Legacy of Faith

		Feasibility Study Findings and Conclusions
Gary Church Home About Gary Church Purpose Worship Ministries Missions & Outreach Education Adult Youth Children Pre-School Music Spiritual Life Groups The Building Legacy of Faith History Contact	Supporting the Legacy of Faith Campaign Pray for the success of the campaign and for each of the many volunteers and donors associated with the process. God’s grace will guide us to a productive undertaking. Give to the campaign. The campaign is seeking contributions from the entire community of the church - members and non-members alike. Volunteer to become a leader within the campaign. An enterprise of this stature provides numerous possibilities to contribute one’s time and talents. Speak about the campaign with others. The Legacy of Faith campaign provides promise for the future of mission and ministry at Gary United Methodist Church. In order to reach the entire congregation, share your experiences from the campaign with fellow congregants.	Executive Committee Tracy Smith Malone, Senior Pastor Bob Evelhoch, Campaign Co-Chair Janet Mathis, Campaign Co-Chair Phyllis Geyer, Major Gifts Chair Dan Keck, Special Gifts Chair Kim Austin, Recruitment Chair Elaine McCluskey, Special Advisor Sharon Schmidt, Special Advisor
	Pre-Campaign Feasibility Study In the fall of 2008 Gary United Methodist Church enlisted the assistance of CCS, a fund-raising firm, to conduct a feasibility and planning study. The goal of this process was to determine the support and discover the reactions of the congregation in regard to the idea of conducting a capital campaign. During the course of this study, CCS interviewed 69 congregation families representing all facets of Gary Church. A survey was mailed to the remaining congregation families in order to gain as much input as possible. More than 20 percent of the surveys were returned! The information gleaned from the responses led the Gary United Methodist Church Council to approve moving forward with a campaign to address the current debt situation. The goal of the campaign is $2 million with the hope that $3 million will be raised to completely eradicate the debt and free up funds for mission and ministry. The campaign will run from October 20, 2008 until February 20, 2009. Over that time, every congregation family should expect to be contacted by volunteers from within the congregation. See below a brief summary of the interview results of the feasibility and planning study.
	Study Findings	Conclusions The charts represent the key statistics and determinants for the decision to move forward with a debt reduction campaign at Gary United Methodist Church. Far and away, interview participants indicated that debt reduction was the single most significant need for the congregation. The money saved from reducing our debt can be used to strengthen our missions and ministries. Leadership is the fundamental aspect of any successful capital stewardship cam-paign. A 30% indication of leadership volunteers is a very promising ratio. The interview responses have already come to fruition as the Campaign Executive Committee and the Major Gifts Committee are taking shape. The majority of interview participants indicated that the sooner Gary United Methodist Church moved forward with a campaign, the better its financial situation would be. The study was conducted during the beginning of the current global economic crisis. As such, interviewees were aware of the market conditions when responding to the timeline question.
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