The Rev. Tuck Bowerfind

JD Klote and Associates helped us assess the readiness of our congregation to support plans for the renovation of our Church facilities. On the strength of their recommendation and with the professional support and advice of JD Klote Associate, we were able to conduct a successful Capital Campaign in a weak economy, visiting 80% of the households of the parish and raising pledges totaling between three and four times our annual pledge giving.

To my mind the model used by Klote reflects the model set by Jesus when he sent his disciples out two by two to live in a household in a town and stay there until the work was finished. It is the model employed by the Church when a parish priest and family are deployed. The Klote model seems to take up this ancient model and practice of the Church for discerning and accomplishing God’s and develops effective steps and support for putting it to work in our time and place.With good humor and spiritual grounding, our particular consultant, provided the consistent quality of message, presence, support, encouragement, and motivation, our parish leaders needed to grow in confidence about our purpose and our ability to achieve it.

He was instrumental in developing professional campaign materials, and he actively supported our visiting efforts according to our needs. His evaluation and advice helped parish leaders build new capacity for hearing and responding to the needs of the extended parish membership. In many cases, both leaders and those they visited become energized by conversations about stewardship in general, and money in particular, that they had always avoided in the past. We have been left not only with a fund for renovating the building, but with new human capital with which to continue to build up the Church to God’s glory and the welfare of our neighbors.