2026 | Sherwood, AR | Non-Denominational

“From the very beginning, it was great. One of the things I realized very quickly in talking with Mike is that they were very thorough on trying to get everybody to see stewardship; to understand what we were trying to do and what we felt God was trying to do through our church. It was a way to try and get more and more people on board with how God was working. We would love to partner with them again if we ever do another capital campaign. I encourage anyone who is looking to build at their church or raise money for whatever God is calling them to do…Church Growth Services is definitely somebody that you want to check out!” 

-Pastor Jason Bogardus 

2026 | Cleveland, OH | Presbyterian Church of America

“I’ve had the privilege of working with Church Growth Services twice, in two vastly different contexts, with two different campaign strategies. But each time, CGS was an indispensable partner in that process. Bill provided the right direction at the right moment to make our campaign a success, and both of our campaigns far exceeded the financial goals that we set. The best part about working with Bill and CGS is that we knew we were not working with salespeople who were applying a formula to get a paycheck. We were working with a co-laborer in Christ.”

-Pastor Jack McClelland

2026 | Antioch, IL | Converge

While this level of fundraising was new to us, CGS’s years of experience gave us great confidence that we could achieve our vision. Mike was fantastic to work with, and his Pastor’s heart shined through at every interaction. We had three specific goals for our campaign: achieve our financial goal, increase the number of pledges, and increase the number of young, first-time givers. We not only hit every target but even exceeded our financial goal. I honestly believe that would not have been possible without our partnership with CGS.

-Chris Herden

2025 | Niles, MI | Linc

"Without Church Growth Services, we would not have been able to reach our goal and have a new possibility to look forward to for our church and all God has for us to reach the community, region, and world. Their team is wise, experienced, kind, and generous and has come alongside us every step of the way. Every idea given and every solution and strategy provided has really helped us meet every need that we've had in order to create a space for our church that is going to resource them to join and partner with God at work."

-Pastor Muta Mwenya 

2025 | Niles, MI | Missionary

Summit Church has been privileged to work with Church Growth Services (CGS) on two capital campaigns. The resources and strategies provided by CGS helped us communicate our goals effectively, inspire generosity, and achieve a level of engagement that exceeded our expectations. We are grateful for the role Bill and CGS played in helping us bring our vision to life and would recommend their services to any church seeking to grow and expand their ministry.

-Pastor Dan Miller

2025 | Lincoln, NE | Non-Denominational

"How I would best describe the experience with CGS is... they built the tracks for the train, but they also gave us the instructions on how to build that train. And said, ‘Based on your church, based on your culture, based on your people - because you know them best - here are the instructions for the train. Build it how you see fit.’ We were able to own it fully... that was a huge plus that actually made the whole campaign feel like it was really our own. I appreciate the fact that Church Growth Services was able to provide us with that framework.” 

-Pastor Michael Eskenazi 

2025 | Jefferson, NC | Christian Missionary Alliance

“Just as much as the knowledge base and mentorship was helpful for us during our campaign, the spirit and the heart that Mike and the guys have for small churches was a huge benefit. In every interaction we had with them, their heart and their love for the church, and small churches in particular, really came through. So, as we walked this road with them, it never felt like it was just purely business. It really did feel like they were friends, and they were coming alongside us as not only as mentors, but as brothers and sisters in Christ. That meant a lot to us.” 

-Pastor Nate Roten 

2025 | Medford, OR | Fellowship

“We were fortunate enough to find and partner with Church Growth Services, which proved to be our wisest decision. They’re very personable, patient, flexible, prepared, and effective. And the best part? They were a bargain. I’ve known other organizations that paid the same amount that we paid just for a feasibility study, but we were able to get samples and guidance every step of the way through the entire capital campaign. Do yourself a favor. If you’re considering a capital campaign, go with Church Growth Services. I’m very confident they’ll prove to be one of your greatest contributors.” 

