First Baptist Church (Broken Arrow, OK) exists to reach its community and beyond by multiplying disciples to follow Jesus. FBCBA aimed to raise $19 million over two years to grow its ministry operations and church campus. This would include funding new church plants and local ministry opportunities, and sending missionaries around the world to Colombia, Poland, Cambodia, and beyond. Also, the funds would be used to enhance their worship center, atrium/lobby, next-generation spaces, and administrative offices. Regardless of the size of the capital campaign, most of our clients seek to get their entire community involved, ages 25 and up. However, FBCBA came to us with the hope of even getting kids and teens involved. Together, we crafted one of the most engaging church capital campaigns yet.
The larger the congregation, donor base, or campaign goal, the harder it might be to build momentum and retain engagement for the duration of the capital campaign. Perhaps seemingly unattainable goals discourage or overshadow smaller contributions. However, we've witnessed planning, communications, prayerful consideration, and 100% engagement all aligned with God's will and purpose to achieve church building campaign goals. We keep this in mind with our client's specs as we craft the best capital campaign materials we can. With FBCBA's church fundraising initiative, they had some unique ideas to get the widest range of participation possible. Take a look at how we helped them reach their church capital campaign goals.
Set the tone with a straightforward campaign theme & logo.
One of the first steps toward a successful campaign is choosing the right capital campaign theme that will resonate with your congregation. FBCBA needed to decide what would make their church fundraising effort more memorable and compelling. The client landed on "Greater Still," — which is rooted in Ephesians 3:20-21. It reminds us that God is great and able to do "far more abundantly than we ask or think." And it's about what He can do within us and through us. He makes things great. Also, the theme prompted participants to expect more regarding what the church's overall impact could become: Greater Ministry, Greater Missions, and Greater Future.
With a more straightforward typographically set campaign logo, we helped our client find a balance and strike a chord with all generations. And to get their entire church body on the same page we used their brand colors paired with a design concept of modernity and simplicity. The subtle stone-like pattern and organic shapes inserted the essence of strength and "stone-like greater," while the geometric shapes added structure and flow.
Make capital campaign materials the most comprehensive for Adults.
Regardless of the size of the capital campaign goal, be specific about everything you intend to fund. Transparency is key to building trust and galvanizing support. FBCBA achieved this with a comprehensive case statement booklet highlighting its administrative integrity, church history, and future plans. This type of multipage capital campaign brochure provided the clearest path for members to get involved. It also included a step-by-step workbook for prayerful consideration, as it corresponded with a sermon series addressing 5 topics over 5 Sundays. Beyond being the most detailed capital campaign communications asset, this campaign booklet aimed to get even the most contrarian of members onboard. In the case of First Baptist, the church wanted clear section transitions, digestible breakdowns, and a complete showcase of their stunning floor plans and renderings.
We designed a supplemental square tri-fold brochure for a more condensed version of the Greater Still capital campaign case statement. This deliverable was distributed hand-to-hand periodically to boost campaign visibility or brief members on the fundamentals of the campaign- at a glance. And it worked well for one-on-one interactions with major donors.
Capital campaign commitments are usually fulfilled over a singular, monthly, or yearly basis. For First Baptist, this modern yet classic pledge card was designed to appeal to adult members. To make giving as intuitive and practical as possible, we designed folded commitment cards that to place critical info and the commitment form side-by-side. With large or rapidly growing congregations, new individuals and families start could start their contributions at various stages of the campaign. Therefore, this pledge card format could bring new donors up to speed or serve as a full scope reminder, as it abbreviates the campaign case statement, goals, and objectives.
Make church fundraising cool for teens/students.
We appreciate that First Baptist didn't underestimate the impact students and teens could have on capital campaign stewardship. They wanted to include young adults in the church building campaign process, as part of the new facility would be for them. Perhaps if they felt more connected at the outset, they would take greater ownership over their future new wing, and invite their classmates and neighbors to more youth group activities. With that said, the pledge card was designed to allow teens/students to catch a glimpse of what's next and ask them to participate.
Teach kids about church campaigns and giving.
Part of First Baptist's new facility will also be used by its youngest members. The church did not want to exclude its children from learning and experiencing generosity. First Baptist thought of several innovative ways to involve children and teach them one of the many ways to share God's grace with giving. God doesn't just want their money; He wants their hearts. And teaching children to be open-hearted alongside their parents giving, opened the door for an incredible opportunity to engage families. And one day, these children might be the elders and leaders of the church. Therefore, to teach them to give, we designed generosity bingo games, coloring book-style piggy banks, and a simple pledge cards. Plus, in the same light-hearted nature as all of these children's capital campaign materials, stickers were crafted to surely find their way onto water bottles, laptops, and play areas at home.
