Through wisdom is a house is built, and through understanding it is established.
–Proverbs 24:3
Living Stones Church in Crown Pointe, Indiana, (located less than 50 miles outside of Chicago) needed a stewardship initiative to raise significant capital for their much-needed expansion. They wanted the effort to feel like their culture and seize on the momentum their church was experiencing.
As part of an ongoing ministry partnership, they asked Impact Stewardship to assist them. In early 2021, churches were still recovering from the COVID lockdown that started in March 2020. It did not seem like the ideal time for a church to consider a large-scale building project.
Living Stones Church is not the typical church. There are a lot of lessons that churches can learn from Living Stones’ approach during a time of countrywide and worldwide crisis. Their attendance was booming, and they were facing a need for a significant expansion due to their unexpected church growth. Their facility was reaching its capacity limits. Their growth was so rapid that they were challenged integrating their new church families. Facility expansion could not wait.
Living Stones had a God-given plan, direction and vision (short term and long term) for their church, and their people responded to it. The culture and climate in our country at the time was a huge influence as they shaped their plans for the future.
Churchgoers are very much looking for their church to lead and be decisive with a desire to increase ministry reach. People are responding positively when their church has a feasible plan and a roadmap for future ministry reach and success.
Living Stones’ leadership was optimistic that this effort would open new doors of opportunity and broaden the scope and impact of their ministries. Most importantly, they felt it was an opportunity to generate excitement and maintain their momentum.
This was the second time Impact Stewardship helped Living Stones with a building campaign. They understood the magnitude of the project and the culture of Living Stones Church. Additionally, Living Stones Church engaged the services of Rodney James and Master’s Plan Church Design and Construction to help assess their needs, priorities and building direction.
Pastor Dr. Ron Johnson shares, “Impact Stewardship helped us build momentum as we rolled out the vision. They helped us develop a plan to reach all of the different groups and segments in our church. They took the weight off us running the campaign on our own and worrying if we were doing it right. They have done hundreds of these over the years and have experience. We had one chance to do it correctly, so it helped having someone who had experience. They understood our culture and helped us find a way to communicate with our people that was a part of our DNA.”
As Living Stones Church planned for the campaign, Johnson stated how Impact Stewardship helped develop a program that “encouraged our church family to be God-focused and faith-filled while they brought us the practical tools and wisdom necessary for success.”
The key for a successful church capital campaign is to first be God-centered, vision-focused, well-communicated and prayer-filled. Communication plans must convey the vision by answering the questions. The need should be articulated and make the case for the project. Development of the media and promotion reinforces the need. After a time of personal prayer and reflection by the church family, there should be a well-defined call to action. To help achieve these goals, involvement is vital.
Impact Stewardship worked with Living Stones to build campaign leadership teams to involve their people in areas of education, media/promotion and events/activities.
Living Stones Church’s financial campaign goal was $3 million. As a result of a well-thought-out and executed God-focused effort, their church family responded with an incredible $5.36 million committed to their 3-year campaign.
That was not the end of the story. Capitalizing on their growth, new commitments during the 3 years increased that total to $6.6 million.
As of the writing of this article, they have recently completed their campaign with 99% of committed funds received. Additionally, their operating budget giving increased significantly during this same period.
During the summer of 2024, Living Stones Church celebrated the grand opening of their new facilities and is continuing to see great growth and momentum from a well-orchestrated building campaign.
Chuck Klein is the principal and founder of Impact Stewardship Resources, Inc., which has raised over $1 billion for ministry and served over 500 churches in over 30 states, www.impactstewardship.com.
