Dallas-Area Consultant Helps Texas Church Raise $84 Million for Expansion
by Allie Martin
March 13, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A Texas church has completed the largest capital campaign ever recorded for a local church. Houston's Second Baptist Church raised more than $84 million in two-year pledges to expand its ministry throughout the city and across the United States. Paul Gage is founder and president of the Dallas-Fort Worth area consulting service, The Gage Group, and served as campaign consultant for Second Baptist Church in its phenomenal fundraising effort. He says the church's 42,000 members caught the vision announced by Senior Pastor Ed Young to expand the church's three Houston locations and also to establish additional locations in movie theaters throughout the city and across the nation.
"With a church of this magnitude," Gage explains, "there had to be careful planning of how we communicate our story to all the campuses. So there was a lot of communication material -- print material, multimedia presentations -- and there were small group meetings, congregational meetings."
Ultimately, the idea was presented to the church members, the capital campaign advisor says, "and then they voted. And, by going through that process, it created awareness as well as ownership by the congregation."
A one-day offering to kick off the fundraising effort brought in $21 million in cash contributions. It was an auspicious beginning that heralded tremendous ongoing success for Second Baptist's campaign. Gage says the money will be used for church expansion in a number of major metropolitan areas.
"We can look at locations, whether it be Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Miami," the consultant notes. "These are strategic locations that you can start almost immediately with minimal expense in movie theaters."
Using the latest technology, including high-definition DVD format, the head of The Gage Group says, Second Baptist is able to have children's programming and student programming, as well as programming for single adults and families. "And the worship services will be of Dr. Young communicating to the church body at whatever locations," he adds.
Gage has been coordinating successful church and ministry fundraising efforts and projects for more than 25 years. He has personally led and organized more than 300 capital campaigns and over 100 evangelistic events with more than 10,000 churches.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
