First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga: A Historic Campaign to Enable a Historic Project

A Rich History

We at CGChurch have thoroughly enjoyed partnering with our good friends at First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga since 2024.

The rich history of First Pres dates all the way back to the early 1800s when a group of missionaries from New England started the Brainerd Mission out of a desire to share the message of Jesus with the local Cherokee Indians. Since its formal founding around 1840, and through seasons of growth, hardship, renewal and revitalization, and blessing, First Pres has remained anchored in the Reformed faith, faithfully preaching the gospel and pursuing its witness both locally and around the world. Today, it continues to serve as a beacon for Christ in the center of Chattanooga.

Building a Partnership

Several years ago, the leadership of First Pres began exploring what a revitalization of its church facilities might look like. While blessed with a prime location and beautiful, historic buildings, the aging facilities needed renovation and expansion. It became abundantly clear that the Lord was leading toward a plan to improve efficiencies, to accommodate growth, and to increase gospel impact in downtown Chattanooga and beyond.

In 2024, CGChurch began a discussion with the First Pres team tasked with pursuing this mission. This team knew they needed to move efficiently but also carefully and methodically. Most importantly, they acknowledged the importance of listening well—and intentionally—to the church community as they formed this plan. As is often our method in such partnerships, we began with a feasibility study.

The Vital First Step: Feasibility Study

There simply is no shortcut to the process of listening to the leaders and congregation and ensuring that plans ultimately presented and acted upon will be supported. Over a period of several months, we used a combination of internal analysis and evaluation, personal interviews with 40-50 individuals and families, and a survey of the congregation to explore key areas of campaign readiness and opportunity.

These areas included:

• Baseline ministry and “life of the church” perceptions, strengths and areas of opportunity, communication, leadership operations, mission and vision clarity, and more;

• Input and reactions on the proposed facilities direction and master plan, ranging from broad topics like history and philosophy to targeted questions around facilities needs, challenges, and priorities; and

• Insight into financial and giving topics, including project scope, campaign giving feasibility, stewardship, debt philosophy and tolerance, and more.

The feasibility study yielded a powerful array of information, and we were thrilled to prepare and deliver a report that provided rich data, evaluations, and recommendations for the path forward—including beginning the organizational process for a capital campaign!

Pursuing Campaign Execution Together

Though First Pres’ facilities needs were broad and significant, its leaders were prepared to move forward with faith in God’s provision, comprehensive data from the study, buy-in from the church community, and process-backed indications of fundraising feasibility. We moved forward together with a goal to raise $34.5 million to fund all aspects of the facilities renovation, construction, and expansion.

Through an organizational phase to build campaign infrastructure and messaging, a leadership phase to secure commitment from a strong base of pace-setting supporters, and a congregational phase to drive community-wide participation, the campaign has now raised more than $33 million toward this goal and progress continues to be made toward the finish line!

From First Pres

“I have helped nonprofits and churches raise money in various capacities over the years, but the execution of a significant campaign for our own church proved to be a different animal. CGChurch helped us to navigate the challenges of the campaign at every turn and guided us through the process on a daily and weekly basis.

“Beginning with the feasibility study and then throughout the campaign, they understood our church’s unique culture and needs and adjusted accordingly. Without the guidance of Dan and the CGChurch team, I don’t know how we would have accomplished what we have.

“We’re incredibly grateful for their partnership and expertise.”

—Pete Austin III, Campaign Co-Chair