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CS 4 – Planning for Growth

The Scenario: A church takes action now in order to reap benefits in the future.

 

Organizational Profile: A corporate size congregation with multiple clergy.

 

Outcomes: 23% increase in annual giving, 25% increase in pledge base, 200% increase of special and planned gifts.

 

 

 

 

Looking Ahead to What Can Be

Soon after joining the leadership team of this church, it became clear to me that it was at a crossroads. There was stable, competent leadership among both the clergy and the laity and the circumstances of location and demographics were in its favor.

 

By doing nothing more than what it was already doing in terms of fund development and membership growth, it could maintain the status quo. With some new strategic initiatives in those two areas, however, it had the potential to grow its membership, its program, and its funding dramatically.

 

But how could they tap the opportunity before them? Their current approach to stewardship, development, and new member ministry was well-intentioned but un-coordinated.

The first step was to prepare a survey of conditions, outlining all current sources of donated income and the methods used to attain the figures achieved. As a result of cataloguing these sources for the first time in a systematic way, clergy and lay leaders saw that there was much more potential than was being realized.

The next step was to prepare a comprehensive development plan. The plan included six key strategies in the areas of annual pledge campaigns, special gifts campaigns, planned giving, volunteer recruitment and retention, and new member ministry. Within each of these strategic areas, a set of tactics was developed that was aimed at establishing a sustainable, on-going program.

In the first year of implementation, the plan achieved significant positive results.  There was a 23% increase in annual giving as well as a 25% increase in the pledging base, a doubling of special and planned gifts, a 10% increase in volunteer involvement, and a 100% increase in new member incorporation. The leadership made a wise step in investing in their institution’s future. A mere year later, they already saw their investment pay for itself.