 -Dr. Ken Townsend 

2024 | Middlebury, IN | Assembly of God

“We had done stewardship campaigns in the past, but there were things Church Growth Services brought to the table that we would have never thought about or included in our process. We really appreciated their understanding of all the stuff that is out there to help the church capture the vision for the project.” 

-Pastor Scott Miller 

2024 | Crown Point, IN | Christian Reformed Church

“When we completed our campaign with Church Growth Services, we were blessed to have achieved the financial goal we had set and to have a lot of guidance along the way, giving us the confidence to approach people in the way that we should. Church Growth Services didn’t do all the work for us, but they inspired and gave us the tools needed to make contact, approach in an appropriate way with the right balance, and simply have the confidence to know that we could fly when it came to raising money on a pretty big scale.”

-Pastor Fred De Jong

2024 | Fort Wayne, IN | Fellowship Evangelicals

“We needed a place to call home and plant roots in our community. Mike and his team helped us figure out exactly how to do that: how to cast vision to our church body, how to raise the necessary funds, and, most importantly, how to disciple people in their generosity. It’s been such an incredible thing to see the fruit of that in our church body and to see the spiritual growth that has taken place as we walked through a generosity campaign and saw our church go all in to make this our permanent home.”

-Pastor Chris Freeman

2024 | Wichita, KS | Community

“We knew that what we were about to do was going to be difficult, but the very first thing that they helped us do was unify the church. One of the things we know is when a church is unified, when people are unified, there isn’t anything they can’t do. So, we started a ‘Refresh’ campaign, and we were going to refresh not just our building but also our ministries and ourselves. It was amazing what we began to see happen in our church. We set a goal for 5.4 million. In the end, we didn’t raise 5.4 million. We raised 6.2 million.”

-Pastor Bob Beckler

2024 | Portage, MI | Baptist

“The capital campaign itself resulted in excitement, anticipation, and a desire on the church’s part to move forward. There was positive momentum, and I appreciated the strong emphasis that Church Growth Services places on the spiritual component of the campaign. That allowed the congregation to undergird the whole campaign with prayer as we sought God together.” 

-Pastor Bill Abernathy and Tim Parks 

2024 | Hudsonville, MI | Baptist

“From the beginning, we were extremely comfortable with CGS and especially with Mike. He was an excellent fit for our church…The guidance provided by Church Growth Services was very comforting to our church leaders…Our weekly giving has continued to increase in spite of the huge lift of the capital campaign. I would encourage any church looking at a capital campaign to pray about the possibility of adding someone with the expertise and experience of Church Growth Services.” 

-Greg Chanski, Elder 

2024 | Niles, MI | Church of God

“It’s easy to believe, when you’re starting a campaign, that it is about the dollars. What Church Growth Services helped us realize and what God led us through is that, truly, when you do a campaign like this, it’s really about what God does in and through His people. He changes us as He takes us on this journey. I cannot say ‘thank you’ enough to Church Growth Services and the team over there.” 

-Reverend Nathanael Lyon 

2024 | Grand Island, NE | Evangelical Free

“One of the benefits gained when we began to work with Church Growth Services, since they had done this before, was the idea that many hands make light work. It wasn’t just about me, as the Senior Pastor, raising this money. It was about Church Growth Services helping us coordinate a large team of people in our body to rally to say: ‘How can we get the church behind this? How can we create momentum?’ Church Growth Services has all of these things wired so that they give so many responsibilities away to so many people who then feel a part of it, who feel ownership in it.” 

-Pastor Dan Brenton 

2024 | Sheboygan Falls, WI | Reformed

“Our project costs a little over three million dollars. We set a figure and a goal to raise, and we more than exceeded it. I’m very grateful to Mike and his team at CGS and would highly recommend them.” 

