Author: Eddie Rester

Your church has dreamed of new ways of pursuing its mission.  You’ve meticulously planned a major project for years.  You’ve carefully selected a Capital Campaign Consultant. You’ve prayerfully set the financial goal.  Now, the next critical step will determine whether your campaign thrives or falters in the coming months: building the Leadership Team. The Role of… Continue reading Building an Effective Leadership Team for Your Church’s Capital Campaign

When you hear the term “capital campaign”, it may evoke thoughts of aggressive tactics or secular fundraising methods. However, the Bible provides guidance for gathering resources to fulfill the mission of making disciples. Grounding your church capital campaign in biblical principles is essential to growing disciples as you set out on a capital campaign. Let’s… Continue reading Five Biblical Foundations for a Church Capital Campaign

Sometimes it can be difficult for a church to reach consensus on a campaign. Sometimes it is unclear whether the congregation fully supports the project. Sometimes the leadership simply wants more objective data to help make an informed decision. In these cases a Congregational Readiness Study can be a very helpful tool.  Even if you… Continue reading Should We or Shouldn’t We? Everything Your Church Needs to Know About Congregational Readiness Studies

Most people think of capital campaigns as accomplishing only one thing: raising money for a defined need. But one of the best gifts of a well-done capital campaign has nothing to do with money and everything to do with the church’s greatest asset: its people.  Over the course of sixteen years I led four capital… Continue reading Growing New Leaders

A church capital campaign is a major undertaking for any congregation. The decision to pursue always comes at a significant moment in the life of a congregation. The needs are clear, and success is critical. When considering a capital campaign for a building project, debt reduction, or ministry expansion, churches often lack the experience, expertise, or resources… Continue reading Building for the Future: The Power of Capital Campaign Consulting

The question of whether pastors should know what their congregation members give is a topic of debate for pastors and churches—with passionate defenders of each side. I began my pastoral ministry in 1997, as an inexperienced associate pastor firmly in the “I shouldn’t know” camp, But as I moved through the ins and outs of… Continue reading Why Pastors Should Know How Much People Give

For more than two decades, statistics and studies have told the story of the church’s shirking footprint and influence in the United States. We all see and sense that the church has been in retreat. Consider the Following Looking Ahead You may already be familiar with any of those statistics that signal the retreat of… Continue reading Retreat or Advance?