FUNding new ministries

Every effective church looks for ways to fund new and life-changing ministries. This is motivated by a desire to be faithful to Christ, to live out our faith and to touch more and more lives. These ministries address real needs in real lives.

Many effective churches have identified a need or needs in their community and sense God calling them to deliver a ministry or ministry to address that very real need. Yet there is the perception that there are not enough resources available to address those very real needs.

It is the experience of the most effective churches and the experience of Aslan in helping effective churches become more effective that resources are mission-driven. God supplies the needs of the mission that is faithfully fulfilling God’s purpose in the world as we are able to effectively use those resources.

What are some of the ways effective churches have found to fund new ministries – ministries to which they believe God has called them; ministries that address the real hurts and hopes of the people to whom they are called?

Short-Term Giving Campaigns

One approach is the Short-Term or Special Purpose Giving Campaign. This is the carefully organized and effectively executed opportunity for the people of our churches to give “Over and Above” their regular giving. This is in response to a special need we believe God is calling our church to address.

The giving period can vary from a special day offering, a “month of Sundays,’ or three months to a year. During the designated time our supporters/givers are invited to give something extra to help fund the new ministry/mission.

Certainly, this is not a new concept to the church. However, while it has often been done, it is occasionally done effectively. Aslan has extensive experience in assisting churches develop effective Special Purpose Giving Campaigns and can do so at a very reasonable cost.

Sponsor Donors

A second approach is to invite/recruit special donors to sponsor a specific ministry/mission. In almost every church there are a few people who would like to do something “significant” in response to what God has done for them. They desire the sense of ownership and accomplishment that comes with being the primary or one of the primary supporters of a special ministry or mission. Some of these persons are the most generous persons in the congregation and may be among the largest givers to the church. That does not mean they are giving all they can or might like to give.

Aslan has helped churches find special donors who have individually given all the money to build churches, made naming gifts for construction projects, bought property for churches in several nations, funded the start-up costs of several community ministries (social justice ministries) and even built houses and bought cars for effective missionaries.

Each church probably has one or more persons who can and would like to give for something very special – but have simply not been invited to do so. You can invite their giving in a way that greatly advances the mission of your church. If you need help doing this, please feel free to contact The Aslan Group.

Fee-Based Ministries

A third approach is to create “fee-based” ministries which are self funding and fund the greater mission. Many churches have fee-based ministries which actually cost more money than they generate for the church. For example, dozens of churches have Pre-Schools which only cover their “hard-costs” and are supplemented by the offering each Sunday.

However, because they only look at “hard costs” (salaries, supplies, food, etc), they never account for the cost of the use of the space, the liability insurance, the custodial services, the “advertising” in the church publications, the payroll services, the accounting and human resources services provided by the church, the telephone, the utilities, the supplies for the restrooms, etc. These all are being funded out of the Sunday Offering.

However, most churches in America which charge a fee for Pre-School are providing “Fee for Service” to the community. Most of the people who take advantage of this service believe they are paying the full cost for the service and have no idea that the church is actually funding 10%, 25%, even 50% of the total cost of the service! And unfortunately, in the experience of Aslan, many churches do not even know they are funding such a significant amount of the cost of the “Fee for Service” ministry.

In many churches and communities, fee-based ministries can cover all their hard and soft costs and may even be able to generate enough income to support some other ministries. For example, one church with which Aslan has worked built a new building and began a Child-Care program in the facility. The Child-Care program generates 35% of the annual mortgage payment – and that is after paying all of its hard and soft costs!

One church has an After-School Program that is fee-based. The fees cover all the hard costs and soft costs and fund 4 buses used by the church in other activities. This program is 18 years old and was created by one of the Aslan Associates.

Fee-based ministries can begin very small and grow to a very significant size if the fees charged and the expenses paid are managed properly. One fee-based ministry started with the help of an Aslan Associate currently serves 800 families and generates an income of over $7 million a year and has built or is building facilities costing in excess of $15 million – buildings and other facilities that are used several days a week by other ministries of the church.

Fee-based Ministries can be a very effective way to find resources for new ministries. However, if not done carefully, they can drain a considerable amount of money away from the purposes to which givers intended their money to be used. Very few church donors feel good about the church using money given for the mission of the church to fund the private education of a relatively few children – especially if the donor chooses not to pay for private education himself/herself! The only way many churches get away with covering so much of the real (though often “soft”) costs of a fee-based ministry is by simply never knowing or telling the true picture.

Effective fee-based ministries require a more significant level of sophistication to be operated properly and effectively. The Aslan Group offers some very cost-effective ways to assist a church is getting the most out of its fee-based ministries – not for the sake of the church, but for the sake of the mission of the church.

For more information or to enlist some significant help contact:
John Butler
jbutler@aslangroup.com
678.592.9241