Case Documents

Okay everyone, let’s learn about a tool that can be very helpful in communicating your ministry assignment. Enter: the wonderful Case Document! There are a variety of situations in which creating your own Case Document can come in handy as you raise your support, so below I’ll describe what a Case Document is, situations in which Case Documents can be helpful, and provide you with some awesome examples. Let’s get to it.

What is a Case Document?

Think of Case Documents as a 1 to 2 page resume. It is a paper snapshot of you and your ministry. Case Documents should include:

A short introduction of who you are and your desire / passion to serve in your ministry. Consider sharing your calling to ministry.
A brief statement about where you are going and facts about the place you are serving.
What you’ll be doing and your ministry goals. Include your organization of course!
What your financial need is / budget information.
- *It may be a good idea to have two versions of the Case Document. One version has your budget information and is good for pastors and churches. Having budget information for pastors is a good idea. Then create another version and take off the budget information. That one is better for individuals that may not need to know your exact budget information.
- *For the version without budget details, include instead percentages of how far along you are percentage wise raising your budget and update it frequently.
Explain how the reader can help financially and pray (and even go if interested)! Include needed account numbers and contact information for anyone interested in giving.
Consider including an endorsement from prominent people in your ministry. (team leaders, pastors, etc.)

Case Documents should also include these vital elements:

A high quality photo (include family if married)
First and last name(s)
Needed logo(s) and branding from organization
Contact information
Giving information
Recommended: social media links
Recommended: your tagline
Recommended: photos of country or population / people in country or population you’ll be serving
Recommended: printed on quality paper!

How Can Case Documents Be Helpful?

Case Documents can be helpful for churches, district and sectional councils (pastor or ministry organization network events), emails or snail mail to pastors, back display tables at events or churches, fundraisers, events, etc. Think of them as a great way to show a level of professionalism, to share a quick summary of your ministry, and to provide a way for you to stand out among the crowd.

You may consider mailing out Case Documents or emailing them before contacting a pastor / church for a potential service or appeal. You can also carry them around with you for anyone you meet interested in hearing more about your ministry or use them as a information sheet on a back table of an event.

You can create your own Case Document using programs such as Pages or Publisher. If you have the room in your budget, consider getting them professionally made. I highly recommend that route if you don’t know your way around design. The better they look, the more you stand out! Some places I like to send people for case documents:

BHDesign

Commission Creative

5DCreative

Faith House Design Group