of a strong understanding of who the congregation is and where it believes God is leading.

What Does a Capital Campaign Actually Look Like?

That’s what people generally want to know. And all I can say is that there isn’t one formula that works for every church. The size of the congregation, the scope of the project, the church’s history, and its financial circumstances all make a difference. But there are some common elements that I see in successful campaigns.

Vision Comes First

Before you can ask people to give, you need to know what you’re asking them to give toward. That sounds obvious, but if you see the roof leaking or know the boiler could quite at any minutes, it can be difficult to think about the reason to fix the building, and the ultimate “Why” behind it.

“We need a new roof” is a need. “We want to preserve this place so that it can continue to be a center of worship, community, and ministry for the next generation” is a vision. The difference matters.

A capital campaign needs a clear answer to the question: Why are we doing this?

That answer should be bigger than the project itself. If you’re replacing the roof, why does that matter? If you’re renovating the fellowship hall, what will that make possible? If you’re paying off debt, what will the church be able to do when those payments are gone? If you’re building an endowment, what ministry will those resources make possible for years to come?

The clearer the connection between the project and the mission of the church, the more compelling the campaign becomes.

Then You Listen

Before launching off into a campaign, a church needs to listen to its people. What do members think about the vision? What excites them? What concerns them? What questions are they asking? Are there old wounds or unresolved disagreements that need attention? Is the leadership reading the congregation accurately?

This is one reason I believe a readiness study can be such an important part of a campaign. It gives a congregation an opportunity to listen before it begins asking. A readiness study isn’t simply a test to see whether a church can raise enough money. It is a way to understand whether the congregation is ready to move forward together.

[Link: What Is a Capital Campaign Readiness Study?]

Leadership Matters in a Capital Campaign

Capital campaigns need people who will take ownership of the vision. That means more than putting together a committee and giving everyone a job description. The people leading the campaign need to understand why the project matters and be able to talk about it with other people.

This is also where leadership gifts come in. Leadership gifts are important, not simply because they are large gifts, but because they demonstrate commitment. When people who are deeply invested in the congregation make their own commitments, they help establish confidence in the campaign and its vision.

Leadership gifts are not about finding a few wealthy people to solve the church’s problem. They are about leadership, and about demonstrating that those who are asking others to participate are willing to participate themselves.

[Link: Why Leadership Gifts Matter in a Church Capital Campaign]

Everyone Gets an Invitation

Eventually, the campaign has to move beyond the people who have been planning it. Everyone in the congregation needs an opportunity to hear the story, ask their own questions, talk about what matters to them, and decide how they want to participate.

The best way to invite people into the campaign is through personal conversations. A letter, a brochure, a video, and a presentation from the pulpit can all be useful, but they don’t replace conversations between people. “People give to people.” A capital campaign is an opportunity for members to talk with one another about the future of their church, not simply an opportunity for the church to tell people how much money it needs.

And, of course, participation doesn’t mean that everyone gives the same amount. Some gifts will be larger, some will be smaller. But all gifts will be significant. What matters most is that everyone has the opportunity to participate.

Then Comes Fulfillment

A campaign doesn’t end when the commitments are made. Most church capital campaigns involve commitments that are fulfilled over several years. We talk about fulfillment in two different ways. Members are fulfilling their financial pledges over the pledge period. And leaders are fulfilling the promises they made to use the members’ gifts as they said they would. During that time the church needs to keep people connected to the vision, communicate progress, celebrate milestones, and remain accountable for the work that people have committed themselves to support.

This is sometimes the part of a campaign that gets the least attention. Everyone is excited when the campaign is launched and again when the project is completed, but there can be a lot of work in between. Good communication during the fulfillment period reminds people that their commitments are making a difference and helps the congregation continue to see the connection between their generosity and the vision they embraced together.

How Long Does a Capital Campaign Take?

This is another question that leaders frequently ask. And the truth is, in my experience, there isn’t a single timeline that works for every church. The planning and preparation phase can vary quite a bit depending on the complexity of the projects involved, how much work needs to be done to develop the vision and case for support, and how quickly the church is able to make the decisions necessary to move forward.

Once the campaign is ready to begin, however, the actual fundraising phase is usually fairly focused. You can generally expect four to eight weeks for the leadership gift phase, followed by another four to eight weeks for the congregational gift phase.

That doesn’t mean the entire campaign is over in two or four months. There is considerable work before the campaign begins, including developing the case for support, recruiting and training leadership, preparing campaign materials, and getting the congregation ready for the campaign. And after commitments are made, there is the fulfillment period, when members make their pledged gifts and the church completes the work the campaign was created to accomplish.

So, while the fundraising itself can be relatively concentrated, a capital campaign is a significant undertaking for a church. The more complex the project and the larger the vision, the more preparation is likely to be required.

When Is the Right Time for a Capital Campaign?

Having a building project does not automatically mean that a church is ready for a capital campaign.

The age of your roof doesn’t tell you whether your congregation is ready. Neither does the size of your project. Some of the more important questions are about the congregation itself: Do we have a clear vision for what we are trying to accomplish? Are our leaders aligned around that vision? Have we listened to the congregation? Are there significant questions or conflicts that need to be addressed first? Can we explain why this matters to the ministry of the church? Are we prepared to invite everyone into the conversation?

Sometimes the answer is, “Yes. We’re ready.”

Sometimes the answer is, “Not yet.”

And sometimes the best thing a church can do is spend some time getting ready.

[Link: The Right Time for a Capital Campaign]

Do We Need a Capital Campaign Consultant?

There’s an old adage in the capital campaign business: if your campaign goal is more than half of your annual contributions, you’d best use a consultant. I think that’s a pretty good rule of thumb.

I don’t believe every church needs an outside consultant. Some congregations have the experience, leadership, and capacity to conduct a campaign themselves. But when you’re asking your congregation to raise an amount that is a significant percentage of what they give in an entire year, there is a lot at stake. You don’t want missteps along the way that can have consequences for years to come. Having someone who has been through the process before can help the church avoid some expensive mistakes and give its leaders a clear process to follow.

Our consultants don’t take the campaign away from the congregation. The campaign belongs to the church. The consultant brings experience, structure, perspective, and a process that has worked in other churches, while helping the congregation’s own leaders do the work of leading the campaign.

That’s an important distinction. You don’t want to reach the end of a campaign and discover that the consultant knew how to run the campaign but the congregation never learned how to lead it.

[Link: Do We Really Need a Capital Campaign Consultant?]

A Capital Campaign Is About More Than Raising Money

It is easy to reduce a capital campaign to a number.

How much do we need? How much can we raise? Who can give?

Those are important questions. But they aren’t the most important questions.

The deeper questions are about who the church is and what it hopes to become. A capital campaign gives a congregation an opportunity to talk about its mission, its priorities, its future, and the difference it hopes to make in the world.

The roof may be what gets everyone into the room. The building project may be what gives the campaign a price tag. But the reason people give is ultimately bigger than either one.

They give because they believe in the church. They give because they believe in its ministry. And they give because they want to be part of what comes next.

Want to Learn More?

If your church is beginning to have conversations about a capital campaign, we’ve created a Church Capital Campaign Field Guide to help you get started.

The Field Guide walks through the essential pieces of a successful campaign, including vision, leadership, leadership gifts, congregational participation, and fulfillment. You don’t have to be ready to launch a campaign to use it. Sometimes the first step is simply understanding what a campaign involves and beginning to ask the right questions.

[Download the Church Capital Campaign Field Guide]