Church Capital Campaigns

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 congregations also achieve some extraordinary results that are often proportionately greater than the larger ones. In other words, “pound for pound” smaller congregations may actually achieve greater impact.

Here at CGS, we’ve witnessed this phenomenon firsthand during our 60 years of coaching experience. While we’ve worked with churches of all sizes (including our share of mega churches), we have helped lots of small church clients. We love small churches!

We’ve discovered that there are five essentials for capital campaign success, and that smaller congregations have some distinct advantages. For example, take the issue of a congregation’s awareness of the need for a capital project. This is essential because people sacrifice in proportion to their direct connection to the ministry need.

In a large congregation, a significantly lower percentage of attendees are engaged in ministry and as a result have no direct contact with the project need. Conversely, in smaller congregations, a substantially higher percentage of the congregation is involved in service and better understands the ministry need for the improvement.

And so, on this campaign essential, the advantage goes to the smaller congregation. We have similarly analyzed the small church advantage on four other essentials for success. Click here to download our infographic which outlines them in detail.

If you’re a small congregation with a big dream, we’d welcome the opportunity to further discuss the unique advantages you have to see that vision become a reality.