-Pastor David Krueger 

2023 | Howell, MI | Baptist

“We first met with Bill and Mike and it was obvious that they weren’t just business consultants, but servants of the Lord who would be prayer partners and coaches with us. After discerning our readiness and putting together options for what the campaign might look like, it wasn’t a cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all approach. It was a very customized, personal approach. Once we started, it was so encouraging to have wisdom to lean into. We are now approaching the one-year mark in our campaign and I’m happy to say that our church is exceeding the pledges that were made. We’re so grateful for the encouragement all along the way of CGS.” 

-Pastor Tim Christoson  

2023 | Alto, MI | Christian Reformed Church

“What I can say for sure is that I don’t think this would have gone nearly as well, I don’t think that we would have been nearly as smart about our money, I don’t think that we would have been nearly as good at navigating our disagreements and maintaining unity, and I certainly don’t think that we would have made nearly as many good choices and there wouldn’t be as much excitement as there is now if it wasn’t for Church Growth Services.” 

-Pastor Dave Bosscher 

2023 | Hillsdale, MI | Converge

"CGS was helpful to us in numerous ways, but I want to especially highlight three of their unique strengths. First, their Pre-Campaign Assessment was invaluable to us at the beginning of our process. Second, their expertise is based on over 60 years of experience working exclusively with churches. Third, their coaching throughout the campaign was crucial to keeping our leadership and our congregation on track. Bill, Mike, and the team at CGS have excellent interpersonal skills and a wealth of wisdom to provide for us on a journey that is daunting and foreign.” 

-Pastor Ben Cuthbert 

2022 | Sarasota, FL | Mennonite

“One of the things we learned through the process was that this was so much more than a fundraising campaign. It was about growing our faith, growing in generosity, growing in our trust in God, and growing in our vision as a church. It grew us together as a church, our unity together, which we really appreciated. It really brought us together and is helping us to move forward as a church, as we are seeing many of the benefits of the campaign now.” 

-Pastor Vernon Zook 

2022 | Shipshewana, IN | Mennonite

“One of the things that I really appreciate about what Church Growth Services did was that this wasn’t just a capital campaign. It was more of a discipleship campaign. Church Growth Services was much more than just receiving money or receiving pledges to meet our financial goal. It was about helping people grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus through spiritual development, spiritual commitment to the project, and seeking God’s direction and guidance in what we were doing.”

-Pastor Nic Raber

2021 | Fort Wayne, IN | Lutheran

"By the time we finished, we were elated with our capital campaign. We achieved our goal, and we are super excited about it. It has created all kinds of excitement and momentum about the things that we are going to accomplish. And it certainly gives us a light towards the future. If we encounter the opportunity for another capital campaign, CGS will be the first people we call."

-Pastor Tim Graham

2021 | Sheboygan, WI | Converge

“It wasn’t just financial benefits that we saw as a result of our capital campaign. We saw spiritual benefits as well. CGS views capital campaigns through the lens of discipleship. They see it as giving people an opportunity to take a next step in their relationship with Christ. We saw countless stories of people whose faith grew because they made pledges that were sacrificial in nature and required generosity, and then they were blown away watching our God help them fulfill those pledges and play their part.” 

-Pastor Jeff Jaeger 

2021 | Goshen, IN | Mennonite

“If someone asked me for the best reason to work with Church Growth Services, the most vital piece would be the Pre-Campaign Assessment. I cannot tell you how valuable it is to have CGS come in and interview the leaders from our church and give them an opportunity to speak candidly. Getting that information and having it with confidence is absolutely critical, and you can't gather it as a Pastor. It's valuable in determining if you're ready to go.” 

-Pastor Jeremy Shue

2020 | Fort Smith, AR | Baptist

“When I moved to Arkansas, we had existing debt at my church that we wanted to eliminate. The first organization that came to mind was Church Growth Services. I reached out to them and explained our scenario. We had about $900,000 of debt that we wanted to eliminate. We did it as a one-year campaign! We could not have done that without Church Growth Services.” 

