Summary
The mission of Stafford Crossing Community Church is to create a community that chooses to give their best each day to trust and follow Jesus. With a capital campaign, they wanted to create an environment to minister to people throughout the week.
Stafford Crossing understood they only had one chance to get this capital campaign correct. A mistake would set the fledgling church back for years. To get it right, they decided to partner with Horizons Stewardship.
With the guidance of Horizons, Stafford Crossing Community Church completed four consecutive capital campaigns.
Stafford Crossing Community Church
Stafford Crossing Community Church is in Fredericksburg, VA. For the first ten years of their ministry, they met in a high school. Darryl Mosley is the senior partner and has overseen four capital campaigns in the history of Stafford Crossing.
The mission of Stafford Crossing is to create a community that chooses to give their best each day to trust and follow Jesus.
Church Vision
While Stafford Crossing was using the local high school for church, they knew in a few years their contract would expire, and they would have to buy land and have their own building. Early on, they wanted to create an environment to minister to people throughout the week. The high school did not have the facilities to do that
As Darryl Mosley envisioned moving from the high school he knew, “It’s never been about buying land and building buildings. It’s about impacting and transforming lives.” Having a place to change lives is significant.
EMBED CASE STUDY #2 VIDEO
Stafford Crossing Partners with Horizons to Follow God’s Vision for Capital Campaign
Church Capital Campaign Challenges
The journey to find land and build a church took longer than expected. Stafford Crossing faced many challenges including finding the land, learning how to run a capital campaign, and how to engage their congregation.
Finding Land
Darryl formed a committee to look for land. They searched for three years without success and finally they disbanded the team because they couldn’t find the land they needed.
Three months later a realtor told them about a 54-acre piece that was becoming available for a cheaper price. This was in 2008 during the recession. To buy the land they needed to raise $1 million in cash, but they only had about $100,000 in the bank. However, Darryl was certain God would provide.
Engaging the Congregation
Stafford Crossing Community Church is next to a marine base and Washington D.C. Twenty-five percent of the church are transient members. Many of the people come to church there between nine months and three years. How do you get people excited about a project they won’t be around to see accomplished?
Running a Capital Campaign
Darryl had never led a capital campaign before, he didn’t know anything about it. In seminary, they train people in theology but they don’t teach you how to run a capital campaign. He wasn’t sure what to do or how to do it. The one thing Darryl knew was to see God’s vision fulfilled; he needed a partner.
Partnering with Horizons Transforms a Capital Campaign
Stafford Crossing understood they only had one chance to get this capital campaign correct. A mistake would set the fledgling church back for years. To get it right, they decided to partner with Joel Mikell and Horizons Stewardship.
A Dedicated Team
There are a lot of aspects of a capital campaign that are not in the wheelhouse of a pastor. By partnering with Horizons, Stafford Crossing hired a part-time staff member for a season. The team at Horizons feels God’s calling on their lives to help churches have tremendous impact and further their ministry.
It was clear to Darryl throughout the conversations that “Horizons wasn’t presenting gimmicks or using smoke and mirrors.” For a season, it’s important to have a trusted partner to walk beside you, to mentor and coach.
An Expert Guide
Having no experience with capital campaigns, Darryl and the team at Stafford Crossing knew they didn’t have the expertise to run it. It’s different managing budgets or raising capital, to resource vision and building design.
They needed to know the best practices. Horizons provided great resources to use in church, Sunday School, and small groups to engage givers. Horizons also walked Stafford Crossing through how to add campaign messages to the website, social media, and print.
The time together is more than telling churches how to run a campaign, it’s about discipleship at every level of the church, leadership on down. Horizons trains and coaches that every decision a person makes is a spiritual decision first—It’s a matter of the heart.
Results of a Successful Campaign Campaign
Stafford Crossing ran four consecutive capital campaigns between 2008 and 2017. Each campaign built on the previous one.
The First Campaign
The first capital campaign Stafford Crossing used to acquire land for their church. They held meetings where Darryl cast the vision and prayed to seek God’s will.
Once they found the perfect 54-acre spot for the church, they had to raise $1 million in cash. During the first offering they brought in about $850,000. At that moment they knew that God was a part of this campaign.
Campaigns Two, Three, & Four
Three years later, Stafford Crossing ran their next campaign, this one was for the building. The third capital campaign they did was to pay off some of their debts and improvements, but also for new recreation areas and a paved parking lot.
The final campaign was to add an office wing and meeting room. With what they learned in the previous campaigns and the generosity of their congregation, Stafford Crossing was able to pay cash for a $1.2 million expansion.
Through each of the four campaigns, Darryl held a regular meeting with the leadership to discuss the goal, the pledges, and the funds received. Stafford Crossing has many stories of people delaying their car payment or taking second mortgages to put God first.
Looking back at each campaign Darryl says, “When it comes together, there is a sense of awe at God’s goodness, His favor, and His path.”
Takeaways from a Capital Campaign
As you discuss a capital campaign for your church consider this guidance:
- It is our responsibility to resource God’s vision.
- A capital campaign should be spiritual and prayer-focused. Without prayer nothing happens. Mobilize people through prayer
- The speed of the leader results in the speed of the team.
- Don’t only talk about the campaign but show the entire leadership through your actions.
- When people feel challenged to do something big for God, they realize their issues don’t matter
- Lead with humility, courage, and boldness, and engage people in conversations about what God might be calling them to do
- A capital campaign brings a sense of unity among the congregation to accomplish a greater goal.
- Help people see they have made an investment at the church even if they won’t be around to see the results. Let them know they are standing on the shoulders of people who came before them. Now they are going to pave the way for others to trust and follow Jesus. God’s Kingdom is bigger than where you happen to go to church.
- It’s a lot of work. Once you begin a capital campaign this needs to be the church’s singular focus. Don’t try to launch new ministries or outreach. It’s an intense season.
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 use contact us to schedule a time that works best for you.