A God-sized vision,
realized
(and then some!)
In 2009, after leading churches in
Oklahoma and Texas — and spending time
overseas as missionaries — Senior Pastor Bill
Langley and his wife, Sheri, found themselves
called back home to Severns Valley Baptist
Church (SVBC) in Elizabethtown, Ky.
Bill Langley
Senior Pastor
Severns Valley
Baptist Church
Born and raised in the church, it was
a true homecoming. Langley’s late father
served as a deacon. His mother still lives
there; so do his brother, sister and their
families. When Langley visited, he was
invited to preach.
Yet, when SVBC’s pastor resigned, Bill and Sheri made the move
only after prayerful consideration. Blessings awaited … but so
did challenges.
“Coming home — well, that can be a disaster,” Langley says. “It’s a
prophetic statement: ‘A prophet is not without welcome, except in his
own hometown.’”
However, when the church voted unanimously to bring him on as
senior pastor, it was an affirmation. In 2009, he and Sheri headed
home to Elizabethtown.
When Langley took up the reins, the church’s 70 acres of land had
been paid off, but had significant debt on the current facilities. Though
$9 million remained on a 30-year mortgage, SVBC retired the debt
within 10 years of his arrival.
“’The burning of the note’ tied the past to the present and future,”
Langley recalls. “We could say, ‘The Lord did lead us. We followed.
We’ll do that again.”
“Let’s do it again”
The next phase at SVBC is a God-sized project — including a new
worship center, spacious welcome center and outdoor plaza that will
cost $16.5 million.
Even so, Langley and his team aimed to raise $7 million over three
years, and were prepared to finance the rest.
With a building project of this magnitude, they knew they needed
help, so they interviewed numerous potential capital campaign
partners, and met face-to-face with four. Paul Gage, president and
founder of The Gage Group, was among them.
His was a familiar face; Gage and Langley worked together when
Langley led a growing church in Oklahoma. Their campaign was a
great success. So, it was natural that Langley and his team sensed
Gage would be the right fit again.
“It was his creative and confident rapport,” Langley says. “It was the
integrity and his extraordinary track record of successful campaigns
with dynamic churches”.
The elements of success
First and foremost, the campaign involved 21 days of intensive
prayer. Prayer journals and daily devotionals were prepared for
families. On Sundays, small groups took time to talk about what the
Lord had taught them that week, followed by group prayer.
“It helped people understand that this is a God-sized project,”
Langley says. “For a church to vote unanimously for a new building
project and spend $16.5 million, that’s a work of God. And if God is
for us, who can be against us?”
From the beginning, Gage embraced this vision — and offered
strategic expertise, including a focus on team building, church-wide
participation and connecting with high-potential donors. It was a new
approach for Langley, who chooses not to know what individuals or
families give to the church. As such, Gage’s partnership and coaching
was key.
“We locked shields together, for sure,” Langley recalls. “I didn’t feel
like I was inventing the wheel.”
SVBC’s financial administrator identified key givers, and Langley met
with them in groups. He led, of course, with prayer: “All I did was say,
‘You’re here tonight because you care about this church. We know
you’ve invested in its ministry. We’re going to ask you to really pray
and seek God and see what he leads you to do.”
Above and beyond expectations
As the campaign concluded, the results (like the goal) were God-sized:
$12.2 million — more than $5 million beyond the goal.
Now, although Langley and his team were prepared to finance the
remaining $4 million, they’re confident that — with Gage’s help — they
can raise that $4 million over the next few years.
It speaks to a question they asked every firm in the beginning: How do
you maintain momentum?
“Paul has strategies in place
that I feel are stronger,” Langley
says. “Some candidates had no
answer, but he had several.”
In pursuit of that goal, they’ll
mobilize
those
strategies,
keeping the vision at the forefront
(and celebrating victories along
the way), together.
Paul Gage
President and Founder
The Gage Group
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