Fundraising for Church Building

AmazedbyGrace said:
How should churches raise money during a building program?

What methods are appropriate?
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All methods are appropriate. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Sell hot dogs. Do a few car washes. Raffle off some items sitting in the garage.... Go for it.
 
AmazedbyGrace said:
How should churches raise money during a building program?

What methods are appropriate?
Click to expand...

This is actually a great question, and I'd love to see some intelligent discussion of it.
 
Someone here said that if you have a church building with carpet and pews, you'll have the most money to give.  So forget about fundraising.  Just take out a huge loan and buy a building with a carpet and pews.  The money will just come pouring in so fast that you'll pay it off and have lots more to give. 

So I guess the answer is, the best way to raise money to buy a building is to buy a building and carpets and stuff, and it will raise the money for you.
 
I know there have been a lot of joking replies. Let me try my hand at a serious one. The main patterns that we have in the Bible as far as buildings go are the tabernacle and temple. On both of those, God moved the hearts of His people to give so that the building was built. He also supernaturally provided the people with the money before the building was begun. The third time te temple was rebuilt, the people were not following God and let Herod build it. That was the corrupted temple that never saw God's blessing like the previous two did.  My preference would be a faith plan that prays, collects from God's people, and then builds as God provides the funds.
 
FundamentalDan said:
I know there have been a lot of joking replies. Let me try my hand at a serious one. The main patterns that we have in the Bible as far as buildings go are the tabernacle and temple. On both of those, God moved the hearts of His people to give so that the building was built. He also supernaturally provided the people with the money before the building was begun. The third time te temple was rebuilt, the people were not following God and let Herod build it. That was the corrupted temple that never saw God's blessing like the previous two did.  My preference would be a faith plan that prays, collects from God's people, and then builds as God provides the funds.
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Yes.... We all know that the local church is suppose to be an exactly replica of the Jewish Temple and function much in the same manner. Don't pay any attention to God actually living inside those in Christ Jesus.
 
The Rogue Tomato said:
Someone here said that if you have a church building with carpet and pews, you'll have the most money to give.  So forget about fundraising.  Just take out a huge loan and buy a building with a carpet and pews.  The money will just come pouring in so fast that you'll pay it off and have lots more to give. 

So I guess the answer is, the best way to raise money to buy a building is to buy a building and carpets and stuff, and it will raise the money for you.
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How did you raise the money for the new place settings?
 
christundivided said:
FundamentalDan said:
I know there have been a lot of joking replies. Let me try my hand at a serious one. The main patterns that we have in the Bible as far as buildings go are the tabernacle and temple. On both of those, God moved the hearts of His people to give so that the building was built. He also supernaturally provided the people with the money before the building was begun. The third time te temple was rebuilt, the people were not following God and let Herod build it. That was the corrupted temple that never saw God's blessing like the previous two did.  My preference would be a faith plan that prays, collects from God's people, and then builds as God provides the funds.
Click to expand...

Yes.... We all know that the local church is suppose to be an exactly replica of the Jewish Temple and function much in the same manner. Don't pay any attention to God actually living inside those in Christ Jesus.
Click to expand...

I didn't interpret his post as saying that at all.
He just pointed out that the illustration was that when money was needed in the OT, they appealed to the people who would use the Temple for worship.
In  my experience, that is the most effective way to raise money for a building in our ministry...appeal to the people who worship and serve in our fellowship!
 
8 years ago, our ministry was at a stand still because of lack of room.  We needed to build a building in order to go forward. 

The need was legit.  And the people understood it was.

We promised the people that if they sacrificially gave, we would squeeze every penny until it screamed.  And we did.

We decided that we would not go into debt in order to build it.  Instead we set up a three year plan to try to raise the money. 

1.  For three years, we voted that 10% of every Sunday's tithes and offerings would be funneled into the Building Fund.
2.  For three years, every Wed night offering went directly to the building fund.
3.  For three years, every 5th Sunday offering went into the building fund.  We called these "Sacrificial Sundays" and urged the people to seek the Lord's leading in doing something truly sacrificial.  We had 12 of these Sundays during the three years. 

At the end of two years we began building.  At the end of three years we had the 10,000 sq foot building completed.  We hired out the pouring of the slab, the AC/heating, and the drywall hung and finished, but did everything else ourselves. 

The $ 1 millions dollar square foot building (turn key price at $100 per sq foot) was built for $270,000 and was finished and paid for in three years. 

Two things that never cease to amaze me is God's grace and the generosity of God's people when confronted with a genuine need. 

 
Frag said:
8 years ago, our ministry was at a stand still because of lack of room.  We needed to build a building in order to go forward. 

The need was legit.  And the people understood it was.

We promised the people that if they sacrificially gave, we would squeeze every penny until it screamed.  And we did.

We decided that we would not go into debt in order to build it.  Instead we set up a three year plan to try to raise the money. 

1.  For three years, we voted that 10% of every Sunday's tithes and offerings would be funneled into the Building Fund.
2.  For three years, every Wed night offering went directly to the building fund.
3.  For three years, every 5th Sunday offering went into the building fund.  We called these "Sacrificial Sundays" and urged the people to seek the Lord's leading in doing something truly sacrificial.  We had 12 of these Sundays during the three years. 

