Financing by Faith - Christianity Today

Pastor Doug asked me to meet with him, but he didn’t say why. When I arrived he asked the secretary to hold his calls, then he closed the door to his cramped office.

“Well, this must be serious,” I said.

Doug just smiled. He started talking about the capital fund campaign. Our church on Cape Cod was growing and desperately needed a new sanctuary, classrooms, and office space. Doug identified the sub-committee chairpersons and explained their duties. He chuckled as he finished the entire line on the organizational chart. “You can see I went through all of them.”

“Good,” I answered. “Then you must want me to do something at the bottom of the chart.”

He laughed again and pointed to the top. “No. They want you to chair the committee.”

“What? Why me?”

The committee had been meeting six months, but no one wanted to chair the campaign.

“They agreed to pray about it for a week and when they met again, your name was the only one that came up!” he said.

“But, Doug,” I pleaded, “this is the last job I would ever volunteer for. I don’t know much about finances.”

“You don’t have to. The people on this committee do. They want you because the church respects you and your communication skills.”

His comment was ironic. Out of gratitude after open-heart surgery seven years earlier, I had told God, “I give you me—for whatever.” Later I wished I had qualified my offer. I soon was elected to head the search for a new pastor.

It was a major act of faith for me. I don’t like speaking in public. Only someone who shares this deep fear can understand the humiliation of watery eyes, a blushing face, and rubbery legs that threaten to collapse. I asked God to make me effective and gradually I became more comfortable. Now I was being asked to chair another committee, one that would require public speaking.

I smiled despite the knots in my stomach. “God definitely has a sense of humor!” I told Doug.

The pastor needed an answer, and I didn’t have one. I knew that if God wanted me to lead a group of corporate executives, this would be an unusual fundraising campaign. I said I’d pray about it, but I left hoping my answer would be no.

It wasn’t.

I prayed. And I felt assured that God would help an unlikely candidate with a daunting task. I called Doug and requested the minutes of the previous meetings. He said he would introduce me to my committee the next day, then I would take over!

Warning flag

That evening I carefully prepared opening remarks and an agenda. Now that I had committed myself, the committee needed to know I had done so only because of prayer. And the only way I could do the job was for all of us to trust God to direct everything we did. I planned to tell them so.

The next morning I arrived first. While I waited, I went by the library and signed out a book on prayer. Soon the committee assembled, nine men and a woman. Doug was right. They were people who knew about money. They were also people I had confidence in as pray-ers. That would prove important when I challenged their plans.

The committee was patient and generous in their explanations of matters they had already discussed. We talked about the usual stuff of fundraising—pledge cards, brochures, bulletin inserts, asking top givers for early pledges called “lead gifts,” the best way to address the church, and such.

I asked about hiring a professional consultant because I knew from the minutes that the issue had not been resolved. Sitting at that table were people with just the expertise we needed. We decided unanimously that, with God as our chief fundraiser, we didn’t need to hire someone else.

The meeting went well.

Still, on my ride home, a red flag went up. It said “lead gifts.” Clearly, the committee had spent much time on what is generally considered the best way to secure the most funds. But someone had asked, “Is this in accordance with the by-laws?” It was a good question. Our by-laws specifically stated that the financial secretary was to keep all giving records confidential. How would we know who to approach?

I couldn’t sleep that night. The thought of lead gifts made me uneasy, so I started thumbing through the book on prayer. “People heard God’s voice yesterday,” I read, “but it is also essential that we hear His voice today.” I knew then that every morning for a week I should wake up early and pray about it.

In a few days God made it clear. The committee had decided against the professional-led campaign, but now we were not to use lead gifts either. Our campaign should be one of faith. That was okay with me, but how would I tell the rest of the committee that I felt led to go in a new direction?

A counter-intuitive campaign

I shared my decision with the two members who were preparing to solicit lead gifts. I wanted them to have time to think about it before the next meeting. They were totally surprised, but they also seemed open to the Lord’s leading. I wondered if they now questioned their choice of me as chair. Incredibly, I no longer did.

When the finance committee confirmed that they would not provide names of top givers, I felt assured that I was headed in the right direction. I placed lead gifts first on the agenda for our next meeting.

“I’m convinced God closed that door because He wants us to find a better approach,” I told the committee. “And I’m excited about what I’m going to propose, because I believe these are God’s directions.

“I’m suggesting that we do no lead gift visitation, but face this challenge purely on faith. This is an opportunity for us to trust God to touch the hearts of His people. This could be a tremendous growth experience for our church.”

There was a lot of discussion about other ways to select names for lead gifts, but ultimately our committee of executives and corporate leaders decided to forget that approach. What’s more, they said we would do no house-to-house canvass of any kind. The campaign would be based totally on faith.

Later, we arrived at what we called a “faith-sized” goal. To calculate the dollar amount we should seek to raise, the guidebook instructed “multiply the church’s base annual income from contributions by a factor of two.” We decided to triple it. It sounds foolhardy to professional fundraisers, but our congregation had been generous givers to missions. We believed God would move them for this cause as well.

Our goal—to be raised in three years by approximately 135 giving units—was $750,000.

The big clambake

Our building overflowed at Easter, the day we announced the campaign. I reminded the congregation about our growth and our need. Sitting elbow to elbow, they saw it for themselves. Over the next month, we sponsored activities to raise awareness and involved as many people as possible in the process.

We had four special worship services leading up to a banquet. In his messages, Doug prepared our church family to do its part. He preached about giving that honors God. We asked members of all ages to share testimonies about the history of the church and their hopes for the future. Many were touched by their remarks.

Everyone was ready to pledge by the time of the campaign’s big conclusion, the “Every Member Banquet.” There was no charge; child care and transportation were provided. Tables were decorated with flowers and sand dollars, appropriate for Cape Cod and for giving.

After the meal, Doug delivered a powerful message from 1 Chronicles 29:17: “I know, my God, that you search the heart, and take pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.”

He invited us to fill out our pledge cards. Then we sang “How Great Thou Art” as we carried our pledges to the podium where Doug dedicated them for the glory of God.

The tally was announced the following Sunday: $790,520.66. There were gasps, laughter, and tears. We surpassed our goal by more than $40,000.

The architect has drafted plans for our new building. We’re seeking all the permits now.

We’re grateful to God, our lead giver.

Shirley Pieters Vogel is coordinator of congregational care at Brewster (Massachusetts) Baptist Church.

The No-Knocks Method

How we surpassed our fundraising goal without one-on-one solicitation.

Lay it out. We explained our unconventional approach at a special service, explaining this was a matter of faith.
Say it often. We shared regularly through the newsletter and updates in services.
Say it in print. One committee member with public relations experience created a professional brochure that was sent to everyone on our mailing list. We highlighted our 175 year history and the opportunities ahead.
Preach it. Our pastor preached on faith and giving on the four Sundays prior to our pledge event. He laid a scriptural foundation for the challenge before us.
Include everybody. Events raised awareness as well as funds: cookbook sales, an auction, children collected pennies in little church banks. We even sponsored a float in the annual Brewster in Bloom parade.
Celebrate it. We thanked God publicly at our banquet and at services afterward. He was faithful, and we are grateful.