Summary
Scottsdale Bible Church is on a mission to win people to faith in Jesus Christ, build them up in their faith, and then send them out to be "winners and builders" in their sphere of influence. The vision of the capital campaign included three initiatives: a new campus church, local church outreach, and a foster care program.
As Scottsdale Bible Church discussed the vision for their capital campaign, they soon realized the project was beyond their capacity. They partnered with Horizons to help them arrive at their vision and get everyone excited and involved.
With the guidance of Horizons, Scottsdale Bible Church was able to raise $1 million more than their project costs and engage new givers throughout each phase of the campaign. They built a new campus, started a foster care group home, and made new connections with local churches.
Scottsdale Bible Church
Jamie Rasmussen has served as senior pastor of Scottsdale Bible Church (SBC) since 2007. He has overseen the expansion of SBC to four campuses across Arizona. Scott Anderson is the executive pastor and was a part of the team for their most recent capital campaign.
Attendance across all campuses at Scottsdale Bible Church is about 10,000 people. They were one of the few churches to come out of the pandemic blessed with increased attendance.
They have a total annual budget of about $17.5 million with a cost for the capital campaign at $35 million over three years.
Church Vision
It is the mission at Scottsdale Bible Church to win people to faith in Jesus Christ, build them up in their faith, and then send them out to be "winners and builders" in their sphere of influence. During a leadership retreat, they began to discuss God’s plan for their church and asked, "What’s required of us?"
With intense prayer and seeking God’s will and direction, three initiatives came out of these meetings.
- Add new campuses
- To help churches in the community that were struggling and disillusioned.
- Foster care
At the time, Scottsdale Bible Church had three campuses but always wanted to add two or three more. They also felt a calling to help local churches in the community that were struggling or disillusioned as a result of the pandemic. Money from the capital campaign would go toward operational expenses, additional staff, or new buildings for these churches.
Church Capital Campaign Challenges
This capital campaign for Scottsdale Bible Church was unique. It not only required raising money for a new campus, but they wanted to give some to help local churches and start a foster care program.
New Campus
Church leadership discussed the cost of the campaign based on the amount. It would cost about $35 million over 3 years. Some people in the room said it was too much and not to do the campaign, others thought they should break it into smaller campaigns. Scott said they needed to take a leap of faith, trust God and go all in.
Local Church Assistance
Using money from a capital campaign to help churches in the community was a new concept for the leadership. Scottsdale Bible Church wanted to define how it would help churches. Through conversations they decided to give them money to offset some of the operating expenses, like air conditioning units. They also hired staff for these churches for a year until they could stabilize their budgets.
Foster Care
Originally, they didn’t think the church should focus on foster care. They thought it was beyond their mission. During a meeting they decided to take some time in prayer to seek the Lord’s heart in this matter. After deliberate prayer they all came back and said they should start a foster care program.
Getting the foster program started posed new challenges, including the paperwork, building, furniture, a network of volunteers for transportation, and church members to become foster parents.
Partnering with Horizons Transforms a Capital Campaign
While Scottsdale Bible Church has the people to run a capital campaign like this by themselves, they decided to partner with Joel Mikell and Horizons Stewardship. Creating and executing a strategy involves careful planning to ensure every aspect is discussed and approved before the campaign begins.
An Experienced Guide
It had been years since Scottsdale Bible Church did a capital campaign. They wanted to understand the new financial and economic realities in people’s lives. "How does the congregation look at giving? What does stewardship look like?"
Further, they wanted to get the perspective of many people’s experiences, rather than one person’s. To have someone come in and look at the church from a broader perspective. With Horizons, Scottsdale tapped into the decades of experience in conducting a capital campaign. They were getting multiple, highly specialized experts to make sure the campaign ended with success.
Scott Anderson, Executive Pastor of Scottsdale Bible Church says, "You will not do as well alone as you will with help. If you’re going after big things, you need help. It is well worth the investment."
A God-sized Goal
As Scottsdale Bible Church discussed the vision for their capital campaign, they soon realized the project was beyond their capacity. It was a God-sized goal to raise $35 million over three years and they needed to achieve it while also making it reasonable to the congregation.
Horizons guided Scottsdale Bible Church to arrive at their vision and get everyone excited and involved. It was also important the church understand how much stewardship foundation had occurred and how much needed to happen to accomplish the goal. Horizons was able to show them.
Coming Together
When Scottsdale Bible Church partnered with Horizons, all the pieces to develop and execute a capital campaign came together. They didn’t have to worry. Scott Anderson remarks that he "never regretted engaging Horizons for a campaign like this."
Results of a Successful Capital Campaign
Scottsdale Bible Church saw tremendous returns as a result of their leap of faith. What, at the time, seemed impossible and impractical is now a testament to God’s grace.
New Campuses
They launched their fourth campus with 300-400 people coming each Sunday. It is a challenging community to reach, with many of the people staying in the area a few months at a time to vacation.
Scottsdale Bible Church plans to open their newest renovated building in October of 2024. They hope to grow a church at this place of 1,500 to 2,500 people.
With the capital campaign complete, Scottsdale Bible Church used 80% of the funds raised to expand the campus.
Foster Care Group Home
Scottsdale Bible Church used the remaining 20% of the funds for church community outreach and starting a foster care group home. The only funding the home receives comes from Scottsdale Bible Church.
They have developed foster care support groups and a network of volunteers to ensure the homes have everything they need including transportation.
The home is a group of eight to ten girls who don’t fit into the regular foster care system. The intention is for the girls to go from the group home to an SBC family which will eventually lead to adoption.
The program went from seven active foster families to about 100.
Church Community Outreach
Using the funds from the capital campaign to assist local churches has created new and beautiful relationships. Since the campaign began, they’ve connected with fifteen to seventeen churches in the area. "
Takeaways from a Capital Campaign
As you discuss a capital campaign for your church consider this guidance:
- Be bold and courageous in what you want to accomplish. It’s not worth doing if you’re not passionate about it or if you don’t believe God is calling you to do it. Your vision should make you uncomfortable. God doesn’t call us to do small things. Go after it.
- A capital campaign is the only time a church may talk about vision. When you focus on a campaign, you focus on what you’re called to do
- During the follow-up phase, telling people a story and reminding them about what’s happening in the church.
- Share video stories and celebrations. There are natural opportunities to tell people about what’s happening. This keeps it in front of people and challenges people to get involved.
- Engage an external agency. An accountability partner will keep you focused during the development, campaign, and even follow up process.
Start Your Next Capital Campaign
Considering a capital campaign for your church? Let’s start a conversation. Contact Horizons today to discuss how our team of experienced professionals can help you get there.
At Horizons, we specialize in helping pastors and nonprofit leaders like yourself realize their vision. Over the last 30 years, we’ve helped more than 10,000 ministries raise billions of dollars for impact.
We understand that every ministry is unique and has its own goals. That's why we offer personalized solutions that fit your specific needs. From strategic planning to capital campaigns, creating compelling communication strategies, and measuring effectiveness, our team supports you every step of the way.
We would love to discuss how we can tailor these strategies to meet your organization's specific capital campaign needs and goals. Feel free to contact us to schedule a time that works best for you.
