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Raising the Church's Stewardship Temperature
For 30 years RSI has been helping churches raise more than just money
Remember those big thermometers? Anyone who attended an evangelical church during the second half of the 20th century probably does.
During fund-raising projects, oversized thermometers would hang on the wall of a sanctuary, and each week the red line would inch up as more money was collected and earmarked for the campaign. Of course, pastors would regularly convey to parishioners how much cash was still needed to pay for a new wing or kids classrooms or staff offices, but nothing they would say could match the intimidating effect of that huge, ever-present thermometer reminding people how much more they still needed to give.
As with other businesses, churches often require funds above and beyond their annual budgets. Projects such as new construction, renovation, retirement of debt, and expansion of ministry usually can be taken on only with the support of the congregation. Pleading with attendees to contribute is not only unsophisticated, but also usually ineffective. And when church officials take a low-key approach to the issue, congregation members may assume the need is not all that great.
Most churches don’t use thermometers to track fund-raising projects anymore, but gauging the temperature of the congregation’s willingness to participate in the growth of their churches is still a key to determining the eventual success of any program involving the raising of capital. Churches have been struggling with the process of fund-raising for many years, but organizations such as Resource Services, Inc. (RSI), are not only making this procedure easier, but also helping to dramatically increase the amount of money churches are able to generate in support of various programs. Most importantly, they are helping churches see a financial situation for what it really is: a stewardship issue.
“Before we started our building campaign, we determined that whichever capital fund-raising company we used would have to be in synch with our view that this was about spiritual development, not so much about how much money we could raise,” said Michael Vonderhaar, director of administration at Cibolo Creek Community Church in Fair Oak Ranch, Texas.
“Our choice of RSI had a lot to do with their corporate philosophy matching our desire for this to be about stewardship. Yes, they are a company in business to make money, but they pray and seek God’s will, and that makes a big difference. They are sincere about the kingdom of God, and they have a true sense for a higher calling. It was a good fit for us right off the bat.”
With 275 attendees meeting weekly in an elementary school, Cibolo Creek was interested in raising several million dollars for a new construction project that would give the church its own home. Church officials were told by RSI that their goal of $4 million over three years was unrealistic for their size, but the organization helped the church raise $2.36 million in pledges during early 2001, $1 million of which is already in hand.
“RSI and our consultant, Bill McMillan, were phenomenal during the whole process, helping, guiding and coaching,” Vonderhaar said. “They have a definite structure to what they do, but they were very flexible and customized it to our needs.”
Among the methods RSI taught Cibolo Creek officials to use during the three-month campaign were producing and distributing printed materials and graphic art elements designed to educate and encourage the congregation, preaching on the topic of stewardship for several consecutive weeks, pre-commitment meetings with individuals, small group prayer sessions, large gatherings outside the normal weekend service, and one-on-one presentations to interested small groups by senior pastor Paul Wilson.
RSI was founded in 1972 by Chairman Ben Gill and President Bill Wilson, both of whom were Southern Baptist pastors with no formal financial background. The Dallas-based company now has 250 employees, including a number of consultants who make presentations to churches interested in raising funds for a variety of projects, then work hand-in-hand with the churches for three to 12 months.
“The first thing we do is determine specifically what the church wants to raise funds for, and then we make sure that the church leadership believes that what they are trying to do is the will of God for them,” said Bill Wilson, whose company has been involved in more than 6,000 fund-raising programs, helping churches in a wide variety of denominations raise approximately $6.5 billion. “We stress to church leaders that they can raise money with integrity, but there has to be pastoral articulation of the vision, and they have to focus on stewardship.”
Approximately half of the projects that churches undergo with help from RSI are related to new construction, 20 percent to renovation, 20 percent to the retirement of debt, and 10 percent to the expansion of ministry. One church that used RSI to help with a variety of those needs was Orchard Hill Church in Wexford, Pa.
“Four years earlier, we had built a new worship center, but we had already outgrown it and had some debt,” said senior pastor Stu Boehmig, whose 12-year old church has 3,200 weekly attendees. “We wanted to eliminate that debt, increase staff and build support facilities, such as a gymnasium and a food court.
“We had heard about RSI, so we called Bill Hybels at Willow Creek and he raved about them. We wanted to make sure that we weren’t just hiring a system or a process, but rather a group that understood our seeker-targeted culture. That’s what we found in RSI.”
The three-year campaign kicked off the first week of September 2001, and despite an atmosphere of belt-tightening that has been present almost everywhere since the events of Sept. 11, Orchard Hill Church was able to raise between $7.5 and $8 million in pledges over three months, including $2 million they currently have in hand.
“It was an absolute miracle,” said Boehmig, whose church used printed materials, dinners with potential contributors, and celebration events as some of their own fund-raising methods. “I thought we were dead in the water following Sept. 11. We’re thrilled with what we were able to accomplish. RSI provided many resources for us, including encouragement and direction. They helped us mobilize the entire church. They were great in adapting their process to us as a local church.
“The key to the whole program was growing deeply as a church community, not about how much money we raised,” Boehmig continued. “It’s about spiritual growth and personal relationships.”
RSI’s flat fee is based on the size of a church, and is not related to how much money the church is able to raise. Bill Wilson said statistics show that churches are able to raise only about one-third as much capital on their own as they are with the help of an organization such as RSI, and that most don’t believe they can raise as much money as they end up raising.
RSI’s largest challenge — and greatest accomplishment to date — has been their work in helping Willow Creek Community Church secure nearly $100 million in pledges for the church’s Chapter 2 campaign. Their diligent work and unyielding commitment to working with the church’s leadership was an integral part of the campaign’s success.
Over the past two-plus years, RSI has also helped conduct 108 programs for Willow Creek Association churches, with $270,735,444 being pledged. This figure represents nearly three times those churches’ combined annual incomes. Because RSI is a WCA Select Service Provider and offers a 20 percent discount to WCA Members, churches have saved nearly $1.3 million through their relationships with RSI.
And all without the help of an oversized thermometer.
RSI can be reached via phone at 800-527-6824, or by visiting www.rsi-ketchum.com.
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