-Pastor Rick Gering 

2020 | Stillman Valley, IL | Non-Denominational

“If someone asked me for the best reason to work with Church Growth Services, the most vital piece would be the Pre-Campaign Assessment. I cannot tell you how valuable it is to have CGS come in and interview the leaders from our church and give them an opportunity to speak candidly. Getting that information and having it with confidence is absolutely critical, and you can't gather it as a Pastor. It's valuable in determining if you're ready to go.”

-Pastor Chris Brauns

2020 | Goshen, IN | Baptist

“If I could liken CGS to one metaphor that might help you think through their services, the first thing that comes to my mind is the word “Sherpa”. Like the Sherpa that leads people on mountain climbing expeditions. We had a mountain in front of us…it was called ‘Building Faith Together.’ We believed it was God's will for us. We wanted to accomplish it, but we just didn't know for sure financially whether we could. The CGS team literally guided us step-by-step through the entire process.” 

-Rev. Dr. Gregg Lanzen 

2020 | Goshen, IN | Community

 “Church Growth Services was great about coming alongside us and helping navigate a complex process. Their process is turnkey…they've got all the great tools that are needed for a campaign and made it so easy. The biggest thing we saw was a real change in the hearts of our people being more connected in biblical stewardship. This was a joyful process for them. We've had numerous times along the way where we've been able to celebrate how God is working through the stewardship commitments of our people.” 

-Pastor Ken Hunn 

2020 | Goshen, IN | Vineyard

“We recently built a brand-new building, and we used Church Growth Services to help us raise our funds. They did an amazing job! Right from the beginning, they did a Feasibility Study for us, and the numbers that they came up with were so close to what we ended up with. CGS provides everything you need along the way. They have a step-by-step process that is so organized, and they have people in the background working on your campaign. I highly recommend CGS if you're planning a fundraiser!”

-Pastor Bill Rice, Former Pastor

2020 | Milwaukee, WI | Converge

What surprised me most about working with CGS was that the process never felt like begging people for money. Instead, it became a season of vision casting, discipleship, and helping people understand what God was calling us to accomplish together. CGS provided a process, coaching, and confidence that helped turn what felt impossible into reality. The building project gave us a permanent home, but the campaign also gave our congregation a deeper sense of ownership in the mission of the church. What started as a building campaign became a defining chapter in our church's story.

-Danny Parmelee, President of Converge MSC

2019 | Woodburn, IN | Missionary

“Several years ago, I was at a large conference for pastors, and we were talking about capital campaigns. One of the pastors around the table said: “I never go into a capital campaign without consulting Church Growth Services”. That has proven to be some of the best advice I’ve ever received. One of the things I loved about CGS’s approach was the “red light, green light, yellow light” model. They discovered that we weren't quite ready for the capital campaign, and they gave us a “yellow light”. Thanks to the CGS team, the second approach after the yellow light created a very successful campaign.” 

-Pastor Bert Jones, Former Pastor 

2018 | Goshen, IN | Mennonite

"One of the things that stood out to me was the way the process brought clarity and alignment to us as a church. It really awakened something in them about the next generation and how we pour into them. We loved everything about the experience. We loved the partnership. We loved the way resources were shared with us. It was not only something that helped us achieve a financial goal and a facility goal, but really helped us as a church move forward in a positive way."

-Pastor Jay Shetler

2017 | Mishawaka, IN | Community

“One of the verses that came to mind when considering the value that Church Growth Services brought to us was from Ecclesiastes. ‘Two are better than one, for they have a good return for their work.’ We experienced that in our partnership. Our partnership with Church Growth Services escalated our experience and the value we brought to the whole project.”

-Pastor Mark Pope 

2018 | Indianapolis, IN | Evangelical Free

Church Growth Services was extremely helpful to us, and I would say it would have been difficult for us to accomplish what we did without their assistance. They were professional in all their dealings with us, and from the start of our campaign to the end, this was a spiritual journey and they reminded us of that continually. This was not just a campaign about raising money. It was a campaign bathed in prayer as we sought God’s will as individuals and a body through the power of the Holy Spirit.

