God doesn’t need our money to further His Kingdom, yet the Bible has a great deal to say about money and how to be good stewards of it. Your congregation wants to obey God’s word, bless others, and be a part of ministries that are reaching the lost, but many families struggle in their giving. As their pastor, you want [...]

Winning athletes know that their success on game day begins with their early training and conditioning. Church capital campaigns are no different. Following are some “conditioning exercises” that could help your congregation in the early preparation for a major capital campaign. Prior to your campaign kickoff, offer a financial literacy class. Many families genuinely want to give but just don’t [...]

Myth: capital campaigns are most successful in large, mega churches. Reality: small congregations (less than 300) often out pace their mega-church counterparts with deeper sacrifice and overall success. You’ve probably heard stories of churches with thousands in attendance that gave millions of dollars to a major project. It sounds impressive, and in many ways it is. But, the reality is that smaller [...]

What percentage of your constituent’s total assets would you say are found in cash or checking accounts? Answer: about 10%. What percentage of your annual church giving comes from cash or checking accounts? Answer: generally 95% (and sometimes more!). What’s wrong with this picture? “What’s wrong” is that most church leaders do not actively seek non-cash gifts. This is unfortunate [...]

No, we’re not talking about the imposing architecture of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania’s Golden Triangle! We’re referring to the Golden Triangle of successful church building projects. The idea behind the Golden Triangle is simply this – for any church building project to succeed the: Ministry Needs — Financial Resources – Building Design Must all be in creative balance. If not, the project simply does [...]

Will Rogers famously exclaimed “Buy land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff”. For those of us seeking to encourage creative generosity, we might paraphrase this to say – “give land, or any other type of real estate, and receive a great tax benefit”. Just like gifts of securities, real estate can provide donors with many of the [...]