What is a Capital Campaign?
A Capital Campaign is a dedicated effort in the parish to raise funds for a special project or cause over-and-above the regular annual offerings. Wittenberg Church Consultants will work with your congregation in three phases to raise these offerings: 1) pre-campaign training, 2) the public campaign, 3) follow-up.
What goes on in a Campaign?
1) There are two phases to the campaign. The first phase results in each member of the congregation giving a pledge for specific things they will do to increase their use of the means of grace (the Word, baptism, the Lord's Supper). The second phase results in each member giving a financial pledge to support the campaign.
2) A clear statement of the case for the campaign is written by the consultants and the team leaders and used throughout the campaign to convince and inspire the congregation to support the campaign.
3) Numerous communication tools are used including newsletters, website, full-color brochure, video, banners, etc. The consultants will provide templates for all communication pieces and even help write/produce them.
4) The spiritual phase includes an prayer vigil, three weeks of special sermons, three weeks of special Bible studies, a 90 days of prayer booklet - one prayer a day for the duration of the campaign, a stewardship education booklet, a booklet on Luther's instructions for prayer, a booklet of 25 spiritual exercises, a spiritual pledge commitment Sunday, etc. (For more on Wittenberg's unique spiritual emphasis click here.)
5) The stewardship phase includes three special sermons, three special Bible classes, stewardship education booklet based on God's word of law and gospel, intimate home gatherings, an advanced pledges event and the capstone of the entire campaign - the pledge event.
6) Wittenberg stays with the parish for the three year duration of the pledge period by checking in routinely on the progress on the quarterly follow-up tactics, provided by Wittenberg.
7) In addition to all of this, with each visit the consultants meet with a larger and larger pool of parish members sharing with them God's word of both law and gospel, to inspire them to greater support of the campaign.
Click here for an overview of our capital campaign program and to view the basic components of a capital campaign.