How CCS partners with your pastor for the success of a campaign.

Rev. Hannah Lovaglio

A frequently asked question that deserves more than a one paragraph answer: What is the pastor’s role during a capital campaign?

It’s neither an easy nor uniform answer. Each pastor deserves an individual conversation about how they can best support their congregation or ministry during the campaign. Through conversation and in quick order, the pastor needs to be able to imagine the part they will play in this season of significant visioning and giving, beyond any checklist provided.

From the outset, it must be said: the pastor does not lead the campaign. A pastor-driven campaign might raise the necessary funds, depending on the pastor’s energy, charisma, or influence, but it will not contribute to the long-term institutional health of the congregation.

And yet, the pastor absolutely has the power to either spark and tend to the flame or douse it. The pastor’s presence, posture, engagement, and voice matter deeply.

Pastors hold a uniquely theological and relational authority within a church. They are the ones who preach the Good News, care for the people, tend to the fabric of the community, and hold the center of the congregation’s identity, especially in seasons of transition. They are the storyteller-in-residence.

Whether this campaign is a celebration or a chore will be signaled first and foremost by the pastor, and the course is set from there. If pastoral authority becomes tangled up in administration (logistical management, pledge tracking, party planning, timeline enforcement), both roles suffer.

So what does the Pastor do in a capital campaign?

Names the theological “why”

A campaign has several whys that are important to identify, but driving all the other whys (pay down debt, building repairs, campus expansion) is the theological why. It is about mission alignment, calling, and the unfolding of God’s faithfulness in this particular time and place. The pastor frames this. They say aloud what matters most and help the congregation imagine what mission and ministry become possible when the church invests in its future. This is not the work of a spin doctor; it’s the work of a gospel preacher.

Tends to the spiritual life of their members and congregation

Campaigns stir almost every emotion a congregation or congregant can feel—excitement, anxiety, nostalgia, fear, pride, hope, resentment. Pastors hold the center as the congregation moves through those feelings. Pastors speak with compassion and understanding, naming that at times this will be uncomfortable but blessing the chance to be uncomfortable in the process of growth. They help people stay connected to the congregation even as they are stretched outside of their comfort zones.

And a church’s campaign does not happen in a vacuum. While the church engages this work, the community and world continue to show up with very real needs. The pastor holds these sensitivities, and modifies campaign messaging, expectations, and events as is appropriate from time to time.

Brings pastoral insight to the table

Pastors will be asked to draw upon their knowledge of their congregants to identify the best invitation to participation for each congregant. Who has the capacity in talent, faith, and/or finances to participate in particular ways. The pastor helps identify campaign team members, match gifts to needs, and building those teams. Leadership and Congregational Stewards – those making the asks of their peers – will benefit greatly from the minister’s pastoral knowledge of the flock.

The pastor’s integrity requires they pass along what they know without breaking confidences. The pastor should plan on being part of steward visits where the realities of fresh grief, broken trust, or other difficulties are present.

Pastoral care concerns will also surface as a result of the campaign. Previously unknown parts of people’s histories may now make themselves known during this new conversation. Many hold shame around matters of money. Some will hear hopes for the future as an assault on the past. Holding the door wide open for inclusion, no matter the level of contribution, is especially important during the campaign season.

And around the corner of every ask hides the possibility of someone’s resentment. The pastoral landscape is complicated always, and especially so during a capital campaign. The pastor’s job is to create safety amid the unknown, for all of it to be named without judgment.

Says “Thank you”

It sounds simple, but it is profoundly pastoral work and takes a significant amount of time that needs to be planned for. Campaigns ask a lot of people, their time, prayer, imagination, vulnerability, and financial sacrifice. The pastor’s “thank you” holds a particular weight. Thank you can be a word from the pulpit, a note to every donor, a gift for the campaign leaders, a celebratory event for the team. Thank you can be said at every moment – not just when the gift is secured or the campaign complete. And not to be forgotten, our thanksgiving to God.

Models transparency and trust

When a pastor communicates openly about why they believe in the project, where they find hope, and how they are participating in the campaign, then the congregation is encouraged to do the same. The pastor may not be the largest donor but should be one of the first.

Pastors do not need to overshare or disclose their financial details, but they do need to signal their full support. They can name their own hesitations, and state without anxiety that not every part of the process can be controlled, and risk remains; even still, the pastor moves forward modeling trust in God and in the community. They simply need to be clear, grounded, and willing.

Strengthens and empowers lay leadership

In this role, the pastor cheerleads. What a gift, to have the chance for lay leadership to grow, learn, shine, and lead with clarity and purpose. The pastor’s job is to offer wisdom, encouragement, and then to step to the sideline so the team can do what they are trained and equipped to do. When pastors release control, the congregation’s ownership increases and that ownership lasts long after the campaign ends.

And how much time does all of this take?

It may be more of a question of energy rather than time. Much of the campaign rolls into the work pastors are already doing. Pastors are already preparing sermons and liturgy, making pastoral visits, and offering emotional presence. The pastor is already in the practice of shifting their focus from one ministry area to another, and in this season, the campaign will be their main focus. Will the pastor find this work energizing or draining is a question only they can answer. I imagine that depends largely on the pressure they are under, whether or not they are free to approach the work as an exercise of abundance, and their personal relationship with money.

Working with a consultant will take a lot of the pressure off the pastor and free the pastor to bring the gifts of congregational knowledge, gospel vision, and relational trust to the campaign. The consultant is a friend and colleague and is available to the pastor for any number of questions or concerns that may arise.

Just as the congregation is learning and growing through the process of a campaign, so too is the pastor. They will be better pastors and leaders for having done a campaign under the guidance of a consultant.

Everyone plays their part

A capital campaign succeeds when everyone understands their part.

The congregation owns the work – CCS aims for at least 30% of the worshipping body to take on a task in the success of the congregation.

Lay leaders drive the process – this is the campaign team, who will make the largest commitments of time and often money towards the campaign.

Consultants inform and guide the process.

And the Pastor tends to the process, holding the congregation, its people, and the future in a spirit of joy, generosity, hope, and faithfulness that allows all of the above to build something beautiful for generations to come.

The pastor is the keeper of the story, not the keeper of the spreadsheets.

By all means, check the spreadsheets and celebrate the success frequently. But if you can hold this distinction faithfully, the campaign becomes far more than a fundraiser. It becomes a ministry itself, a place of communal hope, a declaration of God’s abundance and an expression of trust in God.