I am not that good at raising money, but there are a few things I have learned from the experience:

1. Boldness. Get over the awkward feeling of asking for money. It takes money and when you start a new church it will take money outside of the church. People are going to say “no” and that is okay.

2. Make a list. Write down everyone you have ever met and start praying about how God might want to involve them in what you are doing to start a new church.

3. Craft your vision. Be able to cast your vision in 30 seconds and expand up to 20 minutes, depending on the opportunity. Work really hard on the wording and be as clear and specific as possible without being deceptive. Every church planter wants to see the Kingdom of God expanded for His glory. What makes your vision different?

4. Practice your vision. Start with your spouse and family and then start casting it to friends. When they break eye contact it means you lost their interest and need to keep on working on the wording.

5. Vision meetings. Create vision / dessert meetings to invite people to. I made the mistake of only inviting the people in my life, however, it would be better to challenge those people on the list from point number 2 to create their own list. This might be awkward but to be effective at raising money then you need to find other people who will help you raise money.

6. Involve other churches. We made a little progress with the people in our lives, but got the most traction with other churches. I guess everyone is different, but don’t neglect churches. Churches in your city and churches outside of your city. Jump through the hoops, do what they ask, and get other churches involved.

7. Involve other networks. I didn’t do a good job of this early on, but we are trying to improve. When it comes to networks then diversify as much as possible. It might not lead to money, but it always helps to network.

8. Involve your core team. It feels wrong when you do this because you are afraid your core team is going to skip out and hit the door, but if they are really on board then they will follow your leaders. The key is follow your leadership. Lead by example and let them know what sacrifices your family is making to invest into this new church. Not just a pay cut, but actually putting up money. We had a small group mixed between singles and young families and between 20 people raised $40,000.