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August 7, 2009
What David Landrith and Long Hollow did right #lhcrazylove
My family and I are in search of a new church home. I recently completed a two-year part-time pastorate just north of Nashville. We have visited several churches in the area. The one we seem to keep coming back to is Long Hollow.
Last week, Long Hollow introduced The Crazy Love Campaign. Essentially, this is a series of five offerings over the next 18 months or so designed to fund some strategic initiatives.
I've been in church my entire life. I've seen a lot of change in my 29 years of observing church leaders "do their thing." BUT my experience last Sunday was unlike any other. Since I'm in the business of helping churches fund the ministry God has called them to do, I was paying close attention (and admittedly deconstructing) the entire experience.
The theme of the day was the "State of the Church" address. What I heard was a compelling case to support and get involved in ministry locally and globally. Here are a few things that I think David Landrith and Long Hollow did right:
1. David invited me. There was no consultant giving a polished presentaton. It was the pastor extending to me the opportunity not to decide where the church would focus but to join him and the church in this endeavor. I contend that the pastor is uniquely gifted to lead the church where God has placed him. People would rather hear a compelling message from him than a pitch from a consultant. This tactic capitalized on relationships and made the appeal, from the very beginning, personal.
2. David defined the work and the necessary funding. People respond emotionally when they give but still want to know the details like how much is needed, what will the money fund, and how will we measure our success. People have limited dollars, so they want to be sure that giving those dollars to your church helps them accomplish something that is consistent with what's important to them and something they couldn't do on their own.
3. The ministry that needs to be funded isn't self-centered. One of the most compelling pieces of this campaign is a partnership with a worldwide ministry to establish, for Long Hollow to establish, a sustainable community in a foreign country. This community includes, homes, school, clinic, church, sustainable food resources, etc.. It will breathe life into a hopeless group of people barely able to hang on. While there are some things like campus building improvements, largely this campaign is about reaching out in the community - both locally and internationally - and investing in other people.
4. Everything was defined. I didn't just see a lump sum of money as a goal. Each of the four parts of this campaign were assigned a dollar value. There were no secrets. David laid it all out on the table. Bottom line, each person in attendance knew exactly what they were being asked to invest in and how much it would take to fully fund each part of the plan.
5. The goal was broken down into giving units. The multi-million dollar figure was broken down over five offerings, to fund four strategic ministry objectives, by each individual giving unit. And each unit amount was broken down to the cost of a daily coffee from speciality coffee stores. This makes it doable for the average joe. (No pun intended.) It wasn't "too big" for me to think I can't do this. And it reinforced that if everyone did their part, we could reach the goal. And all of us like to "win."
6. Long Hollow made it shareable by empowering its members (and visitors) to utilize technology to spread the word and reinforce the message. The reality is that I'm not a member (yet) but we are going to participate. And I'll bet there are some who don't even live in Tennessee who will contribute simply because they saw something on Twitter or Facebook that inspired them and God used to call them to participate in this endeavor. Social media allows churches to empower every person, the least common denominator, to become an evangelist, spokesperson, fund-raiser for ministry. (One thing I hope they do is create a widget similar to the Red Kettle Widget the Salvation Army used during Christmas 2008.)
7. I left with something in hand. I could review it long after the initial appeal was made. I've looked at it every day since Sunday. I'm proud to be a part of this campaign. This is important in the event I didn't remember all the details. And I didn't. No one could. Each time I look at the piece handed out, the project seems to get bigger and bigger.
8. David made the ask. He said the first offering is on "this date." Expect it. Plan on it. Write it down. Put in on your calendar. He plainly told everyone in the room (and who watched via internet) that it would take everyone. The giving unit figure was doable, but he challenged those who could do more to do so. And those who couldn't quite meet the expectations, he affirmed that they should give what they can. The case would not have been as compelling had David chosen to be "soft" when it came to this part of the presentation. I don't mean to suggest that he was as obnoxious as a tv evangelist. But calling people to action, measurable action is what making the ask is all about. Behavior is the greatest evidence of our level of commitment. We value what we fund.
I could write a book on how churches should "make the ask." (Maybe that will be the subject of my next book.) But I have to hand it to David and Long Hollow. They did it first-class.
Posted by bstroup at August 7, 2009 7:03 AM
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