Out-of-the-Box Missions Funding

Churches with missions-minded pastors and staff can break through low giving patterns using unconventional methods.

For instance, at NorthRidge Church, a 9,600-attendee church in Plymouth, Michigan, congregants raised $2.5 million to build a hospital in Zambia with just one December pledge drive. Those funds—along with child sponsorship pledges—didn't go through church accounting, but went straight to World Vision, says Michael Miller, NorthRidge's director of stewardship and outreach.

Mark Wilson, senior pastor at the 500-person Hayward Wesleyan Church in Hayward, Wisconsin, says he also approaches missions fundraising through faith promises rather than the church budget. He finds older congregants eager to commit to regular giving, while younger churchgoers are more likely to support one-time events, such as entering a race to buy goats for a family in an African community. ...