Capital Stewardship Campaign

The following message provides further details regarding the resolution, eligibility, application, and approval process for the Capital Stewardship Campaign exception. This exception is designed for churches entering a Capital Stewardship Campaign (CSC) that would otherwise impact a congregation’s ability to achieve their allocation goals for the Funding the Mission Giving Plan.

Applications for CSC exceptions are reviewed by the Exceptions Committee, which is currently composed of eight members: three district superintendents, two pastors, and three laypeople. Stewardship Development facilitates the committee’s communication and administrative needs. The committee considers the merit of each situation, taking into account all factors in an attempt to render consistent and well-informed decisions.

The committee reviews certain criteria prior to making a decision on a CSC exception and reviews various benchmarks to ensure consistency. Knowing the criteria may help a church on your district decide whether or not a CSC request is the best resolution in their circumstance.

A CSC that qualifies for an exception generally has each of the following components:

  *   A local church financial fundraising campaign that is over and above the tithes and regular offerings of local church donors.
  *   It lasts for a specific time (not to exceed 36 months)
  *   It is to fund facilities to be used for worship or discipleship and is for at least one of the following:
     *   Purchase of real estate for the expressed intent of worship or discipleship
     *   Construction of facilities for said purposes
     *   Acceleration of debt reduction (beyond scheduled loan amortization) on facilities previously constructed for said purposes.

In addition, a church whose CSC exception is approved must agree that, for the duration of the CSC exception, the church will:
  *   Contribute the allocation percentages as prescribed in the Funding the Mission Giving Plan.
  *   Agree to a denominational allocation goal minimum equal to the average of the amount allocated over the previous three fiscal years prior to the start of the campaign. By using the previous three year average of the local church’s Funding the Mission plan goals, the church’s goal would not be less than the three year average of these goals for the duration of the campaign, but the church could give more based on non-CSC income growth that may occur during the CSC.
If a CSC exception is approved as requested, a local church will be able to exclude CSC income beginning the first day of their district’s fiscal year. Instructions to submit a CSC request:

A written summary of the campaign and detailed explanation for the request is to be included with the completed application (click here). Once the local church has received the approval of the District Advisory Board and district superintendent, the request and summary are sent by the local church to the Exceptions Committee at exceptions@nazarene.org.


After submitting a CSC request:
  1.  Within a week, the applicant will receive an email confirmation that the application has been received.
  2.  Within 45 days, the Exceptions Committee will review the application and make a decision.
  3.  Within 60 days, a written response will be sent to the pastor. A copy will be sent to the district superintendent, jurisdictional general superintendent, and USA/Canada regional director.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at stewardship@nazarene.org. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Blessings,
Your Stewardship Development Team

Rare Circumstances

Unusual circumstances that are clearly outside the church's normal activity will be considered for an income adjustment once a Rare Circumstance Adjustment Application is received. The adjustment should be requested during the affected assembly year and approved by the district superintendent and District Advisory Board. Upon district approval, a nine-person team of Nazarene pastors, district superintendents, and lay leaders will consider the request based on the circumstances, church giving patterns, and history of denominational faithfulness. As a matter of organization, the General Board included these as acceptable situation guidelines for the committee's decisions. Not all of these guidelines must be met for a church to be considered, but an applying church should find that at least some of these statements apply to them. Churches are encourage to carefully review these before sending a request in as well as when formulating their request. A thorough, written summary is extremely helpful for timely responses.

  • The gift or circumstance creates a financial hardship for the church

  • The gift is unsolicited, designated gift to a church without a written designated gift policy.

  • The gift is from a single donor.

  • The gift is not related to an ongoing capital campaign or debt reduction campaign.

  • The gift is greater than or equal to $50,000 (if the gift is less than $50,000, it should be at least 25% of the church's income.).

  • The gift has already been received (The committee cannot exempt income in advance.).

  • An unexpected expense occurs related to disaster, or extreme or unusual circumstances.

To submit a request to the Exceptions Committee:

 1. Fill out the appropriate request form (click here)

2. Obtain the appropriate approvals.

3. Obtain the recommendation of the District Advisory Board.

4. Send the completed request to the Exceptions Committee exceptions@nazarene.org during the affected assembly year.