6. How will the next effort to raise awareness and funds be different from the last time? What lessons were learned and what mistakes will be avoided?
FOE, our most-previous fund-raising campaign, was a blessing in that many of God’s people at RBC trusted the Lord to give sacrificially to make an investment in the future of God’s work in and through RBC. That giving fulfilled a critical element and greatly advanced our goal of relocation through the securing of a wonderful piece of property at a great location. Buying an equivalent piece of property in today’s market would be considerably more expensive and probably not located nearly as close to the center of our demographics.
On the other hand, there was a bitter-sweet or bad taste left in some people’s minds as a result of the previous campaign and what did or did not occur afterwards. Before and during the campaign, we employed the use of outside consultants who, despite efforts to tailor their approach to RBC, used methods that didn’t fit well with the personality of our church, things such as: too much emphasis on money; too many phone contacts; too much “hype”; not enough prayer; etc. After the campaign, we were all disappointed, to varying degrees, that the giving did not result in all of what was being sought, namely a relocated church in a new and larger facility. Instead, what was accomplished was a piece of property sitting idle and the church remaining with the same, ongoing ministry and facility constraints. Furthermore, the leadership of the church did not communicate well during the time following the completion of the giving campaign, leaving much of the congregation wondering about the future of the relocation and what was accomplished through the giving. In reality, the time following the previous campaign was a time of uncertainty, not with regards to the desire to move, but with the ability to see our way forward.
The present “Vision Campaign” is different. It is being planned by our own people, making use of methods more suited to RBC’s personality, and looking much more to the input of our congregation as we move forward. We intend to be more visionary in terms of communicating the motivation of why we want to move and expand. An additional element will be in the way we handle the finances. In the FOE campaign we asked people to honor their pledges even though the amount pledged wouldn’t pay for relocation. This time we will again take pledges, but we won’t ask people to actually give until we know we have enough to build.
In addition to the three-year commitments, the congregation will be challenged to give a one-time gift at the end of this year, 2007, to retire the existing debt on the Cascades property.
1. Relocation has been “low key” for the past few years. Why the delay and why does the leadership think that now is the time to move ahead?
2. Other than increased size and fewer worship services, what significant changes will occur in the scope and kind of ministries our church will do in the new, relocated facility?
3. Why relocate and grow larger rather than multiply and plant other churches?
4. Doesn’t the move to Dulles go against God’s raising up of this church to be a witness and ministry to the Reston area?
5. What will become of the current church property? Will some element of ministry of Reston Bible Church remain on the property?
6. How will the next effort to raise awareness and funds be different from the last time? What lessons were learned and what mistakes will be avoided?
7. What will be the approach in challenging the congregation regarding giving?
8. What will be our posture towards debt and what about the position that debt is bad, unscriptural, or “just not for RBC”?
9. What about Mike retiring?
10. What will be the sequence of what the congregation will see and hear over the next few months?
11. How can I help?
12. How can I get more information and provide my input?