-Pastor Jeff Schultz 

2018 | Grand Rapids, MI | Baptist

"Our decision to go with Church Growth Services was one of the best decisions we made. I'm convinced that our involvement with them was a big reason for the success of the campaign. That was a pretty good return on investment. There is a cost to it you must weigh...but when we consider what we invested and look at the return on that and how successful the campaign was, we feel like that is an investment we'd make over and over again!" 

-Pastor Jeff Burr, Former Pastor

2017 | Nappanee, IN | Missionary

"One of the great benefits in our partnership with CGS was the increased spiritual life. I’ve told people that during our campaign, I felt we were at the highest point spiritually that we’ve ever been. I always thought that when you do a campaign you have a real peak in giving and then it dissipates once the campaign is over, but we’ve found that’s not true. We’ve found our giving and our stewardship went to a new level and it stayed at a new level.”

-Pastor Dave Engbrecht

2017 | DeMotte, IN | Reformed Church of America

“If I could liken CGS to one metaphor that might help you think through their services, the first thing that comes to my mind is the word “Sherpa”. Like the Sherpa that leads people on mountain climbing expeditions. We had a mountain in front of us…it was called ‘Building Faith Together.’ We believed it was God's will for us. We wanted to accomplish it, but we just didn't know for sure financially whether we could. The CGS team literally guided us step-by-step through the entire process.”

-Rev. Dr. Gregg Lanzen

2017 | Fredericksburg, OH | Presbyterian

It is not an overstatement to say that everyone in our church who participated in the campaign has grown in our relationships with Christ and become more committed to obeying Him in every aspect of our lives. I never would have believed it without experiencing it, but our capital campaign has been the single most spiritually formative experience I have ever seen a congregation go through. The Lord used CGS to make help make it happen. They helped us structure the matching gift and our campaign strategy in such a way to call people into greater generosity without making them feel guilty. That's a miracle in itself!

-Pastor Jack McClelland

2017 | Pewaukee, WI | Mennonite

“CGS has the playbook. They’ve run the plays.  They know which work. So, I consider CGS as a coach to church leadership on how to make a successful project. Most teams don’t function well without a coach, so having a good coach can take a mediocre team and make it into a good team.” 

-Pastor Chip Bernhard

2016 | Elkhart, IN | Nazarene

Overall, this has been an extremely positive experience for us. CGS offers wisdom and customer service that is somewhat rare these days. I get the impression that they truly care about each church they come alongside. They want to see the church succeed and become good stewards with their resources. This experience has really helped unite our church board, our leaders, and our church. It’s been incredible! Our church is blessed to be working with CGS in this campaign.

-Pastor Tim Sheets

2016 | Marne, MI | Baptist

“I had heard horror stories about fundraising organizations that strongarmed people and created headaches for church leaders long after they were gone. My experience with the team at CGS was the exact opposite. CGS trains your people to do the actual work of the campaign. My congregation has grown spiritually throughout this process. New leaders have been identified, teams have been energized, and God has been glorified through the process. CGS's emphasis on stewardship of life is biblical, and I can see the fruit of our interaction with them each Sunday.”  

-Pastor Jeff Gunderman

2015 | Valparaiso, IN | Non-Denominational

“We started working with CGS when we were a church of about 400. I would say that working with a consulting organization is important for a church of any size. We’re now a church of 1,600+, and we’re still working with CGS.”

-Dr. Lionel Young

2015 | Milan, MI | Free Methodist

Church Growth Services brought many things to the table as they partnered with our church, including vast experience, sensitivity to local church circumstances, high integrity, dependability, and follow-through after the completion of the campaign.

-Pastor John White

2014 | Battle Creek, MI | Baptist

With Church Growth Services' help, we began a journey that encouraged us to consider that stewardship was not so much about money, but more about the heart. Bill carefully led us as we prayed, shared, prayed some more, and ultimately committed ourselves to the task and funding of the project that we believed God had directed us to do."

-Pastor Tom Townsend