At the end of two years we began building.  At the end of three years we had the 10,000 sq foot building completed.  We hired out the pouring of the slab, the AC/heating, and the drywall hung and finished, but did everything else ourselves. 

The $ 1 millions dollar square foot building (turn key price at $100 per sq foot) was built for $270,000 and was finished and paid for in three years. 

Two things that never cease to amaze me is God's grace and the generosity of God's people when confronted with a genuine need.
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One of the most intelligent posts ever from you. I congradulate you her Frag. Bravo!  Great planning and good wisdom!
 
christundivided said:
Yes.... We all know that the local church is suppose to be an exactly replica of the Jewish Temple and function much in the same manner. Don't pay any attention to God actually living inside those in Christ Jesus.
Click to expand...

I would be surprised at your reaction to my post if your hateful vitriol were surprising.  Nowhere was I stating that the church is equivalent to the Jewish temple, nor do I believe anything like that. 
 
Frag....

If the ability to build church buildings is an indication of Gods approval..... Then you should really be impressed with the Catholic church....
 
christundivided said:
Frag....

If the ability to build church buildings is an indication of Gods approval..... Then you should really be impressed with the Catholic church....
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May I point out the fallacies in that comparison prior to the debate?

Thanks.  :)

The "catholic church" is neither catholic or the church.
 
Green Beret said:
christundivided said:
Frag....

If the ability to build church buildings is an indication of Gods approval..... Then you should really be impressed with the Catholic church....
Click to expand...

May I point out the fallacies in that comparison prior to the debate?

Thanks.  :)

The "catholic church" is neither catholic or the church.
Click to expand...
Sure.....

I made the connection at the church building. Not your beliefs in the validity of any assembly of believers. Just saying.....

I'm at the ICU with an extended family member. It'll be tomorrow before I finish my summary. Sorry for the delay.
 
christundivided said:
Frag....

If the ability to build church buildings is an indication of Gods approval..... Then you should really be impressed with the Catholic church....
Click to expand...


At some point, you really need to deal with your bitterness.....


...right after you deal with your immaturity.  Done with you....
 
BALAAM said:
Frag said:
8 years ago, our ministry was at a stand still because of lack of room.  We needed to build a building in order to go forward. 

The need was legit.  And the people understood it was.

We promised the people that if they sacrificially gave, we would squeeze every penny until it screamed.  And we did.

We decided that we would not go into debt in order to build it.  Instead we set up a three year plan to try to raise the money. 

1.  For three years, we voted that 10% of every Sunday's tithes and offerings would be funneled into the Building Fund.
2.  For three years, every Wed night offering went directly to the building fund.
3.  For three years, every 5th Sunday offering went into the building fund.  We called these "Sacrificial Sundays" and urged the people to seek the Lord's leading in doing something truly sacrificial.  We had 12 of these Sundays during the three years. 

At the end of two years we began building.  At the end of three years we had the 10,000 sq foot building completed.  We hired out the pouring of the slab, the AC/heating, and the drywall hung and finished, but did everything else ourselves. 

The $ 1 millions dollar square foot building (turn key price at $100 per sq foot) was built for $270,000 and was finished and paid for in three years. 

Two things that never cease to amaze me is God's grace and the generosity of God's people when confronted with a genuine need.
Click to expand...

One of the most intelligent posts ever from you. I congradulate you her Frag. Bravo!  Great planning and good wisdom!
Click to expand...

Every once in a while a thread on here warrants an intelligent response.......

.....rare, but refreshing....
 
Something else that was helpful in the carrying out of the actual construction:  we divided the actual building into ten phases. 

Ground prep.
Concrete work.
Exterior framing, windows, tresses and roof.
Interior framing.
Utilities
Drywall
Paint and drop ceilings.
Doors and trim.
Kitchen and bathrooms.
Sidewalks and landscaping. 

I then assigned one of our men to oversee each phase.  We chose the man with the most experience in that area.  After he finished his phase, he handed the leadership off to the next guy.  Worked great, and I only had to communicate with one man at a time.  Although I oversaw the project, I did not have to be there on sight daily.  Great group of men who worked wonderfully together.  All of the other men in the church worked under the leader of each phase to help complete the work.  It was also fun to stop as a church and rejoice each time a phase was completed! 
 
christundivided said:
Green Beret said:
May I point out the fallacies in that comparison prior to the debate?

Thanks.  :)

The "catholic church" is neither catholic or the church.
Click to expand...

I made the connection at the church building. Not your beliefs in the validity of any assembly of believers. Just saying.....
Click to expand...

I saw the connection but couldn't ignore the irony. You taking a swipe at Frag by using the catholic church in any context is funny. Maybe it is only humorous to me.

Oh, and by the way, my beliefs about the non-validity of the "catholic church" as an assembly of believers is rather main stream around those who hold the historic fundamentals of the Faith. That is a topic on which I love to debate. For example, I even debated a Jesuit once here in the Tampa area. Just sayin' as well...

christundivided said:
I'm at the ICU with an extended family member. It'll be tomorrow before I finish my summary. Sorry for the delay.
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I understand that, too. Don't worry about the delay. I sent mine over to Admin a little bit ago but the arguing can wait.

I know it may sound awkward, or even pious, in light of our exchanges here but I'll pray for your family member.
 
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